5 comments about Keeping Faith: A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps.

1. First, a disclaimer. I am a retired Naval officer who spent a good amount of his career working with Marine Corps enlisted men. I have an unashamed bias towards the Corps.
   
   This book works at several levels. It shows the growth of a unruly but very bright young man and how he reacts to and comes to understand the hard discipline of an elite combat organization.
   
   The father, a country club liberal, is consoled by his social circle when the son joins the Marines (as an enlisted man, yet) while their children go off to Ivy League schools. The father comes to accept his son's decision, then becomes proud of the choice and what it has led to.
   
   It draws a stark picture of how discipline is instilled in a group of young men and women being trained for the most bitter kind of combat. And it shows the loyalty they develop for the Corps and importantly, towards their fellow Marines. The latter part of the book has several poignant scenes -- aspiring Marines helping a physically weak but dedicated young Puerto Rican boy through the trials of the final week of testing. He had the right stuff, he was one of them and they made sure he succeeded. It shows the tenderness they exhibited to a young, pregnant, unmarried female Marine after she and her boyfriend are separated during training.
   
   Whatever one's feeling towards the military, this shows how pride and discipline are developed and how important they are for a military force.



2. I had heard Mr. Schaeffer speak about his book and was anxious to get it for my husband. I am trying to read it now but it just keeps dragging on. He is a much better conversationalist. I am only one-third of the way through and I find myself having a hard time picking it up to finish. Maybe you need to be a military man to enjoy it. Yet again, his interview about the book was terrific!!!



3. My son joine the USMC early this year and recently graduated. My father was in the USMC as was my brothers and myself! We use to live at Parris Island, SC and I grew up seeing recruit training not only experiencing it. I would recommend this book if you or someone you know is either considering joining or has a son or daughter thinking about it. It does not 'candy coat' the experience. The vendor I purchased it from was quick and very courteous. It arrived in excellent condition and I'll order through them again! [...]



4. I found the part of the book written by the son to be very interesting.
   I believe he gave a very good insight about the trials of Marine boot camp. I started skipping over the father's part of the book as I did not identify with him. I'm glad I read it.



5. I loved this book. If your child (son or daughter) has joined the Marines, it is a must read. This book follows a recruit through boot camp, and the journey that his father takes too. They volunteer, we are drafted.

5 comments about Nimitz.

1. Some WWII commanders. such as Patton, Ike or MacArthur, seem to have a new book written about them every year or so. For no particular reason, others, no less important, seem to be virtually ignored. Nimitz is one of these men, and it is fortunate that the one biography (as far as I can tell) written about him is quite excellent. Potter writes very well, did some outstanding research, and has an enormous love for his subject, letting Nimitz's natural charm, humor, professionalism, and common sense come through on every page. My only real complaint is that the author's near worship of his subject precludes any real discussion of the admiral's strategy, decisions, and mistakes. Some nice maps, footnotes, an excellent bibliography. Definitely one of those books worth purchasing and reading over and over.



2. I bought this book at the Navy Exchange on a whim. Two pages into this book and I was hooked. After 20 years in the Navy after reading this book, I can see Nimitz's impact everywhere I look.
   Most biographies are written by hero worshiping sychophants, or worse written by the subject of the biography whose recollection of events are always flattering. Potter tackles the single most important man in U.S. Naval history with appriciation, but not at the expense of his detachment.
   You begin with the Admiral's family history, how his grand father came to America. You then follow his lack luster school performance that explodes into focused determination to pass the Naval Academy's entrance exams. Because the Admiral's claim to fame was his leadership during WW II, the lion's share of the book covers his assumption of command U.S. Forces Pacific and follows it through his presence at the signing of the Japanese surrender at Tokyo bay. However; the last few chapters covering his dedicated work to maintain the U.S. Navy as a seperate and powerful force is eye opening and gives the reader (especialy if your a sailor) a scare at how close the U.S. Navy came to being dismantled like it had been after every war.
   The thing I took away from the book was as you look around the Navy, many officers are detail minded. The higher the rank, the more of a bean counter they become. I used to be disappointed that we no longer had officers like Perry or John Paul Jones, that they had all become accountant politicians. However; reading this book, I now see that men like Jones, Perry, and Halsey might win battles. It was the detail minded officers like Nimitz that win wars. It is very obvious that in today's Navy officers are trained in the shadow of Nimitz. Many of our ceremonies are now patterned after the way that Nimitz conducted ceremonies. The way we refuel, the submarine, the way we detail sailors, so much of the Navy was forged by Nimitz.
   This book covers not only his triumphs but his defeats, his short commings. It deals honestly with the subject, with out elevating him to super human. You see a man. This book should be mandatory reading for every sailor on earth. I highly recommend this book!



