5 comments about Flags of Our Fathers (Movie Tie-in Edition).

1. I'd read "Flags of Our Fathers" after the superb "Flyboys," and perhaps it was only too easy to be disappointed. "Flyboys" is an amazing book, both focused on the immediate and on the greater picture; even for people who've read plenty of history, there are fresh revelations on every page.
   
   "Flags of our Fathers," on the other hand, is a much more conventional history book, much more narrowly focused. Bradley does do a good job of reaching beyond his father, as he didn't have to do; but he doesn't do a particularly good job of bringing readers into the moment, or of putting them into the greater context.
   
   The story of the men in the famous -- almost ignored -- photo is one that could be told, and should have been told, and was told well enough in "Flags of our Fathers." It's just hard not to wish for something a bit more, as when the author caught his voice in "Flyboys."



2. This is super book by James Bradley. It is a colorful, engrossing account of not only the larger battle of Iwo Jima, but also the lives of some typical citizen soldiers before, during and after the war. The book tells the only-human story behind those iconic marines in the famous photo.



3. I saw the movie first and later on read the book. The book has a lot of information that re-caps events that have taken place and explains places. Bradley did a remarkable job. The story is nice and an excellent piece of literature that all Americans should read.



4. This book is a poignant reminder that freedom is never free. The book is as much a tribute to the men who gave their lives on the island of Iowa Jima as it is an exploration of the lives of those who raised the flag in one of the most iconic photos of all time. Flags of our Fathers aptly illustrates the bravery of our servicemen in the bloodiest battle in the history of the Marines. Every American needs to read Bradley's description of this battle and the human cost of our victory in WWII.
   
   Bradley deftly humanizes the flag raisers, painting their lives with careful detail. He is always fair, portraying their successes and failures with an even, historical tone. At times there is a sentimental quality to his writing, but this doesn't detract from the book as a whole. Who would not have a certain level of sentimentality writing about their war-hero father and his comrades?
   
   This book is a captivating examination of all that is right, and unfortunately, all that is wrong with America and the WWII era. The selflessness of the servicemen both in combat and then as part of war bond drives is both heroic and admirable. The way the US government treated these men, and the way they preyed on their heroism is disgusting and shameful. The US propaganda machine, the racism suffered by the Native American Ezra Hayes, and the failure to offer our soldiers any real counseling or assistance with their mental health after their return to the States are equally disgraceful.
   
   It would be nice, if some 60 years later things had changed, but just go to a movie theater and wait for a National Guard commercial, and you'll realize that as a Nation we are still using our servicemen and women as pawns in political machinations. Research the way soldiers returning from Iraq suffering PTSD are being treated, and it quickly becomes apparent that we have many of the same problems now that we did then. We need to start acknowledging our soldier's bravery and sacrifice without entangling them in the dirty world of politics. We also need to take responsibility for their mental health after we send them to war.
   
   Flags of our Fathers does not take a stance on the modern context of these issues. It doesn't need to. It describes what America did well, what it didn't, and the very real consequences of both extremes in the lives of the men portrayed in the book. It should be a lesson to us all, and this is why I believe every American should read it.



5. I was very surprised after reading this book to learn that the flagraising on Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima was nothing more than a simple replacement flag implant. These six men were brought together from all parts of the country, assigned to Iwo Jima along with thousands of other young American men and women, and by sheer circumstance, helped one another replace a crippled original flag on top of the mountain. A photographer happened to snap a shot of the flagraising, and instantly became a national symbol of courage and eventually the monument of The Marine Corps Memorial. The book is filled with clear images of life for a World War II soldier (Pacific Theater), strength, love, friendship, humility, fear, courage, and extreme struggle. I recommend this book to every American citizen.

5 comments about The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier.

1. The "diary" (it was put together years after the Napoleonic Wars0 privides the reader with a decent perspective on the hard life of a conscript in Napoleon's Grand Armee. The fact that a conscript was literate is in itself remarkable - even more so when you judge the book's command of language (maybe with a little "help" from the editor.) But the book, as short as it is, is not for everyone. I would recommend it to those who are familiar with the Napoleonic campaigns, military historians, or those (like myself) who enjoy memoirs. The brutality and senslessness of the combat, and especially his account of the retreat out of Russia are fabulous. Less so the rest of the book, especially the letters at the end.



2. I find this book to be a great read. Almost everyone has some knowledge of the glory of Napoleon and his mighty army but few have heard about the common soldiers who fought them. This book truly depicts the hell that is war. Although it's an easy read for anyone, it's of considerable historic value. It provides a first hand account of the methods of warfare for the better party of 16th-19th century. Excellent read, go get it.



3. I had absolutely no knowledge of war in general or of this era but just happened upon this book and found it a totally compelling read. Absolutely fascinating. Keep in mind too that I am female, college educated (engineering/art) but one who avoided all history and related classes like the plague in high school & college--but I truely enjoyed this book and it made a huge impact on my mind. I plan to insist that my children read it. It certainly makes one thankful for what one enjoys in our society today.



4. An outstanding book for anyone interested in history. Although it was somewhat common for politicians, generals and admirals to keep logs, it was extremely rare for a person of lower rank to write anything. Mainly because few of them could read or write.
   
