Stephen Ambrose

Stephen Ambrose – Life, Works, and Legacy

Stephen E. Ambrose (January 10, 1936 – October 13, 2002) was an American historian, popular author, and biographer of U.S. presidents and World War II narratives. This article traces his life, major works, controversies, quotes, and the lessons from his career.

Introduction

Stephen Edward Ambrose occupies a complicated but prominent place in modern American historical writing. In his lifetime, he brought to wide readership stories of World War II, the American West, and U.S. presidents such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. His narrative style and focus on personal stories and oral history made him a household name.

Yet his legacy is also tarnished by posthumous revelations of plagiarism, factual errors, and embellishments. His story offers cautionary insights about the tensions between popular history and academic rigor.

Early Life, Education & Family

Stephen E. Ambrose was born on January 10, 1936 in Lovington, Illinois. He grew up partly in Whitewater, Wisconsin, where his family had connections to both rural Illinois and Wisconsin. Ambrose’s father, Stephen H. Ambrose, was a physician who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

He began his higher education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned a B.A. in History (1957) and later his Ph.D. (1963). Between those, he earned a Master’s degree from Louisiana State University.

During his undergraduate years, Ambrose changed his major from pre-medicine to history after being inspired by a course titled Representative Americans. He credited that shift and his mentor, William B. Hesseltine, with shaping his intellectual direction.

In 1957, Ambrose married his first wife, Judith Dorlester; they had two children, Stephenie and Barry. After Judith’s death in 1965, Ambrose remarried in 1967 to Moira Buckley, who had three children (adopted by Ambrose).

Academic & Professional Career

Teaching & Institutional Roles

Ambrose began his academic career in 1960, holding teaching posts at Louisiana State University (1960–1964), Johns Hopkins University (1964–1969), and later University of New Orleans (from 1971 onward). At UNO, he eventually became a Boyd Professor of History, a distinction reserved for faculty of national/international reputation. He founded the Eisenhower Center at UNO (1989), focused on national security, military history, and collecting veterans' oral histories.

Ambrose also taught at the Naval War College (as the Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History) and held visiting appointments at institutions including Rutgers, UC Berkeley, and University College Dublin.

Writing & Narrative History

Ambrose was immensely prolific. Over his career, he authored, co-authored, or edited more than 30 books, many of them bestsellers. He often focused on topics such as:

• World War II — Band of Brothers, Citizen Soldiers, D-Day: June 6, 1944

• Biographies of presidents and military leaders — Eisenhower, Nixon, The Supreme Commander

• American expansion and infrastructure — Nothing Like It in the World (on the transcontinental railroad)

His interest in oral history and veterans’ first-person accounts became a hallmark of his methodology, especially for his WWII works.

Ambrose also played roles in pop culture adaptations: he served as executive producer of the Band of Brothers miniseries, and worked as a historical consultant for Saving Private Ryan.

He also operated a historical tour business, guiding visits to European WWII sites.

Major Works & Themes

Some of Ambrose’s most significant books include:

• Citizen Soldiers

• D-Day: June 6, 1944

• Band of Brothers

• Eisenhower (two volumes)

• The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s over Germany (2001)

• Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad

• Nixon: The Education of a Politician and Nixon: Ruin and Recovery

His general style emphasized narrative, character, and the “human dimension” of history. He sought to make history engaging to general readers, not just academic specialists.

He also used oral history extensively—collecting interviews, memories, letters, and grounding large events in personal stories.

His works helped popularize interest in the “Greatest Generation” and veterans’ memory, bringing many veterans’ stories back into public awareness.

Criticisms and Controversies

While Ambrose enjoyed great popularity, his reputation later faced serious scrutiny.

Plagiarism & Fabrication

In 2002, shortly before his death, allegations surfaced that Ambrose had plagiarized passages in The Wild Blue and other books—i.e. using material from other authors without proper quotation marks or attribution. Investigations showed he had copied or closely paraphrased content from Thomas Childers’s Wings of Morning, among other sources.

Moreover, after Ambrose’s death, scholars found fabricated or exaggerated interviews and claims in some of his Eisenhower works. For example, he claimed “hundreds of hours” of interviews with Eisenhower; in reality, archival investigations suggest they met only a few times totaling less time. A 2010 New Yorker article detailed how some of Ambrose’s footnotes and claims about private conversations with Eisenhower did not align with archival records.

Factual Errors & Overreach

Ambrose’s Nothing Like It in the World also came under fire: Western U.S. railroad historians reported over 60 significant errors, mislabelings, misstatements, and questionable attributions. Some critics argued his fact-checking was shallow in later works, and his commercial incentives may have encouraged faster, looser editing.

Because of these issues, Ambrose stands as a cautionary figure—one whose storytelling gifts sometimes outpaced historical rigor.

Legacy & Influence

Despite controversies, Ambrose left enduring marks:

• He dramatically expanded public interest in WWII history and veteran narratives, influencing many subsequent works and media adaptations.

• The National D-Day Museum in New Orleans (now The National WWII Museum) owes much to his vision and fundraising efforts.

• His name is honored in endowed academic positions: the Ambrose Professor of History at UNO, and the Ambrose-Hesseltine Chair at University of Wisconsin.

• The Stephen E. Ambrose Oral History Award, awarded annually by Rutgers University’s Living History Society, recognizes users of oral history in writing and art.

• His narrative techniques—especially blending micro-stories with macro events—helped blur boundaries between academic and popular history.

His work remains widely read, and even critics concede his ability to bring history alive to broad audiences.

Selected Quotes by Stephen Ambrose

Here are some representative quotes attributed to Ambrose:

• “History is everything that has ever happened.”

• “It is through history that we learn who we are and how we got that way, why and how we changed, why the good sometimes prevailed and sometimes did not.”

• “We were smart; there weren’t many flashy heroics. We had learned that heroics was the way to get killed without getting the job done, and getting the job done was more important.”

• “A man can get something from war that is impossible to acquire anyplace else.”

• “The number one secret of being a successful writer is this: marry an English major.”

• “During the Second World War, the Germans took four years to build the Atlantic Wall. On four beaches it held up the Allies for about an hour; at Omaha it held up the U.S. for less than one day.”

These quotes reflect his dedication to narrative, the lessons he drew from conflict, and his appreciation for history’s moral and cultural dimensions.

Lessons from Stephen Ambrose’s Life

1. Storytelling engages, but demands accountability.
   Ambrose’s narrative gifts won hearts—but his later lapses show that popularity cannot substitute for accuracy and intellectual honesty.

2. Oral history amplifies voices—but vet them.
   His emphasis on veterans’ voices enriched his works, but verifying, cross-checking, and contextualizing personal testimony remains essential.

3. Popularity and scholarship often conflict.
   The tension between writing for mass audiences and maintaining academic rigor is a persistent challenge for public intellectuals.

4. Legacy is complicated and layered.
   Ambrose taught us that historical figures—and historians—can be both influential and flawed. We must read critically, honoring strengths while acknowledging limitations.

5. Bring history to life—but don’t invent it.
   His ability to humanize large events is exemplary, but embellishment erodes trust. Good historians must balance narrative flourish with discipline.

Conclusion

Stephen Ambrose remains a towering yet contested figure in American historical writing. His popular works inspired millions, revived interest in WWII, brought attention to veterans’ stories, and introduced narrative history to a broader reading public. But his later revelations about plagiarism and factual lapses complicate his legacy.

To engage with Ambrose is to confront the promises and pitfalls of public history: the power to move, instruct, inspire—and the responsibility to honor truth. His career is a reminder that history matters deeply—but must be handled with care.