3. Potter's biography of Chester Nimitz, CinCPac, is a good war biography. It can usefully be read in conjunction with Potter's volume on William Halsey, "Bull Halsey," and Thomas Buell's biography of the less flamboyant Raymond Spruance, "The Quiet Warrior."
   
   The book is functionally--but surely not elegantly--written. It traces the life of Chester Nimitz from his childhood to Annapolis to his rise in the ranks of the Navy to World War II and beyond. Much detail is provided, including information on his family life.
   
   The maps of the various campaigns in the Pacific are extremely helpful to the reader. The book traces the kind of decisions that Nimitz had to make--from replacing Admiral Kimmell after the surprise attack on Pearly Harbor to assigning Raymond Spruance to carrier command at Midway to relieving Admiral Ghormley at Guadalcanal with Admiral Halsey, to working with the mercurial General Douglas MacArthur, to the climactic battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
   
   This is the kind of functional biography that provides great detail on combat strategy and tactics as well as on the person being studied.
   
   A good volume if one wants to understand the role and importance of Chester Nimitz in World War II. Not an elegantly written book, but a good functional work.



4. E.B. Potter's Nimitz is an adequate depiction of the Navy's preeminent leader of WWII. Adequate, vice great, as Potter did not seem willing to criticize, although Nimitz was evidently a man who did provide few episodes worthy of criticism. He was loved by the troops, respected by his peers and immediate subordinates, and worked well with superiors (King, Knox, and Roosevelt) that demanded excellence in all of their subordinates. The reader may wonder why there are so few narratives dedicated to Nimitz during WWII, as compared to the plethora available depicting the wartime exploits of MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and Patton. It would appear that his quiet competence, as compared to the showmanship of some of the others, did not lend itself to a flashy best-seller, thus Potter is the only one who has attempted to tell his story.
   
   Potter did a good job, but his personal friendship with Nimitz appears to have rendered him incapable of criticizing the man. While Nimitz did apparently have few faults, Potter did a disservice to the reader by failing to scrutinize some of Nimitz's faults, such as his apparent indecisive streak when it came to strategic decision-making (for instance deciding the correct avenue of approach to Japan, whether the Philippines, Taiwan, or the Bonins, especially in discussions with Roosevelt and MacArthur).
   
   Also, as a practitioner, I felt that the lack of discussion of the specifics of operational planning and decision-making under Nimitz's command, missed an opportunity for comparison with the methods that the military uses, successfully or not, in today's formulation of strategy and operational construction.
   
   Finally, I would have liked to have read a little bit more of the leadership philosophy that made Nimitz successful during his years at sea. The chapter on his command aboard AUGUSTA went a long ways toward scratching this itch, but what the Navy leader of today needs is a discussion, through framework or anecdote, of what made a successful career.
   
   Despite my criticism, I have to say that Nimitz's life is one worth studying, and as discussed above, there are few choices of books dedicated to Nimitz's life, so I do recommend Potter's work. I would just like to see another biography written through a cynical twenty-first century eye, so that we can reap the benefit of a critical discussion of his mistakes, as well as his triumphs.



5. This is a wonderfully done work! The best account of the war in the Pacific I have read. The overblown accounts of MacArthur and Halsey over shadowed the real brains, the true hero of the victory. It depicts Nimitz as a strong, but caring man whose tactical and strategic skills are not widely known. It should be required reading for high school/college literature courses.

5 comments about Baa Baa Black Sheep.

1. I came to this book believing that "Pappy" Boyington was a pugnacious drunken spendthrift that the Marine Corps was anxious to be rid of, and that he may not have been the leading Marine Corps ace of World War II as he was thought to be. From what I had read, Boyington spent most of his time on the ground as a member of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as "The Flying Tigers," and was only credited with shooting down 3 ½ Japanese planes (although he claimed six). I also understood that Boyington left the AVG early and was the only man ever dishonorably discharged from that organization. In addition, I questioned his account of the final action in which he was shot down, another unseen action in which he claimed two more enemy planes.
   