   The main part of the book and by far the most interesting is the authors diary of Napoleon's march into Russia during 1812. Nearly half of million men entered Russia. Jakob details the problems of such a large army and the lack of food. The Russians were destroying everything whilst in retreat. These problems however were nothing compared to that which was to come after the army left Moscow to return home. Only 25,000 from 500,000 survived. Jakob barely got out alive despite the hunger, attacks from other soldiers in his own army and the Cossack raids onto the rear of the retreating army.
   
   The book was not written as a daily diary. That was just not possible. Jakob wrote the diary years later. The main item that stands out is that he details the facts without clouding the images with any political views or emotions.
   
   I truly wish that there were more books of this nature by the common solider or sailor.



5. After reading a brief biography of Napoleon, I picked this book to get acquainted with the tough lives of soldiers. I agreed that Napoleon was a great soldier and strategist, but the events that ocurred in the Russian Campaign were disastrous, with a total disregard for the lives of soldiers, especially the allies. These people died slowly, mostly because of starvation and cold, fighting and dreaming to get home alive.
   
   A few people did manage to get home save, and this story is a unique account of that, in particular when the army have to "reculé" from Moscow. A fascinating book to learn the unknown facts of wars in this period.

5 comments about The Volunteer: The Incredible True Story of an Israeli Spy on the Trail of International Terrorists.

1. Very interesting, insightful and captivating.
   
   A couple of comments regarding the editorial reviews presented here:
   
   - A self-account book need not be balanced, show what the "other side" think of it, etc. You want a balanced view? Get a history book. The author here conveys his view, his beliefs and his experiences, which lets the reader get a little glimpse into the Israeli life and ethos.
   
   - The occupation is not "intact" in Gaza Strip, when Israel fully pulled out, after intense international pressure to do so. The current situation is that some locals are actually fleeing the "free" area of Gaza to the still-occupied West Bank.



2. "Volunteer" is the story of Michael Ross. He was formerly a Canadian citizen who had served in the Canadian Army. He went on a hitchhiking tour and wound up in Israel. He moved into a kibbutz and married an
   Israeli girl. He then served in the Isareli army(IDF). After his service in the IDF he was recruited by Mossad. He describes in detail the hard
   training he had to endure. His first assignment was the Caesarea. During
   the Gulf War he had a hand in marking a ship that was shipping scuds from
   North Korea to Syria. On his next assignment he slipped into Iran to make
   an assessment of the Iranian nuclear program. The book points out the deep
   hatred that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadine jad has for Israel. It also
   points out the Hezbollah-Iranian connection. Ross was next sent to Khartoum in Sudan to target Hezbollah members. Khartoum was known as Terror Central. Osama bin-Ladin used to be part of the network in Sudan.
   Ross was next promoted to the Tevel Department in the Mossad. He had a role catching a Hezbollah agent named Ramez who was based in the Detroit area. There was also a section concerning Jonathan Pollard. Ross also was
   active in catching the terrorists who set off truck bombs in Nairobi,Kenya,and Oar Es Salaam. This proved to be a very informative book by an actual spy.



3. Unlike the obvious fiction of "Vengeance" (the pseudo-history on which the movie Munich was based) this one was indubitably written by one who really has "been there, done that." It's a fine book unencumbered by the sort of purple prose that often infects memoirs of first-time authors, though it does contain an inexplicable howler about the thoroughly mythical supposed efficacy of Black Talon ammunition.
   
   As for the Publisher's Weekly review, it's politically-correct drivel that disgraces the Amazon web site.
   
   Anyone who is interested in what really went on should buy this book.



4. This is such an incredible (and true!) spy-story. The writing is sharp, and keeps you turning the page. I usually don't read non-fiction narratives, but I loved this book. It is such a great story, and it is so well written, that you can't do anything but be caught up in this tale.



5. This Book is simply AMAZING! I've read lots of books regarding Israel and Mossad, and this is one of the BEST!.
   
   It's a Must!
   
   Long Live Israel!.

5 comments about Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz.

1. This harrowing book traces both the life of 'the angel of death', the psycopathic monster, Dr Josef Mengele, and his victims who survived.
   Mengele carried out a range of horrific experiments on a range of people, mainly twins. particularly Jewish and Gipsey children, and various others.
   As Mengele's life is described, so is the life of the survivors, the horrors that they experienced at Auschwitz and how they lived in the decades afterwards.
   "Most of the twins began their descent into Auschwitz by witnessing their entire families being led away from them to be killed. In their special barracks, located just yards away from the crematoriums, they observed the Nazis' extermination of Jews at close range. Twins as young as five and six years of age endured torture, daily blood tests and starvation diets, as well as facing exposure to epidemics of cholera, tuberculosis and other deadly diseases that were rampant because of unsanitary conditions. Worst of all, of course, were the Mengele's barbaric pseudoscientific experiments. But as horrific as their lives were the twins enjoyed a special privileged status, for they were regarded as "Mengele's children". And as such they were spared the random selections and march to the gas chambers that threatened every other Auschwitz inmate'.
   
   The testimony of a handful of survivors illustrates the horror of Mengele and Auschwitz, and the scars of the experiences suffered by his victims, and how they experienced them through their lives.
   In the testimony of Moshe Offer, who was twelve years old at the time: 'When they opened the doors to our cattle cars, there were lots of dead children. During the trip, some mothers couldn't bare to hear the sound of their hungry babies-and so they killed them. I remember two blond, very beautiful children in my car, whose mother had choked them to death because she could not stand to watch them suffer'.
   
