3 comments about Billy Mitchell: Crusader for Air Power (Midland Books: No. 180).

1. As an Air Force officer, I read this book because I wanted to learn more about Billy Mitchell and also because it was on the Air Force Chief of Staff recommended reading list.
   
   The book fulfilled my expectations of being a very good introduction to Mitchell and it heightened my appreciation for this amazing airpower visionary. I only gave it 4 stars because it was at times difficult to follow and not exactly a "page-turner." It was, however, very short (less than 200 pages) and thus a fairly quick read.
   
   Before reading this book I didn't know much about Billy Mitchell except that he was old enough to have been around since before there were airplanes and the fact that he was court-martialed. After reading this book, I learned the following on this remarkable airpower pioneer (all of this was amazingly done in the early to mid 1920's):
   
   1. Since World War I, he pushed for a separate Air Force to operate under a new Department of Defense, which he also pushed for. He wanted the Air Force, Army and Navy to all have equal footing under this yet non-existent DoD. This he pushed very hard and was what eventually got him court-marshaled.
   
   2. He was the first one to stress the importance of airpower in future conflicts and basically said that whoever had air superiority would also control the ground.
   
   3. He mentioned having 60% of the force as fighters to gain and maintain air supremacy, 20% strategic bombers, and 20% recon planes.
   
   4. He wrote doctrines on strategic bombardment and stressed, as his Italian counterpart Giulio Douhet originally did, that air forces must target the enemy's vital centers and their capabilities to wage war - factories, fuel, railroads, headquarters, ammo dumps, etc. This went against the early uses and thoughts on airpower - to be used to attack enemy frontline forces only.
   
   5. He foresaw the importance of aircraft carriers and the role they would play in the next conflict.
   
   6. He visited Japan and reported that war with Japan was inevitable. He also posited that the Japanese would attack the US from aircraft carriers and would hit Wake Island, the Philippines, and then finally the islands of Hawaii.
   
   7. He visited Germany and reported back that the Germans were still "militaristic" and that war with Germany was inevitable in the next decade or two. He noted the Germans heavy investment and interest in aviation and foresaw the usage of airpower in the coming Blitzkrieg.
   
   8. He was one of the first to realize the strategic importance of Alaska as a future US state due to it's proximity to Russia, Japan, and the other Pacific islands. He proposed stationing strategic bombers and fighters there - a vision that would be fulfilled in the Cold War. The same can be said for Mitchell's recognition of Guam as a strategic staging island for US bombers.
   
   Nearly all of his predictions would come eerily true in the decade or two after his death in 1936.
   
   The author also handled the court-marshal in a balanced way, in my opinion. He conveyed to the reader that although Mitchell's ideas were revolutionary, and ultimately mostly correct, the means he used to get his point across were less than professional.
   
   Overall, a good read for anyone interested in the origins and development of airpower.



2. "Billy Mitchell: Crusader For Air Power" by Alfred F. Hurley (Professor of History, University of North Texas, publisher of `Air Power History, and a retired USAF Brigadier General) is the biography of the pioneer aviation visionary Billy Mitchell (1879-1936) whose contributions to modern military develop simply cannot be underestimated. The subject of a court-martial in 1925, Brigadier General William `Billy' Mitchell has been celebrated in books, film and television before. But Alfred Hurley's biography of this influential general goes beyond the more sensational aspects of a controversial military career to provide a fuller and more complete picture of the man who dropped out of college in 1898 at the age of 18 to enlist in a volunteer regiment of the army and fight against Spanish forces in the liberation of Cuba, was an avid horseman and hunter, and became the youngest Army captain at the age of 24, and the youngest member of the General Staff at the age of 32. Enhanced with the inclusion of an appendix, notes, bibliography, index, and historic photos, "Billy Mitchell: Crusader For Air Power" is an impressive and strongly recommended addition to community and academic library Military History, Aviation History, and American Biography collections.



3. The book was pretty much what I expected, but there were some bits of information that I had never read before.

5 comments about Boredom by Day, Death by Night: An Iraq War Journal.

1. SGT Seth Conner offers yet another piece of the puzzle called "the Iraq War". Through out his memoir, he discusses in detail the experiences he had and the thoughts he had about those experiences. His accounts are honest and refreshing. Any soldier or Marine will relate to his stories and all family and loved ones will get a better understanding of their own soldier or Marine.
   And yet this memoir is only scraping the surface for SGT Conner. Great potential for more indepth discovery and reflection lies ahead. Imagine his thoughts on these experiences 5 or 10 years down the road! The journey has only just begun...



2. Boredom by Day, Death by Night is an eye-opening first-hand account of a Marine's life leading up to and through his service in Iraq. Seth lays it all out there, and the result is an experience that traditional journalism can't touch. Definitely worth a read!