   After reading this book, however, I'm not quite so sure. In it, Boyington readily admits that he was a "drunk" and a "bum," and he allows as how he liked to wrestle a bit. As to his claim of six enemy planes while with the AVG, his explanation is easily believable. As he explains it: In order to get credit for a kill with the AVG you almost had to bring your victim back to the landing field in your teeth and drop it where everyone could see it, whereas the majority of his kills had been 75 to 100 miles away, most times behind enemy lines. In addition, and most likely with some merit, he states that the records of his actions at Rangoon were lost when that city fell to the Japanese. With regard to his being "dishonorably discharged" from the AVG, Boyington acknowledges that he left shortly before the remaining volunteers were forced/coerced into the Army Air Corps as 2nd lieutenants. But once again his explanation rings true. Boyington correctly states that he wasn't the only member of the AVG to leave the group, that the reason he left was because he wanted to return to the Marine Corps rather than be conscripted into the Army, and that it was ridiculous to claim that you could "dishonorably discharge" someone from a civilian volunteer organization. As to his account of his final, once again unseen action, Boyington's account is so vivid as to be easily believable.
   
   Having read a number of books which touched upon the life and times of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington before reading this one, I had already formed a somewhat negative impression of the man. After reading this book, however, I have concluded that it is one thing to view a man from the outside, especially from a distance in time, recounting his every fault and failure, but it is quite another thing to view that same man from the inside looking out.
   
   So, although much about Boyington is and will always remain a mystery, he certainly was an American hero and he certainly could tell an interesting, believable, and highly entertaining tale. And this is one of them. But don't stop reading too early. You certainly won't want to miss the chapters in which he recounts his nineteen months as a "captive" of the Japanese. To me, that's the best part of the book. Six stars anyone?



2. PIPPY PAPPY SLIPPY SLAPPY DIS WAS A GOODY WOODY BOOKY WOOKY. PAPPY WAPYPY SLIPPY SLAPPY
   SQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH SQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHIM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHSQUISH SQUASH SQUISH SQUASH IM TAKEN A WASHIM TAKEN A WASH



3. The autobiography of one of America's top five aerial combat aces of World War II, Greg Boyington, is not only a great read about a very gifted and very human pilot, but also provides some enlightening historical insight that applies even today.



4. I was deeply touched by Pappy Boyington's thoughtful and apparently honest insights about himself in this book. Especially interesting was his descriptive telling of the 20 months he spent as a secret prisoner of the Japanese. His appreciation of cultural difference seems ahead of his time. His very human flaws made the book even more interesting to me. From the difficult upbringing he had, I can appreciate what he was to accomplish in his life (flaws and all).



5. My family and I enjoyed this show so much that my wife actually started clapping at the end of one episode! She didn't even realize it! I watched this show as a young boy and loved it. We really hope that the second season is put out on DVD!!!

5 comments about Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper.

1. Shortly into the story it becomes pretty evident that this wasn't the "confession" of an honored and admirable soldier. This is not a warrior who wanted to share his story with the world to ease the burden of killing men who were fighting for their beliefs, even if those beliefs where not the same as his.
   
   Jack was a soldier and sniper who saw "the dumbest man in all of Iraq" in the first day of battle. The Iraqi fighter was not dumb to Jack because he watched him do something truly stupid, like load bullets into his AK47 backwards. This fighter was "the dumbest man in Iraq" because he was 1/2 mile away and felt secure and concealed enough behind a thick bush to attack from that position (remember that these soldiers are fighting based on experience and not from years of hardcore training like our Marines). Jack took this son/grandson/cousin/fathers/brother/friends/Iraqi soldier's life from his family. I honestly believe that the Iraqi fighter should have been killed because he was attacking our countrymen. However, I would respect Jack a little more if he treated a man that was so destitute in his beliefs he was brave enough to attack an entire force of American soldier, with a little more grace and respect. Instead, Jack takes credit for his cold bore 1000 meter (hahaha...oh but his rifle was already zeroed into the EXACT, no kidding he says it in the book, distance of the target haha) shot that saved an ENTIRE BATTALIONS MAIN COMMUNICATIONS HUBS from the ONE GUY ONLY PACKING AN AK47.
   
   Sorry for the brief ramble, but this book is filled with complete ego. I am ex-military and have been hunting and shooting for 17 of my 25 years on this earth and I have more respect for the deer/elk/beer/mtn. lions that I harvest than Jack has for the soldiers he has killed in battle. Through the book I was trying to tell myself that a sniper has to have an inflated confidence in themselves, but this was ridiculous!
   
   By the time I finished I thought of Jack as a supply and backline soldier who wanted to try to convince SOMEONE that he was good at his job as a sniper because he couldn't convince the Marines. It seemed that he killed not only because it was his job, but because he enjoyed it as well.
   
