No comments about T.E. Lawrence.

No comments about Thomas Paine (Very Interesting People Series).

2 comments about I'll Fly Away: A World War II Pilot's Lifetime of Adventures From Biplanes to Jumbo Jets.

1. Very interesting history - especially his personal experiences during WWII and how he came to be a world-class pilot of jumbo jets from crop-dusting!



2. If you're a pilot, you'll enjoy hours of reading pleasure that take you from barnstorming to jumbojets. If you are intimately acquainted with a pilot, this book would make a fabulous gift.

No comments about BEHIND ENEMY LINES WITH THE SAS: The story of Ame'de'e Maingard, SOE Agent.

5 comments about Visions from a Foxhole: A Rifleman in Patton's Ghost Corps.

1. This is one of the best personal memoirs of World War II that I have read. The author describes combat as seen through the eyes of an American GI artist.
   
   As you read, you will see the glint off the edge of a helmet, feel the ground shake from a nearby shell, and hear the engine of a tank drown out the sound of explosions.
   
   The book offers a stark view of combat during the last days of war in Germany. You will meet the wounded 16-year-old German prisoner who couldn't stop crying. Some of his American captors felt sorry for the boy and plied him with K rations.
   
   You will read about the German medic that the author wounded with a hand grenade. The GIs treated the medic as one of their own when they found grateful letters in his pocket written by captured GIs that he had aided.
   
   Pencil drawings of soldiers accompany the text. The author drew many of these while he was at the front. He protected them in a cardboard mortar tube that he carried wherever he went. Drawing his fellow GIs was his way of paying tribute to them.



2. This is one of the best books I've read about the life of an infantryman during WWII in the ETO. The story is intense, spare, well written, and the accompanying artwork is priceless. If you want to have a "feel" for what it was like to live in a foxhole, this is the book you should read.



3. My father was in the 94th infantry. This book provided much insight into what must have been a horrifying experience for him.



4. This is by far the most authentic and extraordinary account of the life of an infantryman in the ETO I have ever read, (and I have read many). Foley's narrative is casual in style and unfolds easily - as if you were listening to him tell the story in person. Focusing on the trials of combat, through the eyes of a replacement soldier, (Foley himself), the reader is offered a unique view into the circumstances that transformed a stateside trained Joe into a hardened combat veteran. Foley's storytelling allows the reader to join in his thoughts in the order they occurred and see the sometimes disturbing path that any human mind might take when subjected to such a stressful and horrific event as going from boy to man under the strain of continual combat. The unique perspective of a soldier who discovers his artistic talent during combat offers the amazing eye of an "objective observer" not often found in such accounts. Foley, as an artist, was indelibly moved but much of what happened to him - allowing him to capture in very simple prose a true sense of how dramatically he was altered. His artwork, (with a number of pieces included in the book), is outstanding and truly delivers "a view from a foxhole" - it is first person and personal. An outstanding combat record that should not be missed by any student of history.



5. This was my father's unit in World War Two, so I felt a very personal connection with this book. It gave me a much better feel for what my father and so many others had to suffer through. My father would never speak to me about the war or his Bronze Star when I was a child. I now understand why.
   
   There seems to be some question about how much is actual fact and how much the author "filled in the blanks" in his memory. That I can't say. But I have read many, many, World War Two autobiographies and biographies, and this is one of the best for conveying the misery of the experience. If nothing else, this is a testament to the courage of the many men who walked into battle, day after day, in spite of knowing what they were about to face.

3 comments about The Bells of Nagasaki (Japan's Modern Writers).

1. The author's friends, colleagues and wife were killed instantly by the atomic bomb and he died of injuries after a few years leaving his children orphans. He was a Christian, a part of the Nagasaki Christian community which had experienced persecution from the time the Portuguese brought Christianity to the city. His view of God's provision as it relates to the horror of the bomb is very profound. I wish the book had provided supplementary information regarding the author's life and the Christian community in Nagasaki.



2. a Japanese friend of mine was born in nagasaki and her birth was just after the war her mother has suffered alot from the after affects of this terrible tragidy of nuclear bombing and my friend gave me this story to read. I was moved to tearsseveral times from the accounts in the book.



3. We all know the tragedy from World War II when Atomic bomb was exploded over Hirochima nd Nagasaki. It leaded to a indescribable loss. People loss their lives and suffer from many illness.
   This is the very book that is written by the one who was really in the event.. Mr. Takashi Nagai is one of the doctors who try to save the survivors and cure the patiences. It is a very tough loss for all Japanease people. So this is a book that is so toughing and very insightful.
   Why this book get only 3 stars !!!
   My reason to rate this book only 3 because the writhing style. This book is too emotional. It is really too much. The fact of the event isn't combined with the feeling in a very proper ratios and it leads to be a too depressive book.
   But rather than this, I still recommend this book to anyone. If U leave the too-emotional part out. U will get the very true story about a group of people who fight the unfightable, who try to do their best to help other injured. On top of that, this is the story that will remind us that "No Moer War" please.

No comments about Terrible Terry Allen: Combat General of WWII - The Life of an American Soldier.

No comments about Alice-But Not Through The Looking Glass: Memories of a Spitfire Pilot.

1 comments about BARKER VC - William Barker, Canada's Most Decorated War Hero.

1. Many times great heroes are forgotten in favour of more popular ones; however, in this book, Wayne Ralph presents not only an excellent account of Barker's war career, but also his life before and after the war. The reader is aquainted also with the facts that for years after the war deeply hurt most air force pilots. This book is the best I have read about William Barker.

4 comments about Georgio Italiano.

1. Georgio Italiano has both emotional and dramatic qualities with dashes of humor thrown in. It is truly a testament to basic humanity, the love between husband and wife, and a son's love for his father. The author, H. D. George, quickly gains your attention and keeps it throughout the book, right down to the postwar epilogue. Photographs and newspaper articles add interest as does the copy of the dreaded Telegram from the War Department. The author has taken the wartime events of his father's life and transformed it into a riveting story!



2. This book tells how it actually was in WW II. The fear,the human care for one another, and most of all the elite friendship creatd by this Italian family. This book should be read by the current generation to make things right once again. Tom Brokow should be in on this one. Sincerely,

   Michael E De Frank




3. This book tells how it actually was in WW II. The fear,the human care for one another, and most of all the elite friendship creatd by this Italian family. This book should be read by the current generation to make things right once again. Tom Brokow should be in on this one. Sincerely,

   Michael E De Frank




4. For those that are 'historically challenged' this is a story of the factual events during war time. It encompases the deep devotion of family; both genetic, and chosen. Aprehensive at first to read a 'historical' book, I found myself captivated by the fast 'what-happens-next' pace. Once reading this book, which only took 2 days; I found a fonder sense of what it is to call someone family. I recomend this book to anyone interested in a tailspin story of love, fear, friendship, and heroism.