3 comments about Survivor From an Unknown War.

1. I purchased this book for the Soviet and World War II history. It opened my eyes to some of the most complex, important and unknown aspects of that period. I loved reading "Survivor" because the subject, Jay Narzikul, led one of the more interesting lives of our era, replete with staggering world events, love, dirty and clean politics, deceit, adventure, heroes and fools, murder, freedom, and the pursuit of justice. The story unfolds like the best of novels.



2. What an incredible book! In addition to a moving presentation of a fascinating life, the book opened my eyes to hidden momentous folds in the fabric of history. We have all read history as dictated by the winners and explained by the losers. Mr. Crane shows what those squeezed in the middle have to say.



3. As the story unfolded I came to know and love Isakjan . This was a man who grew up in the most difficult of times, and he survived impossible circumstances while maintaining a great and dignified human nature.

   The politics of this book are clear and honest. Isakjan makes political comments that appear to be as open and fair as any I have ever heard. The fact that the author wrote this book from years of conversations with his subject makes this biography even more compelling. The author appears to have done some extensive research to verify the accuracy of this story and the footnotes and extensive bibliography give me confidence in the factual information that is provided.

   I thought that I knew about WWII, but this book provides vision for the political events that are being played out today. I think I will read it again, and then send a copy to a friend.

5 comments about Stay Strong Stay Safe, My Son.

1. This book is more concerned with the writer than the son...should rename the title.



2. I am a Marine Mom who used this book as my bible to help me through a deployment in Iraq. I loved this book and recommend it to any new Marine Mom, Dad, wife. It will help you through a tough time and teach you on what to do in your new world as a Marine/Military Family. Semper Fi. Susan Haggerty, a Proud Marine Mom



3. An awesome book really gives an insight to what a family goes through when their child joins the military. As a wife of a Marine and several deployments I would advise families to read this book as a tool for survival - and also to others so that they can appreciate what it means to have a Marine in the family in war time.



4. I read all the reviews on this book before purchasing it. What an awesome book. Read it in one day, could not put it down. My son is in boot camp in San Diego as I write this. That was my inspiration for buying and reading this book. So far everything that was writen in this book has been true. Just hope my son doesn't have to see as much as this mom's son had to endure.



5. My son is currently serving with the Marines in Iraq. I have just finished reading this book. There were many similarities with my son and the author's son. We will spend our first Christmas without our son as he will still be in Iraq. I was very offended about the author's comments about the French. I have raised our sons to accept all people, no matter what race, religion , or heritage. Recently I took our 16 year old son to France and I am looking forward to taking my Marine there one day as well.
   
   Cathie Drapalikova Jarvis

4 comments about A Surgeon in Combat European Theatre-World War II, Omaha Beach to Ebensee, 1943-1945.

1. Inspiring pictures of societies in England, France, Germany and Austria in the 40's.Analysis with such a high sensibility and far reaching perspective that they seem written in the 90's. A conscious soldier and doctor at war with honor. Humor instead of truculence proves to be effective to make read and feel. Humorous at difficulties of a sophisticated mind within the hardships of war-field life. Humorous at the many fake sons of Victory, like France or Austria, which lived the following 50 years on the myths of all having been in the Resistance to the Nazis, when actually 30 to 40% of every State in Europe had embraced rightist to fascist ideas. A must for anyone interested in euro-american history, sociology, and collective psychology.



2. My Grandfather wrote this book and personally I loved it! He has told me about his expierences freeing the concentration camp. I give it a ten, not just because I know him but because I thought it was well put together and I reccomend it to everyone.Even if you can't stand the thought of concentration camps or war it describes to you what really happened as if you were really there. Bahan McDermott (Age 12)



3. Fifty years after WWII, it is rare and unusual treat to read a firsthand account of the Allied advance through Hitler's Fortress Europe from D-Day to VE Day. Dr. McDermott's account is based partly from memory, but mostly from the hundreds of letters he wrote his wife during the course of the campaign. A half-century later, Dr. McDermott thought to throw the dusty cardboard box of correspondence away, but fortunately for us, his daughter convinced him otherwise, and he decided to take the letters and write this book about his extrordinary experiences.