   ~Cam



2. While the title suggests it is an autobiography the majority of the book is concerned with the authors time in Iraq during the campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
   
   The author was an experienced sniper with previous combat experience before going to Iraq. What comes through clearly is the very aggressive attitude of the Marine Corp and the author's desire to participate in the fighting. This is counter-pointed by an incident late in the campaign which obviously left a deep impression on the author and highlights the difficulties of modern fighting and trying to prevent civilian casualties.
   
   What also comes through clearly are the problems of trying to maintain a family life and being in an elite military unit. These problems led to the author's marriage breaking down and to his decision to leave the Marine Corp. He also details some of the frustrations he found serving with some people who are less than professional and his disgust at one person in particular being rewarded for his service was another reason for leaving the Corps.
   
   All in all, an intersting book with insight at what motivates a sniper but I would have liked to see more about the author's life other than in Iraq.



3. We're all raised hearing things like, "Don't hit your brother," and "Be a good boy," etc. So how does one go from being taught to "be nice" to being a trained killer? Shooter takes you inside the mind of a sniper. The author is a trained professional, and takes his "art" (as he refers to it) very seriously. Because he and others like him are experts at their job, American lives are saved. He admits to being haunted by his former targets in his dreams and is open about the strain of being deployed had on his marriage. Recommended.



4. The author relates his successful struggle with the USMC top brass to utilize the skill sets of Scout/Snipers in front line battle situations, rather than relegating them to taking out occasional designated targets. The editing is very poor leaving the reader the task of grinding through some very sophomoric prose, none-the-less, the story is worth the grind.



5. this autobiography largely focuses on the author's tour in iraq (operation: iraqi freedom), and while it does provide some brief glimpses into the mind and training of a sniper, the job they have to do, and the burden they carry, most of these positives are notably eclipsed by the endless complaining about the lack of action (re: fighting), macho head games with personnel he runs into, and redundant observations (ie. no emotional attachments with targets, no joy in killing even though it has to be done). all these factors significantly slow the pace of the book down until the next fire fight. in addition, the level of writing is a bit amateurish even with the assistance of a credited author. i would've preferred more detail regarding training, preparation, and skill settings rather than the glossed-over descriptions provided.
   
   the book isn't a total loss. the fire fights that are described are often times somewhat exciting, and it's interesting to get another perspective of the war in iraq as many of the operations often times coincide with other written materials by former marines on the war and have some overlap.
   
   note that i have the utmost respect for men and women serving in the armed forces and the sacrifices made. i do not doubt the validity of coughlin's stories, his toughness, or his skill. unfortunately, this autobiography falls short of my expectations based on the jacket description and the positive reviews from other readers online.

5 comments about The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War, 1846-1848.

1. A history book that you cannot put down. Dugard impeccably details the landscape of war and the tremendous strength, loyalty, leadership and courage of young men faced with insurmountable circumstances. The writing is fluid, informative, and rich. One of the many strengths of The Training Ground is the manner in which the chaos and brutality of war is contrasted with individuals and how their lives are forever affected. I've heard the term "page anxiety" used with history books. There is none to be found here. I found this book bold, informative and told from a perspective lacking in its genre. An exellent, excellent read.



2. I was very disappointed with The Training Ground. It is a good read but you can't trust it. There are numerious factual errors. On page 160, Mr. Dugard states "He (Abraham Lincoln)was born in Kentucky and lived there until moving to Illinois at the age of 22." Maybe Mr. Dugard considers the 14 years that the Lincoln family spent in Indiana as just passing through? The Lincolns moved to Illinois when Abe was 21 and they had lived in Spencer County Indiana since he was 7.
   When I started the book, I hoped to learn more about men that I knew mostly from the Civil War. The farther I got into it, the more I felt a need to double check Dugard's statements



3. Well written, easily understood exposition on a relatively unknown chapter of American History. I particularly enjoyed this glimpse into some of the formative experiences of so many of the men who would play major roles in the Civil War.



4. Dugard surveys Mexican War history from the biographical angle - following the trajectory of the new class of professional soldiers graduated from West Point Military Academy through their early careers on frontier outposts and their first battle action as comrades in the disputed Tex-Mexican regions.
   
   Dugard shows a deft touch in tracing the parabola forward 15 years to the Civil War when many of these great leaders, once great friends and brothers in blood, would face each other on opposite sides of the battle lines. By drawing the connections between these best-known leaders (primarily Grant and Sherman and Lee and Davis, as indicated in the subtitle) in the Mexican War, Dugard shows that he has learned the difficult principle of historical writing that sometimes the unsaid word conveys more than unneeded ones. Readers, better-educated on the leaders and battles of the Civil War, will draw the pictures of irony and poignancy in their own minds, and Dugard's book is better (and shorter) for it.
   