   Eva Mozes, who was nine years old at the time, recounts how, at Auschwitz-Birkenau, she and her twin sister were packed into filthy, rat infested barracks, together with hundreds of other little girls.
   She remembers seeing three dead children on the ground. Later they would always be finding dead children on the floor of the latrines.
   From their barracks they could see huge, smoking chimneys rising high above the camp. There were glowing flames rising above them. ' " Why are they burning so late in the evening?" I asked the other children. "The Germans are burning people they answered".
   Twins Hedvah and Leah Stern. who were thirteen years old at the time, recount how Mengele tried to change the colour of their eyes:' One day we were given eye drops. Afterwards, we could not see for several days. We though the Nazis had made us blind.
   We were very frightened of the experiments. They took a lot of blood from us. We fainted several times, and the SS guards were very amused.
   We were not very developed. The Nazis made us remove our clothes and they took photographs of us.
   The SS guards would point to us and laugh. We stood naked in front of these young Nazi thugs, shaking from cold and fear, and they laughed."
   The first few chapters of the book deal with Mengele's role in Auschwitz itself, and the rest of the book relates Eichmann's experience in hiding in South America, and the way the surviving twins built up lives and families for themselves, most of them in Israel, while the nightmare of Auschwitz would scar and effect them forever.Most of the twins longed to emigrate to the Land of Israel, then the British Colony of Palestine.
   They soon found that the Communist rulers of their former homes in lands like Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, were hostile to the Jewish people too, and pesecuted those who wanted to go to Israel and those who wanted to hold onto their Jewish faith, as 'Zionists'. Thus developed that form of Leftist anti-Semitism known as anti-Zionism, which was incubated by the Soviet Union, and is endemic among the international left today.
   The rest of the book deals with how Mengele dwindled in exile into a neurotic and bitter non-being. The surivors describe their lives in Israel and elsewhere, after the war, their often fearful behaviour, their nightmares and their treatment, and also how they built up new lives and families, which live on in the Jewish homeland.
   Mengele died after suffering a stroke and drowning in 1979, in Brazil.



2. This is a very good book with factual accounts from some of the youngest twins. What I found confusing is the way the author wrote the book. There seems to be some jumping around, comparisons of sorts. This book thoroughly explains how the surviving twins got together and met with the author, as well as the founding of their organization. This book does not go into great detail as to what specific types of horrific experiments were done, as most of the survivors able to tell their stories were very young at the time, and/or they have repressed their memories of the horror. It does give second-hand accounts of the 'goings-on' of Mengele by those that survived.



3. This book exceeded my expectations. The way the author goes back and forth between survivors' accounts and factual information about Mengele was a great way to keep the book interesting. I was intrigued from beginning to end. A lot of books that just rehash the past can be boring but this book was truely great. I learned a lot of factual information but also was deeply drawn to the survivors' stories. Highly recommended!



4. This book takes us from the youths of of Josef Mengele and his victims (briefly) to Auschwitz to the Nazi-hunting of the post-war period to the late 1980s. It tells these stories in alternating voices, stressing how necessary it is to do so: these stories are inextricably linked.
   
   The title is a bit misleading; this is perhaps weighed more on the side of a brief biography of Mengele, with emphasis on postwar activities. The stories of a group of twins break into the narrative in italicized bursts, fracturing it-- and thus reminding us all of how the horrific events of World War II fractured individuals, families, communities, nations.
   
   The book is an oral history of Auschwitz, told by those who survived it. Certainly, it is well researched (especially when it comes to the information about Nazi hunting and war tribunals), but the information in the "spotlight," so to speak, are the unsilenced voices of the twins. Do not expect pages of historical detail about what types of experiments were performed, reviews of medical cases, lengthy discussions of what occured in labs; that information is not there. This is a book about a handful of people and their stories, and while the book tells Mengele's for him, the twins tell their own. Particularly on the part of the twins, it is more a psychological study than a historical one (we could go into how psychology and history are intertwined, but it would be best for the reader to reach his or her own conclusions after reading the book).
   
   The text is deeply moving, often shattering. The voices that shatter the narrative of Mengele's life, denying the murderer any seamless biography, are vivid and alive. The authors picked a unique and, ultimately, extremely effective way to deliver biographies of oppresser and oppressed.



5. Where's the real info, the real description of Mengele's experiments, even a picture of the man??!! Not in this book.
   
   Let's get some things straight here: German Nazi scientists were extremely well trained, meticulous, and the creme of the creme for most of the 20th century. Mengele was no different. He was not sloppy, or random, or "insane" (in the conventional sense), or simply tortured kids for his entertainment. He was (from the 1940s to the 1960s at least) the World's premier expert on creating mind controlled people based on extreme trauma. Various types of trauma were inflicted on people to such an extent that their minds "fractured" (he also developed the best drugs to give them to prevent them from passing out, such that their conscious minds had to "deal" with the enormous pain, etc.). He controlled the "fracturing" process and created many different "alters" for different purposes within these people, essentially multiple personalities all within the same person, but completely unaware of the other. In other words, he perfected the manufacture of what has now been coined, The Manchurian Candidate, through trauma based mind control techniques. He did not originate the premise (as it was used in Egyptian times and perhaps earlier), but he greatly advanced the "science" of it.
   