3. An OK read about the experiences of a young man who enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. This is a short read about the journal entries and letters of Seth Conner. There is a little disjointed in that some of the entries are weeks/months apart from when he flew into Iraq to when he exited. Seth talks about girls, alcohol, combat experiences, and becoming a born again Christian. This all in one year time period.
   
   There was only two or three passages about combat in this book. Most of the book contains the grind of combat patrol and a soldier's recreation with his buddies.



4. Every American should read this little gem of a book. It is written by a young man who chose to join the Marine Corps and go to war for his country. It is insightful and is as much about the war raging in Seth as it is the war raging in Iraq. His "enemies within" were as great as the enemies he was fighting against in the desert of Iraq. I believe the majority of our men and women in today's military are at was with some of the same enemies Seth describes. It is difficult to even imagine some of the things our soldiers are involved in everyday, all for the cause of freedom - our freedom, yours and mine. This is a small glimpse of what is going on in Iraq and how vulnerable our troops are. I expect we will hear more from and about this young man. I will continue to pray for our troops safety and for this mess labeled "war" in Iraq.



5. It was interesting, not a bad book. Based on diary written at the time has lots of personal info in it, not just the war. Some of the personal stuff was 'too much information', but that's me.

5 comments about Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War.

1. 
   This is a fascinating work on Jesse James. It is not so much a standard biography as a "political history" of James. And that makes this an interesting read. The question animating this book is (page4): "Why should one set of criminals be so much more memorable than another?" The answer (page 6): " [Jesse James] was a major force in the attempt to create a Confederate identity for Missouri, a political and cultural offensive waged by the defeated rebels to undo the triumph of the Radical Republicans in the Civil War." Hence, his Confederate background resonated strongly with the politics of Missouri.
   
   The book itself follows a chronological organization, beginning with Jesse's father, a preacher. It also describes his mother, a most formidable person, who remained an important part of his life over the years--and a strong advocate for her sons. The Civil War was critical for the family. Frank James rode with some of the Confederate irregulars, such as William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson. Jesse was too young at the outset of the Civil War to be involved, but he rode with his brother, later on, with the partisans. When the war ended, the rage continued for the James brothers (especially Jesse).
   
   The book contends (and it is a reasonable case as made by the author, although I'm not sure that all readers will be convinced) that James' outlaw exploits after the war were a continuation of that conflict by other means. He was, in the eyes of the author, something of a guerilla; he is also termed a "terrorist," in the sense of using violence to try to advance a political cause (this case may not be convincing to readers; I have my doubts that the case is very strong to adopt this language).
   
   There follows an outline of his many robberies, the violence associated with them, the various members of his gang over time (including the Younger brothers), the ups and downs of their brigandage, and the political context in which their actions occurred. The political discussion appears to be done pretty well, placing the James' gang's depredations in a larger perspective.
   
   Then, they detail nicely the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota raid (disastrous from the James' gang's perspective--not from those who wanted to hunt them down). Frank and Jesse escaped, Jesse (and later Frank) to rob another day. Then, Jesse's demise. The book ends with a quick summary of the fates of key players from this volume, and provides some satisfaction in bringing things to a close.
   
   The political aspect to James, as argued by T. J. Stiles, the author, is very interesting and makes this an intriguing work. I am not sure that all elements of this work successfully (e.g., the use of the term terrorist). But the book provides a nice spin on the life and times of Jesse James.



2. This book explains how the Civil War gave birth to outlaws like Jesse James. It is very well researched, detailed and interesting. A must for historians.



3. This is one of the most in depth and well researched biographies that I have ever read. Stiles did extensive investigation into primary sources when performing the research for the book.
   
   There is a great deal of perception of Jesse James as a larger than life myth. Much of what he did was very much grounded in the history of his time and focuses on the Civil War as a driving force behind his actions and behavior.
   
   James's father was a Baptist minister who left the family to go to California during the gold rush in 1849. While there, he contracted an illness and died when Jesse was still a young boy. This left his mother to raise Jesse and his siblings on her own until eventually remarrying.
   
   The James family owned a good sized farm with quite a few slaves and so had a vested interest in maintaining the slavery structure. They were very much a part of the Confederate mindset and supported that side during the Civil War.
   
   Jesse joined his brother as a teenager during the Civil War by banding together with a bunch of "bushwhackers" who were basically guerrillas (or terrorists depending on how you look at it) on the Confederate side. They would walk up to Union sympathizers who were often neighbors and point blank kill them in cold blood simply for being supporters. This instilled fear in the local populace and a general sense of uncertainty and terror.
   