   While Dugard traces some of the background and history of the Mexican War to set the stage and move the interactions between the principles forward, this is not an intended or exhaustive history of the Mexican War and its battles. It is an eminently readable account of how these men's careers were shaped and deflected by the Mexican War, and how those experiences prepared them for the epic conflict yet to come.
   
   One thing that really jumps out is how personal the bonds of loyalty and national patriotism were at this early stage of American history. The now-familiar Stars and Stripes of the American flag was newly adopted, and the Mexican Conflict was the first fought under its red, white, and blue colors. In addition, the difference in standing, objectives, and accoutrement between the very small cadre of professional soldiers and the much larger corps of short-term, poorly-trained, and independently-led volunteers is a key component of the fighting and outcome of the Mexican War. In one of the more powerful passages of the book worthy of quoting at length, Dugard tells of the triumphant return home of Jefferson Davis after leading the volunteer Mississippi Rifles through the war:
   
   "But Davis and the First did not step off those steamships in the garish red and white uniforms that once made them so easily visible. The State of Mississippi had sent a new outfit to the unit that was more in keeping with the national spirit. The new uniforms had reached them at the mouth of the Rio Grande. When the First Mississippi walked down the gangplank and back onto Mississippi soil, they now wore blue uniforms, just like their regular army brethren. And so, on that day, after a lively barbecue that included thirteen rounds of toasting, the military career of Jefferson Davis came to an end--in blue."
   
   The mantle of united national power and patriotism, Lincoln's great accomplished objective of the Civil War (still undiminished in light of 145 years of history), blinds our backward-looking eye to the regional loyalty and feeling that pervaded those still-early years of the Republic. The personal bonds of loyalty, blood and friendship forged in the Mexican War overcame the regional disputes, political battles, logistical problems, and numerical disparity on those distant Mexican battlefields.
   
   Dugard does a very good job of telling those stories of blood and loyalty.



5. The idea for this book is an excellent one: to examine the individual experiences of Civil War (1861-1865) luminaries in the "training ground" of the Mexican War (1846-1848). Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Martin Dugard's THE LAST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS, I eagerly anticipated reading his latest work.
   
   I was sadly disappointed. THE TRAINING GROUND is not without its good moments, but it has the feel of a book that has been hastily and sometimes carelessly thrown together. According to Mr. Dugard:
   
   1. The U.S. won the War of 1812. (The war was, at best, a draw. We certainly didn't lose it, but we really didn't win it either.)
   2. Pickett's Charge was "one of the most famous cavalry charges in the history of warfare." (Pickett's Charge was made exclusively by infantry, supported by artillery. No cavalry participated.)
   3. Mary Lincoln "broke up" with Abe in the years before their marriage. (In truth, Abe was the one who got cold feet and broke off their engagement, not the other way around.)
   4. Zachary Taylor died on July 9, 1850, "after a celebration dedicating the completion of the Washington Monument." (At Lincoln's inaugural, almost eleven years after Taylor's death, the Washington Monument was still not completed.)
   5. Abraham Lincoln "was elected president in 1859." (Lincoln, of course, was elected in 1860.)
   
   Anyone can make a mistake, but so many blatant errors show a lack of knowledge or a lack of respect for the reading audience, or both. Even Dugard's prose has a rushed feel.
   
   One hopes Mr. Dugard learns from his mistakes. His book on Columbus showed great promise, but Dugard fails to live up to it here.

5 comments about Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine (Feral House).

1. On a political level, all Americans should read this book, no matter what their political leanings. The vivid prose repeatedly launches the reader right into the midst of the daily reality and ugly truths of a misguided war. A war that has destroyed more lives and more of our county's image than we can ever know. As an American, I feel it is an honor and an obligation to share these stories with Boudreau, out of respect for our country and the sacrifices of all veterans.
   
   And on a spiritual level, one of the most fascinating parts of Packing Inferno, for me, is how Boudreau guides us through his transformation from a young man, thirsting for war, to an older, wiser one, determined to make sense of war on a deeply personal and spiritual level. This book proves that through our most intense suffering we can also experience equally intense spiritual growth and self-understanding. We learn that, when life's pain is raw and overwhelming, it is only when we allow ourselves to face our fears head on, and reveal its truths through the telling of our stories, can we then come out on the other side transformed.
   
   The images and stories in this novel will stay with you, in your mind and heart.