   In the 1990's, our collective memories of WWII are shaped by Steven Ambrose and "Saving Private Ryan." This book rounds out these accounts with another, more thoughtful side of the GI's experience. There are accounts of shelling and blood, but the book focuses on how simple acts of kindness or simple pleasures of normal life -- a French peasant giving a US soldier some apples, or a beautiful sunset over Caen in June 1944 -- assume such poignant meaning and enlarged proportion.

   Dr. McDermott was one of the first doctors at the scene when the Nazi concentration camps were liberated. His account of the suffering is mournful and harrowing. Throughout the book he talks about Nazi brutality, but it isn't until the final chapters that he sees firsthand to what depths that brutality would sink.

   For anyone interested in WWII, European History or the Holocaust, I would highly recommend this book.




4. My Grandfather,Dr.William V.McDermott,has told me much about his experiences on the Omaha Beach and the terrifying seens in Ebensee. His pictures of the concentration camps help a 13 year old girl like me really understand some of the real meaning of war,although,nobody could ever know what its really like....unless they were actually there. I enjoy listening to his engrossing stories and this book was just a whole new one to catch my breath and fufill my thirst for history and information.

5 comments about Into the Tiger's Jaw : America's First Black Marine Aviator - The Autobiography of Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen.

1. INTO THE TIGER'S JAW has been an inspiration to my students and to me. In Lt. General Petersen we met a courageous man who was not afraid to stand up for what he felt was just and honorable---a man of integrity who overcame obstacles that would have defeated a lesser man. We felt shame at the injustices that he often endured and pride in his accomplishments. Thank you General Petersen and J. Alfred Phelps for this magnificent book and for introducing us to another American hero and role model.



2. It's one thing to hear about how great someone is; it's something totally different to have met that person and to KNOW how great that person is. Lt. Gen. Petersen was my Wing Commander while I was stationed in Okinawa (Headquarters, G-3) during my '83-'84 tour of "The Rock." Though we chatted briefly on a few occasions after his afternoon workouts (yes, he ran daily with that bad hip), he helped me forge an extremely strong sense of duty and honor, and he has been a very positive influence in my life that carries on even today. What's great about the book is that it grabs you and dives right in, taking you on a spellbinding trip that explores the heart and soul of a true battle-hardened, no-nonsense warrior. It could also serve as a seminal work on the history of race relations in the military over the past 50 years. Readers will be thrilled, fascinated, and even brought to tears as they become one with the words which flow so well that it's almost as if General Petersen has a direct link to your brain. There is high drama on all fronts, whether it's in the cockpit of an F-4 Phantom sustaining 37mm anti-aircraft fire, or in the military courtroom showcasing some of the world's most notorious people. The story of Lt. Gen. Petersen's personal life and his career in the Corps will be very inspirational and highly motivating for anyone who reads it. What else would you expect from a Marine?

   Semper Fidelis.




3. As a black Marine (1961-1965) I found the book to answer a lot of my questions, and to help me understand what was going on in my world at the time. That's because I had a very good relationship with the others members of my team who were all white. The only person I had a problem with was my Lt. and I know he just didn't like black folk. His book said the things that needed to be said, he told the truth about the times and what he had to do to overcome things. I felt that in many ways his story was mine, although I only spent 4 years in the corps. Again thanks for your work. Once a Marine always a Marine.



4. Into the Tigers Jaw is a very impressive account of Lt. General Frank Petersen's life in the Marine Corps. J Alfred Phelps does a splendid job here depicting the determination and perserverance of a highly decorated Marine who paved the way for today's generation of Black Marine Officers. Petersen's strong will and devotion to duty enabled him to succeed in a organization at a time when Black American's represented such a minute percentage of the ranks in the Armed Forces. There is never a dull moment in this book, it grips your attention from beginning to end.
   I borrowed the book from the library, after reading it I bought it, and today it's part of my private library.



5. This book should be required reading on college campuses thru-out America. My opinion. I was fortunate enough to meet the General also on the "rock" in '83. I was busy working in the pharmacy(Hospital Corpsman) at the flight-line clinic and turn around to see this tall General standing there. He ask me for some aspirins for his bad hip. I guess he'd just finished flying. I have never forgot that meeting. I could see how he could succeed against any odds, he had a presence that could not be denied. Truly an American treasure.

No comments about Confederate Guerrilla: The Civil War Memoir of Joseph M. Bailey (Civil War in the West).

1 comments about It Took Heros: A Cavalry Chaplain's Memoir of Vietnam.