   With this in mind, he used very young twins for a number of practical reasons: 1) twins represent the perfect control for experiments, 2) he found it was easier to fracture and "cement" the process in children under the age of 5. In fact, he knew that if a pregnant mother was traumatised and delivered a premature infant, it was even better. He also experimented on physically traumatising the fetus directly, 3) due to the Nazis great essoteric and occult interest, he was fascinated by the "etheric connection" twins have and was interested in quantifying it for military communication, 4) he realised that memories and emotions are carried within the blood, so he was also involved in blood transfusions and primitive organ transplants to test his hypotheses, and 5) it was even rumoured he was also interested in and advancing human cloning. In short, the discoveries that Mengele made and the results he was getting interested every government and military entitiy in the World, and they all bidded for his services at the end of WW2, irregardless of any morality or ethical questions. This is why the real documentation of what he was doing was not publicly admitted to. Instead, we were told he was just insane and wanted to dye all the chidren's eyes blue and convert them to Aryans.
   
   As it turned out, the Americans won the bidding, and Mengele was transferred along with THOUSANDS of other Nazi scientists in what was termed, "Operation Paperclip". Some of these Nazis joined the OSS (which later became the CIA), some formed what became known as NASA, others formed what became known as the NSA, but Mengele and his ilk continued with their mind control stuff within military facilites in Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, and possibly even Canada for MANY YEARS. In fact, he trained many other "programmers" in his techniques. Marilyn Monroe was what was termed a "Presidential Model" of mind control slave and many others have followed within Hollywood and the music business. In fact, Britney Spears is the best modern example of a mind control slave who is losing her programming.
   
   Mengele may have made appearances in South America from time to time, or maybe it was a body double, but he carried right where he left off in the dark days of WW2. And his program carries on TODAY. So, this book talks about some poor twins and its a sad and horrific story, but completely misses the point as to what Mengele was, where he went, and what became of him. He, along with the other Paperclip scientists, infiltrated the US and formed a 4th Reich of sorts...

5 comments about Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Units.

1. I bought this book hoping to see if Aaron received any Krav Maga training and what he thought about it, and I got what I wanted. His descriptions of the Krav training were terrific. It's pretty aggressive stuff, always testing your determination. But he also tells a compelling story. Growing up in LA, seeing his parents hang out with the stars, he needed some direction in life. He, of course, goes to Israel, joins the military and tries out for their special forces. Very gritty descriptions of the hell they put him through, the long-distance march, the heat, becoming delirious. He details some of the Israeli special forces missions, which are fascinating. I loved the story where he pretends to be a reporter "interviewing" a bad guy. Then he unleashes some pent-up aggression. I wanted more special forces stories. But I realize he can only tell what he is allowed to tell.



2. Aaron Cohen is the epitome of strength and courage. He's a man who wouldn't let anything stop him from achieving his goal; making aliyah to Israel and joining the toughest counterterrorism military units in the world. The reader gets an inside view of Israeli special forces training along with Israeli history, culture, and values. Cohen tells it like it is, very in-your-face. It was very hard to put down and an intense fast read. One of my favorite moments was when Cohen returned to the kibbutz and Gali greeted him in Hebrew and treated him like a fellow warrior. Very touching, inspirational, and fascinating story.



3. I found this book to be very interesting. It takes you thru the life of an individual who leaves CA to return to Israel to become a special operator. It was interesting to read of the differences between American and Israeli training methods. Easy to read, well worth the money.



4. A good read and a fascinating story, Cohen becomes a man in the IDF and makes it to a special unit. The story brought me back to my days in the IDF. Some details are a bit exaggerated for effect or inaccurate but it doesn't take from the quality of the story.



5. I got this book about 20 days ago and I just finished. If I can use one word to describe this book it will be "introspection". The author spends about 50% of his narrative on his Jewishness and his desire to be in touch with it entirely. A lot of the introspection is about his childhood and upbringing; moving to Israel; life in Israel; and his feelings/reactions to special operations in the IDF special forces (Duvdevan). The other 50% is very unrevealing in the way of military operations. Very little is conveyed in the way of tradecraft and what is revealed is very basic. He does provide a glimpse into IDF special mission units, but just a glimpse. Of course, he is protecting operational security and methods, but it leaves a lot to be desired of a book with such a title. It seems like the story glosses over missions and operations and then he abruptly ends the book with his exit from the Israeli Defense Forces. It then becomes a little preachy on the lack of American resolve post-9/11. Otherwise, a good book with something to be desired. I came away feeling like he could have written more.

5 comments about Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS.

1. I bought the book based on the other reviews.
   
   I really enjoyed the book and would recommend the read to anyone keen on the topic. Rather than rehash what others have already written, why not purchase a copy and enjoy a few evenings engrossed in an accurate account of what it really was like fighting a war in the far north.
   
   10/10



2. This book is quite a read. I found it eye-opening, interesting and even a bit entertaining. I thought it was great how the author tells his story, alternating between his time in the field and his time in captivity. It made for an almost movie-like experience. I also found the authors thoughts, upon learning of the Holocaust, and his reactions and feelings on the subject, were quite interesting. Foremost being, he felt the name and image of the elite Waffen SS was soiled by Nazi goons.
   