2. An astonishing book, a white-knuckle read that is morally devastating, blackly humorous, sharply penetrating about military culture and utterly authentic in its voice and its ethical struggle to come to terms with the radical disconnect between the ideals of "mission" that send men to war and the withering realities of war itself. More important, Boudreau's experience underscores the degree to which "war" becomes a complex emotional state that travels home with the veteran and often undermines the bedrock certainties he clings to in order to survive. Recalls "Catch-22," "A Rumor of War" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," but this book is completely unlike any other book on war I've ever read.



3. How does a dedicated military professional change his views and reshape his commitments? In fits and starts, like a bad memory gradually coming into focus, Tyler Boudreau, describes his journey from charged up, battle-hungry young recruit to a Captain whose political and moral observations during a year in Iraq lead him to resign his commission after a twelve-year career in the Marines. This unlikely, even reluctant, anti-war advocate is a gifted writer. His story of the reconfiguring of a mindset and conscience is a compelling read--moving, brilliant, funny, sad, terrible. Traveling from the "foyer to hell" through the desensitization and shocking disparities of warfare, he offers quite an eye-opening, exquisitely frank glimpse into a universe totally foreign to me -- the Marine Corps in war-ridden Iraq.
   
   Boudreau returns to the familiar civilian world, alienated, isolated, full of the rage and hair trigger reactivity necessitated by violence but like Dante, at the end of The Inferno, eventually comes to see the possibility of a world restored. Clear-sighted linkages are drawn between the contradictions within the military and those afflicting our political leadership at large. He brings a cogent and fresh intelligence to his analysis. The word "clear-sighted" resonates about the book as a whole-there is an intense clarity to what Boudreau sees and a forthrightness and honesty in his describing both the outer landscape, external events, and the delicacy of the inner experience that is his transformation.



4. Tyler Boudreau's Packing Inferno is provocative and moving. It is the story of a gradual awakening. Boudreau does relate some hellish experiences in some detail, but he also interprets those experiences, and provides their context. Many of the best passages of the book are insightful descriptions of Boudreau's complex interactions with other complex human beings. Boudreau tells a gripping story of his own "unmaking," but, by placing his own trajectory in a larger context, he successfully builds a convincing argument against this war, and perhaps against all war.



5. In a word, this book is excellent. Captain Boudreau takes us on a journey, not only through the streets and countryside of Iraq during this "war", but also, honestly and movingly, through his own inner struggle as he searches within himself to reconcile his early years as a committed Marine infantryman with his existence in what we call "normal daily life."
   You will learn much from this book: about War; about the "war" in Iraq; about contradictions (not only in "war", but in all of us); and especially about how one man/soldier has bravely attempted to deal with the internal turmoil which results from these contradictions. And, you will become engaged and stay engaged through the entire book.
   Again: Excellent!

5 comments about An Ace of the Eighth: An American Fighter Pilot's Air War in Europe.

1. This book has some of the most memorable quotes, images, and sayings of any other book that I've ever read! The most humurous part of this book is when someone's radio mic got stuck in the on position and the pilot of the Mustang was talking to himself about the mission, the bomber crew, and one of the other Mustang pilots of his squadron. A memorable quote from this part of the book was, "I was laughing so hard, the flak didn't even bother me!"
   
   This book is very detailed in every way! Mr. Fortier takes you on a journey back in time in the way he describes his experience as a combat fighter pilot. He briefly describes his training experience to where it's not bogged down and yet is very interesting and then moves on to the types of aircraft he flew from P-39's, P-47's, and ultimately P-51's. Get this book! You will want to read it over and over again!



2. A real surprise. Written in 2002, I did not imagine that a biography about WW II air war written so late would be so good.
   
   Highly recommended.



3. This gives an excellent inside look at the workings of the Army Air Corp in Europe in WW II.



4. Ditto the comments and observations by Mezza. I picked this up at a book store to kill time on the plane while I was travelling. It far exceeded my expectations. Even the content attributed to other sources provides a reader with a real 1st person feel for the whole WWII European theater figher pilot experience. An excellent mix of in the air/ on the ground exploits. The author's stories and comments directly echo what I have heard from other WWII aviators and paint a much more complete picture of their lives overseas (ground and air) than what you might have concluded on the basis of Hollywood movies and historical accounts of air battles alone.



5. This is one of the finest memoirs of combat I have ever read, from any era. It is well written, insightful, and a great addition to any library. Fortier's descriptions of combat in the air and boredom on the ground ring true, and provide a first-hand view of the air war over Europe from 1943 through 1945.

5 comments about About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior.

1. This book was an inspirational read. Even though it takes forever to read this book, it's well worth the time. Hack's experiences shared in this book changed my outlook on life, and my outlook on human interaction/organization.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone, as I'm sure his experience can be applicable to anything you will ever have to deal with in life.