1. One of the VERY few Chaplains in Vietnam to get the Combat Infantry Badge (you have to get shot at a lot for that). He feels he needs to be 'with' the grunts to serve them, so he goes on patrols and the guys really like him. An interesting point of view and a good read.

1 comments about Navy Diver: The Incredible Undersea Adventures of a Master Diver.

1. It's been a while since I read this book, but remember details as if was yesterday. It didn't inspire me to be a hardhat diver, cutting away anti-submarine nets in the Golden Gate, spending hours in a de-compression chamber, or talking like Donald Duck in a heliox atmosphere, but the events related by Joe Karneke stimulated me to learn more about them in the years to come. I read this book around 35 years ago, providing a young teenager a view on a world under the sea that was real, immediate, and interactive with man the achiever. (I always thought it would have made a decent motion picture.)Buy it for the young and curious, and it may plant a seed of inspiration.

5 comments about A World Apart: Imprisonment in a Soviet Labor Camp During World War II.

1. A World Apart is reminiscent of A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch. Where A Day in the Life... is defined by a mood of monotony and despair, A World Apart provides greater detail in the events defining the two year prison existence of Gustaw Herling.

   The book is beautifully written and completely unsentimental. There are no lessons in the power of the human spirit. It is the men who do not cling to hope who have a chance of survival. Hope means recognizing the obliqueness of the present situation. This knowledge is what brings despair and death.

   This is the most graphic account I have read of the gulags. Gustaw manages to step back from the events taking place and with out sentiment or condemnation report. Herling writes that inhumane conditions will change the behavior of those individuals affected. Some of the prisoners actions can be explained in light of this. Highly recommended.




2. Perhaps the best summary of this book comes from Bertrand Russell himself who wrote an introduction to the first English edition of "World Apart" in 1951: "Among the many books that I have read about experiences of the victims of the Soviet prisons and camps, the `World Apart' by Gustaw Herling impressed me the most and is best written. This book possesses very rarely seen power of simple and lively narrative and it is completely impossible to question anywhere his truthfulness."
   
   In spite of this testimony from one of the greatest intellectuals of the XX Century, the book did not enjoy much recognition for many years. Even today, more than half a century after its publication, this masterpiece still remains in relative obscurity, save the Herling's native Poland. It is an example of a thing done by "a wrong guy at the wrong time in the wrong place". Czeslaw Milosz explained that condition somewhat like this: After the war Gustaw Herling was known more for his service in the Polish Army of Wladyslaw Anders considered at the time, especially in France and Italy, as Fascist and the book was clearly anti-Soviet. At the same time the prevailing mood, especially among the left-leaning intellectuals was decisively pro-Soviet. After all the Soviet Union was an Ally who played decisive role in the defeat of the Nazi Germany.
   
   The true nature of the Soviet system was not fully revealed and acknowledged until the publication of Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (1963) and, more importantly, "The Gulag Archipelago" (1974). Important as these works are, however, the testimony of Herling preceded them by more than a decade and it is the first, as far as I can tell, in depth account of the reality of Soviet system. Unfortunately the works by Solzhenitsyn did not do much good to redeeming this book's value. Perhaps, they even overshadowed it.
   
   The "World Apart" is an account of the real events that happened during Herling's "tenure" in the camps of Kargopole in the deep North of the Soviet Union. And the real were the people he wrote about. But this book is not merely an account of these unspeakable events. Herling goes much further. He offers his analysis of "what happened how and why". And he offers the portraits of people describing what can happen to a man under the conditions of extreme terror, cold, hunger and overwork. It is a warning to all those "homegrown moralists" who in the comforts of their secure existence in freedom feel in their rights to pass judgments on others regardless of circumstances they really know nothing about.
   
   However horrific were the events described and however terrible was what happened to and with the people in the camps the overall "climate", if you will, of this book is not altogether gloomy. While not concealing what happened with the inmates in terms of their own behavior, Gustaw Herling refrains very consistently from passing judgments on them. The inmates were ordinary people and their misery, including sometimes complete moral disintegration and loss of dignity, was inflicted upon them and they were the victims. One cannot demand impossible from others and cannot expect something he had not proven capable of delivering himself.
   