   People from the Union side did similar types of things to Confederates namely Jayhawkers from Kansas. Missouri during the civil war and the days afterwards had a feel like that of Iraq today. People of differing ideological backgrounds resorted to violence and force to push their political agendas and philosophies.
   
   Following the war James stayed with the bushwhackers until they gradually dissipated. At first they targeted banks to rob with Union ties for political reasons. Eventually, however, the targets became less political and more for pure monetary gain.
   
   One of the primary reasons for Jesse James's notoriety and fame was his frequent correspondence with newspapers. He was a voracious reader and constantly maintained his innocence in letters to editors. Newspaper man John Edwards became a champion for James and glorified him and his gang in articles. He cast them as heros and icons for the Confederate political agenda and used them in print to help advance political purposes. In that day, newspapers were very openly partisan and did not try to maintain an appearance of neutrality as news agencies do today.
   
   As James et al gained more and more fame and notoriety, public outcry became much more pronounced against them while encouraging local and state officials to crack down and bring them to justice. After stealing from express companies similar to Wells Fargo who operated primarily via railroad, private business interest arose in tracking them down and preventing future robberies.
   
   His gang branched out into other states as well such as Iowa, Tennessee, Minnesota, Kentucky, and West Virginia obtaining national attention.
   
   The Pinkertons a private investigative agency were hired to find them but most of their efforts were fruitless considering the James/Younger gang's support from local friends and their knowledge of the backwoods.
   
   On several occasions, Jesse was injured in gun fights some requiring lengthy recovery times. All told though he personally probably killed at least 20 men so came out on plus side from his battles.
   
   The gang eventually met their match while trying to rob a bank in Minnesota where the people fought back and injured or killed many members of the gang. Jesse and his brother barely escaped back to Missouri once word got out and posses were gathered to track them down.
   
   Jesse never could settle down to a life of honest work which resulted in his downfall. He was constantly suspicious of those around him but gathered a new gang to continue his exploits. A couple of brothers in his new gang plotted to kill him and eventually succeeded, collecting a hefty reward in the process.
   
   Stiles book reads like a combination of a pure history and real life historical novel. The first 200 pages are primarily devoted to the historical background of the Civil War and environment James grew up in. The last 200 pages are focused more on Jesse's emergence as a bank/train/stagecoach robber, leader of a gang, and Confederate symbol. As mentioned on the book cover, Stiles debunks the myth that James was a form of Robin Hood and was instead mostly interested in his own fame and fortune.
   
   At times the book moves slowly and is exhaustive in its coverage of the material but if the reader stays with it, he or she will have a very complete picture of Jesse James and the history of Missouri during the Civil War and the decades afterwards.



4. This book was way too politically bias for me to enjoy, and the author went on at length more or less attacking James for being a southern democrat. He should get over it, most people who are familiar with James know that he was Rebel and fought for the south during the war. The author details the Pinkerton detectives and the politicans who were against James more then he does the central character which is James himself. If it was written by a less politically oppionated person it cooooooooould have been decent, but it still kept diverging from the central theme of James and the James gang often enough and at such length that at times I wanted to hurl it against the wall. I only keep the copy I own because of the sepia photo on the cover.
   Read the assisination of Jesse James by the coward Robert ford, it or most any other book on the famed outlaw is surely far better then this account.



5. Jesse James was, bar none, the most famous criminal of the Old West, in part because of his addictively alliterative name. He, alone, has racked up more words written about him than all the other outlaws combined- including notables like Billy The Kid, Butch Cassidy, and John Wesley Hardin. In fact, in Western lore perhaps only Wild Bill Hickok, Crazy Horse, Geronimo, or General Custer rival him in name recognition value, but in truth they're battling for second place.
   
   In this latest book by T.J. Stiles the author tries to reinvent the oft-framed James. To many the early dime book portrayals of James as a latter day Robin Hood have been hard to shake. Then there was James a cold blooded killer. Stiles offers James as the forerunner to modern day terrorists. Given the year of its release this thesis smacks of blatant profiteering. Yes, there's no doubt that James got his start as a Missouri bushwhacker in the Confederate cause, and was undeniably racist. He was also a cold blooded killer, as well as bank and train robber. But, Stiles portrays this as all in the service to the lost Confederate cause, whereas even by the account of the letters it seems more proper to state James was merely being used by propagandists as a symbol of their lost Nirvana, rather than someone outright claiming to be its golden sun. And the tone of the letters James wrote, very few of which are actually quoted by Stiles, show more the psychopathic Jack the Ripper side of James, than the Osama bin Laden side....That said, the book is a good read, but not for what it says about James as much as what it says about the milieu, for James becomes merely a pawn, rather than an actor in his own drama. Part of this is because virtually nothing is known of James' early years, in narratives imparted by contemporaries. In a sense he is the American equivalent of Jesus Christ, a mythic figure who seems to have emerged fully formed. His death on April 3rd, 1882, at the hand of the cowardly and opportunistic Bob Ford, sealed his apotheosis from a contemporary figure whose name recognition already outstripped that of the President- Chester Arthur, for those in the know, to one whose name recognition will always be firm in Americana, as countless books and films on him have been proffered.
   
