Sign-In
Cart
A Screaming Eagle: His Drawings. His Words
Paperback
Military BiographiesGeneral Military HistoryWorld War II
Publisher: Screaming Eagle
Published: Aug 25 2026
Pages: 380
Weight: 1.12
Height: 0.78 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
He was the second man out the door.
On the night of June 5, 1944, T/Sgt. Burton Pat Christenson stood in the doorway of a C-47 over Normandy, second in the stick behind Lieutenant Dick Winters, and jumped into the darkness that opened the liberation of Europe. He was a paratrooper with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, the men Stephen Ambrose would immortalize in Band of Brothers. He was also something no one else in the company was. He was an artist.
A Screaming Eagle: His Drawings, His Words brings together two rare things in a single volume. The first is Pat's own firsthand account of the war, some 70,000 words carried home in seven volumes of manuscript and set down here in full. Normandy, Holland, the frozen siege of Bastogne, and the long drive into Germany, told in the plain and unflinching voice of a man who lived every mile of it. The second is his art. In the years after the war, Pat returned to the moments that words could never quite hold and rendered them in exacting graphite, forty-six finished combat drawings that preserve the faces, the weapons, the country, and the cost of the fight. These are not sketches dashed off under fire. They are the work of a witness who carried the images for a lifetime and refused to let them fade.
Some of what he saw, he never spoke of. When his son asked why he never drew or talked about the concentration camp at Kaufering, Pat's answer was simple. Some things you don't need to talk about. This book is his son's effort to make sure the rest is never forgotten.
The worth of Pat's work was recognized by the men best placed to judge it. Stephen Ambrose, who built much of his history on Pat's testimony, called the drawings almost priceless. Dick Winters wanted Pat as his number two man for the Normandy jump and said so plainly. Bill Wild Bill Guarnere, seeing the drawings for the first time, said he had never seen anything like them. A selection was exhibited at the Band of Brothers premiere at the Hollywood Bowl in 2001, and one of Pat's drawings is etched into the memorial at Saint-Come-du-Mont, in the same Normandy country where he came down that first night.
More than a memoir and more than a book of art, A Screaming Eagle is the complete record of one Screaming Eagle's war, told in his own words and drawn by his own hand. It is a firsthand piece of history from inside the most storied company of the Second World War, and a son's tribute to the father who lived it.
Also from
Christenson, Timothy
Also in
Military Biographies
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Hardcover
Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II
Baime, A. J.
Hardcover
Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace - A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII
Makos, Adam
Hardcover
Band on the Run: Xenophon and the First Great Mercenary Army's Epic Escape from Persia
O'Connell, Robert L.
Hardcover
Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
Orr, Laura
Kleiss, N. Jack Dusty
Orr, Timothy
Paperback
Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France
Reynolds, Nicholas
Sanders, Katie
Hardcover
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Paperback
George Washington's One-Man Army: The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Palmer, John T.
Hardcover
The Road to Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage Through
Struecker, Jeff
Paperback
Retribution: A Us Marine's Fight for Justice, from the Russian Gulag to Ukraine's Front Lines
DeFelice, Jim
Reed, Trevor
Hardcover
Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
The Lazy SEAL: How a slacker made it through the toughest military training on earth and how you can too!
Khol, Nathan
Paperback
Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War
Lambert, Ray
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
Own Your Resilience: An Army Leader and War Widow Shares Tools to Live with Courage and Joy
Sileo, Tom
Ballou, Jennifer
Hardcover
American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
Tyson, Ann Scott
Paperback
Touching the Dragon: And Other Techniques for Surviving Life's Wars
D'Andrea, Christian
Hatch, James
Paperback
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 1/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission
Ward, Jonathan H.
Collins, Eileen M., USAF (Retired)
Hardcover
Brotherhood of the Brave: From Boots to Brass, the Soldiers Who Have Shaped the US Army
Kingseed, Cole C.
Paperback
The War They Won: The Story of World War II, as told by Those Who Were There
K. Kistler, Lt Hobart
Hardcover
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown
Blehm, Eric
Paperback
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
As the Pentagon Burned: Leadership and Human Excellence in the Face of the 9/11 Attack
Klimow, Ambassador (Ret) Matthew S.
Paperback
Raising Athena: A Mother and Daughter Attend West Point Thirty Years Apart
Shattan, Mylinh Brewster
Hardcover
The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein: My Six Months Inside the Mind of a Tyrant
Piro, George
Hardcover
Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
Katz, Jonathan M.
Paperback
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Donohue, John Chick
Molloy, J. T.
Paperback
The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
Clavin, Tom
Drury, Bob
Paperback
Pentagon 9-11: Scars You Can't See A Chief Master Sergeant's Reckoning with Truth, Trust, and Coming Home
Woody, Roger A.
Paperback
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Owen, Mark
Maurer, Kevin
Paperback
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Large Print Edition)
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
Paperback
Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II
Edsel, Robert M.
Hardcover
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Hardcover
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism
Waugh, Billy
Keown, Tim
Paperback
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 2/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill (Large Print Edition)
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Hardcover
The Naval Academy - A Parent's Ponderings from Home Port: Untying the Bowline on I-Day
Wade, Steve
Paperback
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader (Large Print Edition)
Bruning, John
Redman, Jason
Paperback
The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War
Sites, Kevin
Paperback
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the Seal Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Chesney, Will
Layden, Joe
Paperback
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army
Lockhart, Paul
Paperback
Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World's Deadliest Special Operations Force
Schilling, Dan
Longfritz, Lori
Paperback
Proud to Serve: Leadership, Responsibility, and Command from 9/11 to Iraq
Walsh, Col Shawn P.
Hardcover
The Fate of the Generals: Macarthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
Horn, Jonathan
Paperback
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
Berman, Larry
Paperback
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) (Large Print Edition)
McRaven, William H.
Hardcover
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
Willner, Nina
Paperback
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Paperback
The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear Into Your Superpower
Curran, Michelle Mace
Hardcover
In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Luttrell, Marcus
Paperback
Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
Webster, David
Paperback
To End All Wars: A True Story about the Will to Survive and the Courage to Forgive
Gordon, Ernest
Paperback
No Excuses: The Power of Hard Work and Discipline - A Journey to the U.S. Navy's Highest Enlisted Rank
Stevens, Mike
Hardcover
The Invisible Veteran: Rediscovering Purpose, Identity, and Connection After Service
Kidder, Kevin
Paperback
Wielding the Trident: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and America's Victory in the Pacific
Blackley, Andrew K.
Hardcover
The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea--The Forgotten War of the South Pacific
Campbell, James
Paperback
Then All Hell Broke Loose: The Odyssey of a Marine Corps Photographer in Vietnam
Fisher, Dennis
Paperback
Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
Reynolds, Nicholas
Paperback