   I highly recommend this book. I've read several first-person memoir type accounts, and this is by far the best I've read so far.



3. Basically this is a memoir from a german ss soldier's accounts of his experiences through World War 2. He talks about some of his early child stories from when Hitler was rising to power as a fuhrer in germany and with his unit through many battles. It does NOT promote any PRO-NAZI propaganda and is pretty neutral for any reader that is interested in the germans from World War 2. Please remember that not all of the germans were evil and corrupt and these were men serving their country just as ours are serving the United States. I hope this was somewhat helpful to someone curious about the book and if I can enjoy reading it ANYONE can! :)
   
   Jerrod D.



4. This book is excellent and far better than The Forgotten Soldier. The account is believable and in great detail, written sooner by the author than most memoirs are.



5. This book is the memoir of a young German who in 1943 at the age of seventeen volunteered for the "Waffen-SS" (the military SS which was distinct from the political SS that ran the concentration camps) and subsequently served in the SS Mountain Infantry Regiment 11. He saw combat first at the Karelian front in Northern Finland against Soviet Russia and later at the Western front against the Americans and their allies. The memoir is the honest and accurate account of a brave soldier who sincerely albeit erroneously believed that he was fighting for a just and noble cause. It deals as much with the struggle between opposing armies which took place on the battle field as with the struggle between supposed duty and nagging doubt which took place in the author's mind.
   
   I can attest to the honesty and accuracy of the author's account because I too was a German soldier and had similar experiences which I reported in my book "A Mind in Prison" (Potomac Books, Washington D.C., 2000). I also fought in Finland though not in Karelia but north of it directly at the Arctic Ocean. Having been equally inexperienced and idealistic as the author of "Black Edelweiss," I volunteered for military service in 1939 at the age of eighteen and went through the same struggle of the mind between supposed duty and doubt.
   
   While reading "Black Edelweiss" I sometimes had the feeling that the author described my own experience. It was the same enemy, the same fight, the same landscape, the same cold, the same makeshift bunkers, the same insufficient rations, the same exhaustion, the same endless winter-night, and the same northern lights. Maybe the author experienced even harder fighting than I did, because the Waffen-SS was an elite corps which was always deployed where the fighting was the hardest. Nevertheless, I know how it was, and I have no doubt that the author is telling the truth.
   
   When Finland surrendered in September 1944, the German troops in Finland began a long retreat to Norway, avoiding neutral Sweden. The author's SS-unit marched from the area East of Rovaniemy (the capital of Lapland) to the area of Tromsoe in Northern Norway and from there to a sea-port where they could embark on a troop transporter to Germany where they were urgently needed. My military unit took the northernmost route from Kirkenes to Hammerfest where we embarked on a troop transporter which took us to Narvik. Both operations
   were exceedingly exhausting marches through the Artic night.
   
   Whereas my unit remained in Narvik till the end of the war, the author's unit was moved to the Western front which in early 1945 was already within Germany's borders. There they offered the last resistance to an enemy which was far superior in terms of numbers and material. They fought as bravely as usual but after heavy losses finally surrendered, landing the author in an American prisoner of war camp.
   
   The book is well written and documented with rare photos from the war in the Arctic. Since the author wrote his book immediately after the war while still being a prisoner of war, while I wrote my book more than fifty years later, the author does not completely come to terms with his fight for a criminal regime and with the hardships of a prisoner of war stemming from the collective accusations against the SS as a whole, whereas I had the advantage of having gained a soothing distance from the tragedy of WWII. But this difference diminishes neither his book nor mine. Each in its own way is a testimony before the court of history about brave young men who thought that they were doing their patriotic duty while in reality they were serving evil. The reader be the judge.

5 comments about Flyboys: A True Story of Courage.

1. Can't criticize this book strongly enough. It's viciously anti-American and very often at odds with the facts. It tries to draw moral equivalency between the US and Imperial Japan despite the enormous and obvious differences between the two. For example, the book tris to equate the American fire bombing of Japan with the horrific atrocities wantonly committed throughout Asia (particularly in China, Korea, and the PIs) by the Imperial Japanese Army and completely overlooks the obvious difference that the allied civilians who had been so brutally abused had SURRENDERED, while the Japanese civilians killed in the US air raids had not. Another striking difference was the Flyboys -at great risks to their own lives - dropped leaflets before the attacks warning the Japanese civilians to evacuate their cities or face the consequences, while the Imperial Japanese Army did just the opposite and lied to Chinese, Korean and PI civilians in order to concentrate them in a place where their exterminations could be more readily facilitated.
   The book also claims that the US bombed defenseless civilians - a flat denial of fact. In fact, the those civilians had radar to tell them of the incoming raids, a formidable array of anti-aircraft batteries, and as well as fighter protection.
   As for the claim that it was immoral to bomb Japanese cities independent of the issue of civilian casualities, and that Americans were therefore a being highly hyprocritical, it must be pointed out not only were they valid military targets, but also that their destruction would serve as a warning to future aggressors that such atrocities against US allies would breed retaliation and would not be cost free.
   Eqally outrageous is the large number of glaring historical errors the book contains. At one point the book quotes a source who remembered the smell of jet fuel on a US aircraft carrier in WWII?!!!!! FYI: The US had no operational jets in WWII. Similarly, the book quotes a supposed eyewitness to the DoLittle Raid, a British diplomat who was supposedly stationed in Tokyo at the time, despite the fact that Britian would have been at war with Japan for several months by that time.
   A far better title for this book would have been FLIGHTS OF FANCY.