   But his judgment of the nature of the Soviet system itself is unmistakable and uncompromising. It is astonishing that even today while there is hardly any confusion as to the nature of the Nazism, there is still much ignorance, misunderstanding and under-appreciation for the evils of Communism, including it's most degraded Stalinist brand. "World Apart" by Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski fully deserves to be recognized as one of the most in-depth, original analysis of the nature of the Soviet system (and beyond) and is a genuine masterpiece of the literature of the XX Century. If there is a work that this book should be compared to it is Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Notes from the Underground".



3. The imagery in the book is not for the faint of heart. Its a brutal book - a study of the human condition when devoid of hope, set against impossible odds, and where a temporary relief from the pain may turn out to be an insufferable shock.
   
   Its also a deeply moral book - that seeks to find answers to the most grotesque acts of depravity in the context of these acts... where a man's face cracking under the weight of boots may be the path to freedom.



4. I first read The Gulag Archipelago when I was in middle school, and it left a lasting impression. What I hadn't realized was there were other authors who had written about the subject before Solzhenitsyn.
   
   Herling's book is a very readable introduction to life in the GULAG; he was a prisoner for eighteen months until he was released to work as part of the war effort. Told from a first-person perspective, it's not as detailed and doesn't present as many disparate views as The Gulag Archipelago but is still very interesting and enlightening.
   
   It's especially recommended if you're curious about the subject and don't have the patience or the time to work through Solzhenitsyn's works.



5. This is a true story of the Gulag. Gustav Herling was arrested because he fled across an international boundary and the Russians suspected he was related to Hermann Goring. Of course this was crazy. At the time, Russia was allied with Germany, and Herling was fleeing the Nazis. His one and half years in a Gulag camp in the Artic north is featured in this story. He relates how prisoners were sapped of their energy and then died. The prominent theme was the hunger of the prisoners. They were slowly starved to death. Other stories relate the one or two days a year the prisoners were given off, the disgraced NKVD prisoners and their fate, and the cultural activities.
   
   This is an interesting read. This is not for the feint of heart. Murder, rape, hunger, and the loss of humanity were what happened in the camps. Herling portrays this vividly in this book. The book blasts the system of slave labor in the Soviet Union.

5 comments about Samurai.

1. A dramatic first-time look at the human side of a former enemy in the Pacific. All will gasp at the brutality & severity of pilot training in Japan in the late 1930's. Sakai's story will translate into any language and remain in your heart long after you've finished reading.



2. This is a very readable, exciting story of a warrior, who seeks flight training in the early days of Japan's Imperialistic expansion, and who is the best Japanese Imperial aviator to survive the war and to have never lost a wingman. Many of his fellow aviators are killed in the war. In the tradition of the honor bound tradition of the Samurai, he had respect and admiration of his adversaries in this war of brutality.



3. I first read this book while stationed in Korea in 1957. For anyone at all intrested in combat flying, this book is an absolute read! Saburo Sakai was not the greatest flyer in the Japanese Navy, however he was good enough to have survived 3700 hour's of combat flying from 1937 to 1945, 1500 hr's. in the marvelous Zero. He is credited with some 64 allied air kill's, and in one of these air battle's, he was badly shot up. He was blinded in one eye and shot in the leg and arm, and flew his aircraft, over water, some 100 mile's further than it could fly. (Almost 500 mile's) To read this Autobiography of one of WW2's greatest Fighter Pilot's is an All Day and half the night, do not put down, Heart Pounding Enjoyable Read ! A MUST READ !



4. I first read Samurai while in High School studyhall. This was circa 1964 to 1967. I remember buying it at the school bookstore. I always thought that the Japanese were the worst race that had ever come into existance, partly because my father was in the Pacific in WWII and had been wounded. He was not a pilot but just your everyday seaman that was defending his country. My Father was killed in a car accident on Dec. 24,1953 when I was 4yrs. old. As a result, I always tried to read different books about the war in the Pacific because my Mother couldn't tell me much or just didn't want to talk about it.
   After reading the book, I changed my mind about some of the Japanese Military,espically the Navy pilots. I was so impressed by the exploits of Saburo Sakai and his hornorable means of waging war, that even I thought him to be a Hero of sorts.
   I hope that he is alive today...........but if not, I hope his soul rests in peace.

   Stevo




5. I first read this book in in the eighth grade. It was so good in fact, that I literally did not put it down. I have read it three times since, and it has lost neither its freshness nor its impact.