2. Excellent Read......... Highly Recommended ... 5 stars
   
   About Face chronicles the experiences of the youngest colonel serving during the Vietnam circumstances. The book itself begins in February 1951 with Hackworth facing the enemy in Korea and is divided into twenty-three chapters. About Face follows David Hackworth the length of his military journey from the days when as a young soldier nick-named 'Combat' he charged into the face of the enemy along a path to near ruin at the hands of disgruntled superiors. The work includes maps, author's notes, a foreword by Ward Just, an Epilogue and an Appendix including a Glossary, Index and final notes.
   
   About Face is a well written page turner presented in language clearly understood by the typical reader. The book is certain to interest those who have any link at all to the Vietnam situation faced by so many men and women from our country. The book helps to demarcate what happened, when and to whom.
   
   I first read About Face written by Col. David Hackworth during the late 1980s. I found it particularly helpful in helping me...a woman with little knowledge of anything military, understand better my children's dad, a land based Viet Nam combat vet and the problems he had to deal with before his death.
   
   As the wife of yet a second Viet Nam combat vet, special forces, I suggest this book for anyone who wants a better understanding of the debt of gratitude and respect we citizens owe those who served during the action in Vietnam and those who willing to serve in The United States Military today.
   
   Molly Martin
   Reviewer



3. Colonel David Hackworth was a soldier's soldier. Born too late to see active service in the crucible of WW II, he lied about his age and enlisted in the Army as soon as he could. Often credited as being the most decorated American soldier of his era, Hack was well-known within the U.S. Army for his courage, honesty, and derring-do exploits.
   
   Hack ranks right up their with the U.S. Marine's Chesty Puller and Gregory "Pappy" Boyington as the sort of officer who is a pain in the a** to have around in peacetime -- but who is exactly the sort of leader you want when the bullets start to fly. It is impossible to read about Hackworth's battlefield experiences during the Korean War without getting a lump in your throat for the privations those poor guys suffered. (Many U.S. Army units were airlifted from the States via Japan directly into combat in Korea, still wearing their Class 'A' uniforms -- totally unprepared for the Korean winters and the raging fighting they found upon landing.)
   
   Col. Hackworth's Vietnam experiences are fascinating, too. As he rose in rank he displayed an uncanny ability to call a spade a spade, and his dismay with how the war was being fought eventually led to his being personally cashiered out of the Army by the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army!
   
   Buy this book and read it -- you're in for a real treat! Hack was the real thing, and his demonstrated courage and abrasive honesty make him worthy of study and appreciation by both junior and senior officers throughout the armed services.
   
   Captain Michael L. Pandzik, U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired)



4. This is a story of a soldier in an army in decline, a lost war and a premature end of a magnificaint career. It is also the most motivating war story that I've ever read. It is the story of a man with barely a 7th grade education who joins the army at 15 years old and earns a battlefield commission in Korea and in Vietnam becomes the only soldier to be awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses, 10 Silver Stars and three times nominated for the Medal of Honor (which he did not recieve) and became the youngest Colonel in Vietnam. The book is a cry for military reform and it is also a war story. Hackworth tells of the desparate fights on nameless hills in Korea in a fasion that makes you wish that you were there, not an easy task, with the Korean War. When a lackluster soldier is killed Hackworth is proud that he died well and makes him a hero to the unit. He never seems to feel fear-"I guess I just like war...I like the cameradship. Adversity brings out the best in men"- Hackworth told Ward Just in the book "Military Men." In Vietnam Hack often took hopeless situations and turned them into victory. In a way his resignation was a victory, this self educated soldier stood up to a buracatic army that was losing a war while others went along. This is the most motivating book that I've ever read, so much so that I retured to active duty after reading it, insisting on infantry. David Hackworth may have been "Once An Eagle" but he was no colonel Kurtz-as the hardback dusk cover suggested. Hackworth died in 2005 from cancer, the only fight that he ever lost.



5. Best historical military related book I have read. Very well written and honest comments by the author and easy to understand. Great reading as well as a good history lesson on the U.S. army after WW2 by one of America's greatest warriors!

5 comments about Gone Native: An NCO's Story.

1. I have read hundreds of Vietnam nonfiction books and this is in the top 15 for sure. Great book and flows great, did not want it to end...