2. I listened to this unabridged book on audio. It was a long listen. The story loosely centers around a number of servicemen who were shot down over Chichi Jima (north of Iwo Jima) and their stories. One of those shot down was President George H. W. Bush (he obviously survived). However, these stories only take up about 30% of the book. The rest of the book focuses on the Pacific theater in World War II and the role of air power in defeating the Japanese. The history of Japanese-US relations and of military air power are also explored.
   
   I found the book to be very interesting, even considering I listened to it for about 14 hours straight. The history and background are illuminating when considering the story of the flyboys and the larger war in the Pacific. I came away from the book with an increased appreciation and understanding on the need to use the atom bomb, the very different psychology of the Japanese, and of the incredible destruction Japan endured. It was a very good history lesson.
   
   There are shortcomings. The book does spend a long time on tangents which can be distracting. It also gets a little grisly at parts. However, I believe most students of history will appreciate this book.



3. I first heard of James Bradley's "Flyboys: A True Story of Courage" from someone who was in the process of reading it. As the person doing the recommending had not yet reached halfway point of the book, he emphasized the role of former President George Bush's flying in the Pacific and of his being shot down. This was a story about which I knew at least a little. Still, the reader was quite enthralled and strongly recommended that I read it.
   
   I ordered my own copy thinking that the book dealt primarily with Bush's flying record. Once I started reading, however, that impression quickly proved to be an inaccurate. Flyboys delivers a disturbing but definitely worthwhile look into the horrors of war in the Pacific theater during the Second World War. Despite the fact that the book deals primarily with the barbaric treatment of several US airmen shot down and captured by the Japanese, it is certainly not an exercise in Japan-bashing. Bradley brings balance to the discussion of Japanese atrocities by mentioning similar--although, clearly, much less systematic--misbehavior on the part of US and allied soldiers.
   
   You will be riveted by Bradley's telling of this story. You will also be moved. By the end of this book, exhausted, you'll learn a redeeming and terribly moving secret involving one of the Japanese captors.
   
   John Cathcart
   Author Delta 7



4. James Bradley is a great author. He writes very directly and flowingly. The book reveals what actually had happened to the emen who had a special mission to fulfill in WWII. It reveals the heinous details as to what had happened to the men. The information was withheld from their families by the U.S. government in order to not make the families of the fallen men be devestated. Bradley gives rich details as to what happened to the men. His first few chapters cover how Japan had risen to become a formidable force in the world at the time prior to WWII. Such historical information is crucial and informative to the history buff. Bradley, as he has done in "Flags of Our Fathers," gives biographical information about each soldier, hence, keeping their existence in high regard and esteem. President George H. W. Bush's in the secret mission as a Navy pilot is also told in this fascinating book. Generally, he has revealed what was a classified and widely believed to be forgotten phenomenon as to the real truth about the men who were to carry out a secret and important mission at Chichi Jima. I reccommend this book to all Americans to read, espeically those who like to study and learn about World War II.



5. "Flyboys" is a surprisingly even-sided look at the war in the Pacific, which is most often seen as a manichaean struggle between Allied light and goodness versus Japanese savagery and darkness. The contuining thread of the book is the story of the Naval fliers who involved with the campaign against Chichi Jima, Iwo Jima's island neighbor. Using declassified data, trial transcripts and interviews, Bradley pieces together the story of eight fliers who were captured and mistreated by the Japanese. This is the campaign in which future president George H. W. Bush was shot down, coming perilously close to sharing the fate of the men who were captured.
   
   But Bradley goes the extra nautical mile to provide needed context to this harrowing tale. Early on, we get a broad-stroked history of late 19th century US colonial aspirations, with an eye-opening portrayal of the way America flexed its muscle when it "opened" Japan via Commodore Perry's steel fleet -- an act not unlike a brutal deflowering. Bradley follows with a very harsh (if accurate) portrayal of US intentions and atrocities in the Phillipines, propelled by American greed, ambition and Teddy Roosevelt's racist, America-centric world view. Bradley suggests that it was this history that Japan emulated when expanding its own empire, only to be blocked by the pious tsk-tsking of the great Christian empires-- the US, Britain and France -- who had and were still following the same route when it suited them. Bradley gives us the story of Billy Mitchell, the military Cassandra who accurately forecast the need for developing air power for the next war. We learn about the brutal Japanese military culture, which drove its later attitudes toward American POWs. Bradley covers the Allied bombing of Japanese cities (conventional and nuclear) that destroyed the lives and homes of hundreds of thousands of civilians at the end of the war. He ends with the sometimes sordid and little-known aftermath of the Pacific war and the deal-making that kept some of Japan's worst war criminals out of prison and off the gallows.
   
   Bradley's point (made over and over) is that brutality is in the eye of the beholder. Both sides saw themselves as morally superior to the other. Both were implicated in mass death and destruction. While not shying away from the fanatical bloodthirstiness of certain members of the Japanese army, Bradley attempts to show the humanity and moral conflict of at least some Japanese. By the end of this harrowing book, you will have experienced the war from many angles, and come to appreciate why so many Americans and Japanese former soldiers have become friends after the hostilities ended.
   