   The highest scoring Japanese ace to survive World War II, Sakai's book was the first of its kind--a first hand account from the "enemy's" persepective. It was astoundingly popular and Sakai became somewhat of a hero in the United States, and until his death from a heart attack in October 2000, he received countless "fan" letters, all of which he answered.

   His story chronicles the rise and fall of not only the Japanese Naval Air Forces, but Japan itself. The thrill of victory and the bitterness of defeat are crystal clear. It is amazing that a story translated from one language to another can be so vivid and engrossing.

   For a brilliant history lesson about the Pacific War during World War II that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is the one. Through it all, you are there with Sakai be it in the cockpit or on the operating table. The "Classics of Naval Literature Series" version is superior to all others (for reasons explained in its FOREWORD). Highly recommended.

5 comments about Hannibal (Wordsworth Military Library).

1. Hannibal by Ernle Bradford is a fine and enjoyable read about the history of the Second Punic War, with a principal focus on Hannibal's invasion of Italy and the subsequent 17 year occupation. It is obvious that the author is an admirer of Hannibal, and a grudging admirer of Rome. In some ways Hannibal is treated as a almost mythic character who not only was a military genius but attempted to fight a noble war. The Romans, on the other hand, are portrayed as devious, untrustworthy with their only saving graces being their perseverance and ability to eventually adapt to the superior abilities of Hannibal.

   The book greatest failures lie in the descriptions of the major battles, especially Cannae. One of the greatest military feats of history is dealt with in a few pages. While Bradford does describe the basics of the battle, he does so in a very perfunctory manner. The same is true for the other major engagements. Further, the almost total lack of maps makes the battles and the troop movements difficult to follow.

   The strength of the book is in the description of how the Romans eventually prevailed and Hannibal's miscalculations of the Roman persistence. After the destruction of up to 70,000 troops at Cannae, and numerous legions prior to the battle, most empires would have crumbled. Rome did not. The reasons for Rome's survival is the best reason to read this book.




2. This biography made me wish to meet the famous Hannibal. The research is well done and now I have a good understanding of the role Hannibal played in this period of history. The only reason I gave this book a 4 is because it was a little on the dry side. That may be due to the reader's voice as I listened to the cassette, or because there just wasn't enough "heart and soul" in the telling of the history. That is, I learned tons about Hannibal's military movements, strategies, battles, etc., but a very minute amount about his character and feelings. This is probably not the author's fault, however, because he refers to the ancient sources as not passing down much about Hannibal's character for us to draw from.

   It wasn't until the last chapter or two that I felt I was starting to get to know Hannibal as a man, with references about his wit, humor, and his sly ability to sneak away unnoticed as he was hounded by the Romans. At the end, we are treated to a few of his quotes which give us a little glimpse into his personality. At that point I began wishing I knew more about him, felt a certain empathy with him, and wondered if by the end of his life, he felt he had thrown it away in a useless cause. The author reflects on this a bit, and concludes that even if Hannibal and Carthage had won this war against the Romans, it really wouldn't have changed history that much, rather it would only have slowed the Romans down for a little while. I agreed with that conclusion, and not only felt sorry for Hannibal, but sorry for the human mind that causes us to slaughter one another for .... what?

   In spite of the occasional dryness of the telling, I was fascinated by the information presented about Hannibal's career and the political and military setting of the nations involved. I appreciate having this knowledge.




3. Nice book. Well written, based on good sources, and about one of the most exciting historical figures of all times. Even long after his death, one cannot underestimate Hannibal. Hannibal should have been one of the characters in the 1988 film "Bill and Teds Excellent Adventures."



4. Informative without being too technical in a military sense. Major battles were covered, but not in minute detail; which I often find boring. Overall strategies are covered without the step by step walkthrough of each battle.
   Not really knowing a lot of specifics about Hannibal, I thought this was a very good book to start off with. I had read Bradford's work on Thermopylae and liked that. Hannibal is similar in style. It is obvious that Bradford admires Hannibal, but he balances that out with an almost equal admiration of the Roman's ability to withstand and ultimately defeat him. I came away a little surprised with a sense that Hannibal had a great sense of humor and that he realized his attempt to break Rome was in vain fairly early in the effort. It is probably that, in the end, which I like about Bradford's style - particularly in this book; I have much more of a sense of who Hannibal was than just reading a history of Hannibal.



5. The best book I've read on the best general ever.
   
   Andy Johnson