2. This was one of those books I didn't want to put down until I was done.



3. Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down. I kept coming across places and people I knew and it brought back a lot of memories. I eventually supported several of his units with intelligence and map overlays for "sensitive" operations, and was in-country myself for six years. I had several run-ins with jerk officers but thankfully they were rare. But I did pull my .45 on three Pentagon O-6s at a SOG briefing when they refused to assist us. Luckily, an SF 1SG Deluca grabbed me and said they were not worth killing as they ran from the room. A couple of weeks later I was jerked out of VN and sent to Germany. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to know how close many of us got to the Vietnamese and the war, and I would very much like to be in contact with the author.



4. This was a good book to read. It gave a new perspective from "pre-military to post. I considered giving it 4 stars, but for an overall score, I thought 3 stars was more justified.
   
   I can recommend Gone Native to anyone who is thinking about purchasing this book, but it is not a page burner and it seemed to ramble a little towards the end. But in no way would I want a perspective purchaser of this book to think it's not a good one. It is. He is frank and honest and what landed him in the stockade was quite refreshing. (You always hear about the other guy. Well, Cornett was the other guy. Thank you for your honesty.)



5. A well-written document by one of the troops on the ground. Crazy moments of a GI under stress, a good feel for the local hill people, and remembrances of buddies in the field. Some of the actions and soldiers described by Cornett have been written about by others and it is always good to see another version of events, not for differences but for shades and nuances to flavor the stories.
   
   A personal growth story: A boy does good, does bad, then good again and manages to live through the process in a war that featured so many wrong decisions from higher and so many incompetent lower and mid-level officers more concerned with careers than with their men.

5 comments about In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars.

1. Sites' book is just fantastic. He chronicles his experience as an online journalist, giving background information that goes beyond the stories and features on his website.
   
   The most striking thing about the book is its structure: Each chapter is divided up into smaller sections, each quickly digestible and ideal for stopping. This book is great for reading on the bus or at work (you know who you are!)
   
   Sites makes a real effort not to give us "misery porn," and this book self-consciously details this effort. Sites obviously gets emotionally bogged down by the constant scenes of depression and poverty; going back to the structure of the book, each story, or anecdote, can strike you in a different way. While he writes about an amputee's miserable life in one snippet, another snippet describes the joy that same amputee experiences while singing. I think Sites really tries to balance every tear with a smile.
   
   This book also deals -- both implicitly and explicitly -- with issues in journalism and media/communications: ethics, professionalism, the role of media, new teachnologies, etc.
   
   An all-around good read, I don't rate many books this highly.



2. This is a tough book to read. Not in the sense that the writing lags or is difficult to comprehend; not in the sense that it isn't engaging and powerful; but purely because it's easy to forget (as Americans) that the world isn't quite as safe and wonderful as we so often innately believe.
   
   After reading this book, I was struck with an immense realization that there's a lot that's wrong in the world. The realization was overwhelming at times, which made me wonder how Sites was able to handle all the different scenarios over just the course of one year. This is the type of book that I'd love to drop in the hands of a post-modern thinker who would argue against absolute truth. You don't believe there's true, absolute evil in the world...tell that to the Colombian land mine victims or the child bride in Afghanistan.
   
   Despite the chilling realizations that this book brings, or perhaps because of it, you should read this book. It will open your eyes to the world and should motivate you to action.



3. Having lived & worked in some of the places Kevin writes about, I was amazed at his accuracy. Few writers grasp an in-depth understanding so well in such a short period of time.
   
   His title for part VII " My Third-World America: A Wealth of Information, A Poverty of Knowlege" struck a chord with me: I have long been amazed at the average American's lack of knowledge or even basic awareness of the world outside America's borders.
   
   Thank you Kevin for your insight and sacrifice in both your book and the Yahoo! Hot Zone project.
   
   Yahoo!, thank you for your supoort of the Hot Zone: I have now become a fan and investor: as you support an import project, I feel I must support you.



4. I first heard of Kevin Sites when he came to give a talk to a journalism class at my school, which I crashed. Because I have heard him speak, I admit that I was predisposed to like his book. What he attempted to do was amazing, and I was very glad to find this book at the airport bookshop while I was waiting for my flight. This book, though billed as "current events" is more of a memoir of his personal experiences in the conflict zones he covers. He gives the basic history of each, but what he does that is more valuable, in my opinion, is give a human face to the conflict. He tells the stories of those affected by these wars: the innocent bystanders, the soldiers, and the victims. I wish he could have given more depth to each but it was a necessary weakness when he was only in each area for a few short weeks.



5. Easy read with an interesting viewpoint that we don't usualy have access to. We are so safe and pampered in the USA, it hurts to know how the rest of the world is forced to live. This book will increase one's knowledge about what's going on in the rest of the world.