   Great history told with a flair for the dramatic, the grotesque and the true.

5 comments about Storm of Steel (Penguin Classics).

1. Ernst Junger lived a long and literary life. He was born in Heidelberg in 1895 and died there 103 years later! Junger ran away from home at 14 to become a soldier in Kaiser Wilhelm's army. He wrote several novels following World War I, refused to be a Nazi member and is well known in Europe. Storm of Steel was his first and best known book.
   The first person account of trench warfare in World War I is related by Lt. Junger with descriptive prose worthy of a fine novelist. We as his readers experience all the horror, terror, fear, mud, slime, filth and death which were the soldiers daily challenges. Junger served on the Western Front from 1914-1918 miraculously surviving at least 14 wounds! Junger was a patriotic German who respected his British and French foes as men of courageous valor and courage. He impresses this reviewer as someone who considered soldiering a duty to be endured for a land he loved.
   This true story is filled with countless stories of good men killed in an instant due to a shell or poison gas. We see deep trenches filled with death, stench and rats. We feel what it was like to go over the top into the forbidding No-Man's land. The landscape drawn by Junger resembles Dante's descriptions of hell. In the wasteland of war Lt. Junger found time to listen to the birds or appreciate a beautiful sky but the majority of the book is a grim recounting of what war is like for the men who are called upon to fight and die for their nation. Junger loved his troops and grieved when they were killed. We catch the small moments of smoking a pipe, reading "Tristam Shandy", enjoying a cup of coffee and enjoying a night at the tavern with fellow soldiers. We see Junger fighting on the Somme and Flanders as he won the Iron Cross and several other military awards. Despite the medals this realist paints a sobering lurid portrait of modern war where steel metal, tank and huge artillery pieces determine the victor in battle.
   Storm of Steel is not for the squeamish but is the best first person account of combat in World War I. It is also of interest because it allows the English speaking reader to see what was going on in the German army in this holocaust which killed over ten million men in the modern cesspool of mechanized warfare.



2. At first I thought this book was going to turn out to be one of those books that were written at a different time that just couldnt have a style to keep readers this day and age interested. I was wrong. Junger has a style all his own and you will feel has if you are the one standing in his boots through all the epic battles and hardships. You can almost see the mortor shells landing around him with all the carnage that goes with them. You will feel happy when he triumphs, and sad when men are there one minute and gone forever the next. This book will only get better the further you get into and the ending I will admit put a tear to my eye, this man deserved everything he earned and more. His final battle is one you will not be able to put down. I found my self reading paragraphs two and even three times over again convincing my self that my eyes were not playing tricks on me. This book is a must have for anyone who is even mildly interested in combat novels.



3. This is an amazing book to read. Junger was a stormtrooper--the German soldiers who lead the first wave into the trenches--for something like four years. It seems extraordinary that anyone could have survived such a holocaust, let alone four years of it. There is very little in the way of emotional expression in this book, or personal or political observation. Junger devoted his writing to the material details of the battle. This book takes you right into it with unforgettable detail--the acrid smoke, the seemingly ceaseless rain of artillery. More of Jungers men seem to be felled by German artillery than the opposition. Junger describes a scene in which a battery is destroyed and a single horse survives, fleeing across the desolate landscape, "a white ghostly figure." From the very first minutes on the line, artillery remained a constant danger for these men. The book describes harrowing scenes of shootouts with snipers and machine gunners, shooting men at pointblank range with pistols. One scene describes a group of British cornered in a trench. Junger's men throw grenades into the trench. After each blast, helmets, rags of body parts, and blood flies up in the air. His unit moves forward to the edge of the smoking trench to finish the British off, only to be mowed down by British rifle fire as they prepare to fire. This is combat at its most intense! An ungorgettable read that takes you into the eye of the storm of steel. Definitely, good reading. You won't be able to put it down.



4. a straight-forward soldier's book who went through the whole war in the front lines. pleasingly free of the political whining and hand-wringing the saturates so many of the accounts written by 'our side' about this bloody and pointless conflict. the narrative touches on all aspects of the military experience of a member of the pbi (poor bloody infantry) and can serve for those on any side or army in this meat grinder of a war. i've been reading books on war for about 50 years at the clip of a couple a week and rate this book in the top three personal accounts - a truly excellent work.



5. STORM OF STEEL offers WWI from a German soldier's point of view, but Erich Maria Remarque it ain't. All told, author Ernst Junger was shot multiple times, yet would live not only to write this book (and many others) but to celebrate his 103rd birthday (attended by an unusually patient Grim Reaper-in-Waiting).
   
   On the penultimate page of this book, he writes: "Leaving out trifles such as ricochets and grazes, I was hit at least fourteen times, these being five bullets, two shell splinters, one shrapnel ball, four hand-grenade splinters and two bullet splinters, which, with entry and exit wounds, left me an even twenty scars." Like George Washington (who also was shot at, over, under, and through), someone seemed to be watching over Junger.
   
