5 comments about The Medic: Life and Death in the Last Days of World War II.

1. "'Aid Man!' ... He ran up to me. He shouted in my face. 'Aid Man!' He grabbed my shoulders, his mouth agape, heaving air. 'A man got his leg blowed off. Let's go!'" This was Leo Litwak's first shot of many to come at saving a life. Leo was a young Jewish boy being trained as a medic in South Carolina. It was February of 1943, and, sooner than he would have preferred, Leo would be immersed in World War II. This is a true story and an excellent one as well. Leo Litwak does a wonderful job telling the truth in this book leaving no goury details out. His book shows all aspects of the war. He shows the soft side, dark side, romantic side, and even the surprising side. Gloria Emerson from the Los Angeles Times states, "[This is a] book that should be given to every schoolboy in the country at the age of thirteen." I must agree with this statement because all the reality and accuracy in this book will inform them that there's not always a happy ending and that war is nothing like Hollywood.



2. I was expecting a more in-depth analysis into the combat and mental condition of a medic, but what I got was a long drawn out story of himself. There was no connection w/ his fellow men and if there was, it was just a misconception. Basically, he just want to forget about the war, the horror, and the cruelty behind it. If that is the case, then why write the book.



3. I was disappointed in this book. Maybe I went into it with too high an expectation. I knew going in, it was a dramatized version of Mr. Litwak's experiences but I expected more insight into his job as a medic. there were relatively few scenes of his actually work. In that way, I would say the title is misleading. It really is a book of one man's army service in Europe during the later days of World War II. He seems to have disliked everyone he served with and Mr. Litwak has the right to be. there were more sex stories than medic stories. the Sgt. Lucca story I thought would help me gain more insight into the author. But it left me looking for more of an explanation of how Mr. Litwak really felt. Did he like the Sgt. or not? He seems to have been hurt by his death but I am not sure.
   Thebook overall does help one experience WWII from a more realistic standpoint. But a non-fiction approach would have been more of a contribution.



4. Leo Litwak's recollections of his service in WWII as a combat medic is not what I had expected. I had anticipated a memoir - instead the book is essentially a collection of vignettes and impressions the author had during his service in Europe in the final year of the war. Litwak admits in his foreward that unit names and places had been changed, and that some individuals mentioned in the book were composites of personalities he knew. I appreciated his honesty.

   After reading the book, I also appreciated his honesty in presenting his perspective on the war. The graft and looting by "our boys." The whoring around. The detached neutrality of working on the wounded, and the non-chalance of seeing so much death so often. Not everyone who served in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) saw combat; and not everyone who saw combat in the ETO was there from the Normandy landing to V-E day. Litwak was honest about his service, his experiences, and his impressions.

   As a combat medic from a later war, I had anticipated experiences and recollections similar to my own. While we had some experiences in common, we had many more differences as we served in two very different times. Nonetheless, the honesty with which Litwak writes of his time in Europe is not a romanticized or sanitized version of WWII. And aside from the obvilious shortcomings of his composites, it is real at an emotional (if not strictly historical) level.




5. This is a very good read. It speaks a lot about the relationships that develop (good and bad) as much as the war.

3 comments about A Memoir of Misfortune.

1. Ok, I must be honest, Zhu Hong (translator) was my Professor for my Chinese Womens Literature class and I might not have read this book otherwise. That being said, as individual and beautiful as the human mind, Memoir of Misfortune truly is a work of art. The book is written as an interior monologue by Su XiaoKang as he attempts to deal with the traumatic aftermath of a car accident in New York state. Blaming himself for the accident and the pain and suffering he has caused his wife, Xiao Kang expands the scope of his questioning to his involvement in the events leading up to Tiananmen Square and his whole life in general. This book is a testament to one mans spirit that struggles to move on from one hardship to another.



2. This book I found shortly before undergoing an operation and during a year of suffering many severe health difficulties. I was so struck by the way the author relates his wife's tragic accident, his feelings for his wife and I suppose was most involved with the testimonial he makes concerning his involvement in the circumstances leading to her accident. I wish my husband would read this memoir, it is so tender. I think the author is searingly honest in his account of these years. The text is healing, we learn from tragedy. It causes me to relate to how I am finding my previous life struggles to be reordered against the background of the loss of health. He yearns to live back in the ordinary that was his life before his wife was so hurt, to have known it for the gift it was. This book is a quiet call to the living. I hope it will be read and appreciated for the beautiful book it is.



3. The author of this book, Su Xiaokang, was a principle author of a six-part TV series in China in late 1980s, River Elegy, which "galvanized" the country due to its sweeping "indictment" of Chinese beliefs and values. The TV series won endorsement of then Communist Party Secretary, Zhao Ziyang. The ensuing intellectual debate was covered by prominent Chinese news media at that time.

   The author had been living in Princeton after 1991, among a small circle of exiled Chinese "elites" (some of whom had been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace or Literature). The author's observations of the lives of these exiles, who could barely speak English, are candid, succinct and insightful.

   The book is best in its chronicle of the exiles' lives, especially the tragedy of his own family, which is touching and personal. However, the author's reflections on life in China and America often suffer from sweeping generalizations (like his earlier TV series in China) with dubious connection to realities. Some of his observations on events outside of his immediate environment are factually wrong. For example, in discussing Chinese on the Net, Su mentioned (page 272): "During the bloodthirsty spring of Beijing 1989, several students in the California area who had never personally met managed to launch a Chinese news website." In fact, the Chinese News Digest (CND) was not founded by "several students from California"; websites (as we know today) did not come into existence until the 1990s.

   For people who would want to explore modern Chinese intellectual history, this book might be helpful. But it is hard to use due to absence of an index, and the book's disorganized narrative style.

3 comments about Acknowledged A Man.

1. I read with intererst the story of the Del Buono family as they fought for services for their son/brother. Barbara obviously has tremendous faith courage and strength. Her husband and children, esp. Mary, are also amazing. As the mother of a brain injured son I also am caught in the maze of TBI--and it is not pretty. Barbara has done a good job describing nursing home situations. Even though Nick's nursing home experience was years ago conditions in these homes, at least in Indiana, for TBI survivors has not changed enough. Reading this book has helped give me the strength to continue to fight for services for my TBI son.



2. It is an excellent resource which can help us all to deal with the difficulties of life and use them to create a better world where the wounded are cared for with heart, not just hands.



3. After reading this book I was so greatful for the excellent care hospitals now give.I am also thankful for all this family has done.

1 comments about Look, No Hands!: The Inspiring Story of Brian Gault (Hodder Christian Books).

1. I went to school with Brian and I find this a gripping disclosure of his life. Like Brian, I am a Thalidomide and find his potral of life as very true. Great book by good friend of mine!!

No comments about I Choose to Laugh: Faith in the Midst of Cancer.

No comments about Of Rats, Sparrows & Flies: A Lifetime in China.

No comments about I'm Third: An American Boy Of Depression Years.

No comments about The Good Old Days: Memoirs of Retired Harris County Physicians.

1 comments about Doctor's Son.

1. This book is similar to a kaleidoscope of many colors.Doctor's Son by David E. Mann,Jr. contains bits and pieces of historical facts that usually go unnoticed in everyday life.Laced with humor, this book chronicles the life of a humble man who became a genius in pharmacology and an amazing writer.

1 comments about When Down Is Up: Life with a Down Syndrome son..

1. I can totally relate to this book as I have a 5 year old son who has Down's. It fully describes how it is to have a child with special needs and shows the unconditional love a mother has for her son. It isnt just the persons with the disabilities considered special but the families into whom these children were borne to are all the more special because they have angels in their midsts.