   Fans of war literature will relish this book. Junger takes the reader through the trenches of Flanders, the Somme, Cambrai, Langemarck, and many other WWI locales. His narrative is straightforward and blunt, including many details on soldiers' deaths (German AND British) with a full compliment of gory details. He seldom editorializes or pontificates, and even acts as if gas attacks are normal (well, they were -- then). The narrative has that "rubbernecker" effect going for it. The appalling body counts almost carry you forward, despite your disbelief at the complete waste of humanity. Meanwhile, Junger riffs on tests of manhood and the rush (along with the fear) that is war.
   
   Junger writes: "In war you learn your lessons, and they stay learned, but the tuition fees are high." Understatement. With examples of both mercy and bloody resolve, Junger's behavior will continue to astonish readers as they read his detailed account. Unencumbered by any attempts at high art or literary flair, STORM OF STEEL will put you there, giving you a real taste of how fleeting life was for these young men. The War had no winner and only one loser -- humanity itself -- only Junger chooses not to state as much. Instead, he trusts in his readers. Recommended for fans of history, WWI, and war literature. If you've read other works in the WWI canon, this is a worthy addition.

5 comments about Five Years to Freedom: The True Story of a Vietnam POW.

1. Incredible story of this man and other POW's in Vietnam. This is one of, if not the best, books I've ever read. One of the many points I took away was how the will to live sustained Nick Rowe and so many others. Maybe more so, it gave me an appreciation for the freedoms we take so much for granted. I finihed the book days ago, and can't get it out of my mind. Great book, Great leasons, Great man.



2. This book should be on everyone's "must read" list. It should also be on the must read list for evey high school student. This book is very well written and easy to follow. It is also very hard to put down once you start reading it. Being a Vietnam War Veteran myself, I would highly recomend this book to anyone.



3. Interesting but written more as a novel and not as an actual recount of his 5 year imprisonment in the hands of the North Vietnamese. The minute detail of his every recollection during his 5 years of captivity makes it difficult to believe that he himself wrote his memoirs. Nevertheless I salute him for his bravery, his will to survive and service to his country.



4. James Rowe's story is one that makes you appreciate how good we have things in our day to day lives. I love POW tales because I am always hoping the person(s) can find a way to escape to freedom. This story was fine but I would say a little darker & more depressing than most POW tales I have read.



5. I read this book years ago and was amazed and horrified by its content. Amazed because of the indomitable spirit of a man like Col. Rowe. Horrified because of the torture he endured at the hands of the enemy. Years later, as I became more interested in politics, I couldn't remember the author and thought it was a story of John McCain...both stories are so similar. Of course, with a little research, I learned the error of my ways and know they are two different people. However, now that Sen. McCain is running for President, because of the harrowing account of this book, I will vote for McCain because that kind of proven character encourages me to be a better American and, as said in Saving Private Ryan, I wish to "earn this."Five Years to Freedom: The True Story of a Vietnam POW

5 comments about Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital.

1. Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital
   I am a volunteer EMT. My dad had PTSD. I read Heidi's book and listened to her interview on National Public Radio. We have many returning vets in my town. Heidi's book and her work with the US Navy Combat Stress Control Program are in the highest tradition of the Navy and Marine Corps to leave no one behind. Great book! Great woman! We EMTs need more training in how to support our returning vets. We need Psychological First Aid training in addition to trauma and medical training. Heidi and folks like her are on the cutting edge of emergency medicine. Semper Fi



2. This book offers very powerful insight to the struggle of mental health specialists in the field of combat. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in psychology and combat medicine. Even if you're not, this book is certainly worth it.



3. All I can say is that this woman really did her share of caring for critically wounded soldiers. She is a heroine of the first order! Kudos to her and those like her serving our country. Her story should be shared and discussed everywhere.



4. This was a very good book. It gave me a better appreciation for what our troops are going through in Iraq and Afghanistan - from the point of view of a young mother serving her country.



5. While I will credit the book with being a good personal account of one person's short experience in Iraq, I found the book to be very insulting-especially to other military branches. As I write this review, I am trying to imgaine how this book would benefit civilian readers. I'm sure it gives a glimpse into what a combat zone is actually like-although there are many other books that do so with more experience behind the author. If I were affialited with the Marines-I would be happy with the book perhaps...but I am an Army spouse, stationed overseas, married to a soldier who is going on his 4th deployment-his 3rd to Iraq. I found this book was condensending, 2 references in particularly that insult the Army. How dare a Special Forces soldier NOT be intimidated by 10 Naval Officers! To claim that the Army was waved too and praised as they rolled into Iraqi towns while the Marines are getting shot at is not only inaccuate but very demeaning. We should be proud of ALL service members none of who enter a war zone and come back the same. I also found it disturbing that midway through the book the author decided to leave the Navy because being with family is more important. Surely those soldiers, sailors and airmen who, despite missing YEARS (not months like the author) of their children's lives, are saying that family is less important. Serving one's country is a high calling and it should NOT be compaired to a choice between ones devotion to their family or their country. A big THANK YOU should be extended to those who, DESPITE having to leave their family STILL PROUDLY serve. The freedoms and safety we sleep under each night is provided curtesy of those who VOLUNTEER to serve. And being caught without your kevlar? How nice to go to Iraq and be so lax about having this with you at all times. These are just several of the irriatations I found in the book.
   I appreciate the author's attempt to bring to civilian light one person's account of her time in Iraq, but the constant irriatations took away from the book for me.