   Yet, as promising as the book could have been, in moving Jesse James closer to Stonewall Jackson than Billy The Kid, it ultimately fails because of the immutability of facts in the face of misinterpretation, as many of the pivotal events of the war that Stiles tries to paint as influencing James are surprisingly bereft of his presence. Nothing is offered to bolster the idea that James was intimately involved in such atrocities as the burning of Lawrence, Kansas, or the Centralia Massacre of unarmed Union POWs. As for the later, more famed bank robbing adventures. These are glossed over so that a neophyte Jamesian might actually believe the skewed portrait that Stiles lays out, much as many of the claimed missives from James, highly politicized, have never been shown to have actually been written by James- so you get a house of cards built on a house of cards, and when you look just at the facts the common perception of James as cold blooded killer and bandit, rather than some sociopolitical rebel, seems far more the truth. That he liked it and offered braggadocio to the newspapers links him far more with Jack the Ripper and modern serial killers than it does with Osama bin Laden.
   
   Detractors of the book seem to be mostly the hardcore Jamesians who have pointed out numerous factual errors in the book, ranging from the aforementioned embellishments to flat out wrong dates for crimes, and wrong cohorts at certain crimes. For example, Stiles claims James entered the bank at the famed and failed Northfield, Minnesota robbery, when no evidence suggests he did. There were also accounts of James being rather polite on some occasions, if not genteel, and stating he was only after the money. That does not square with a terrorist makeup, but more with a traditional brigand. Further evidence comes from Frank James, himself, to me the far more interesting brother and a wannabe intellectual, who showed no hint of being highly politicized after his brother's death, and who had far more exposure to the war and its depravities, and easily slipped into the role of carny.
   
   As for Jesse James? Due to the enigma of his youth it will never be possible to ascertain whether it was the war which baddened him, or whether he was a psychopath from birth. That he would have been a career criminal seems certain- the effect of the war may just have been to amplify that trait to legendary proportions. And with men like John Edwards simultaneously stroking his ego and grooming his legend it's no wonder that later revisionists like Stiles tend to miss the mark.

5 comments about The Flame Keepers.

1. I am a WWII buff as I know had it not been for those who served we would not be here. So reading and appreciating those sacrifices is paramount to me.
   I found this book "disturbing" (in a good way) in that the book literally took the reader inside the walls of Stalag 17.
   It was a fearful experience and filled me with dread and agony for those who lived through that experience.
   Some of the material mirrows what the movie "Stalag 17" depicted but certainly not with the Hollywood context of stalag life.
   Ned Handy is one of countless heros who served all of us. God bless them, each and every one.
   This is a book to cherish and help us understand the horror of war and the sacrifices of so many.



2. It is not hyperbole to say that The Flame Keepers is an excellent, well-paced book that will captivate readers of all ages and backgrounds - from teens to seasoned citizens. Not only about World War II, or even strictly a "war story," the book covers the effects on human behavior of war, imprisonment and defiance of one's enemies -- all well beyond the armored battles that raged.
   
   Author and protagonist Ned Handy tells the unvarnished story through his eyes of a network of men and comrades-at-arms whose sudden imprisonment brought out their individual and collective ingenuity, bravery, stamina and perseverance in ways they could not have imagined. These qualities possessed by so many "ordinary" sergeants came to the fore when they faced the stark choice of surviving or giving up behind a wire, while watched by armed guards, deep in enemy territory, and in spite of brutal weather and a starvation diet. The incredible story of a brash and brilliantly conceived escape attempt from Stalag Luft XVII-B plays a major part in the narrative, and it is spell-binding.
   
   Mr. Handy employs simple but eloquent language that takes the reader on a hard-to-put-down journey through five seasons in the life of a 21-year-old B-24 flight engineer and top turret gunner, who survives a shoot-down only to be imprisoned in infamous Stalag XVII-B. Events inside Stalag 17 are interwoven with interesting vignettes that bring to life Mr. Handy's memories of home, family and early life, which inform his ability to survive the prison ordeal. He ascribes well-deserved credit to his colleagues, from his crewmates to POWs with whom he lived in extremely close quarters for more than a year. He describes how each POW used the talents he had to their utmost, such that they were able to survive, defy the enemy at times, and create a vital internal safety net for their fellows when it mattered most. For a man imprisoned and isolated for a time due to circumstances that are movingly presented in the text, Mr. Handy presents a fair-minded view of the individual human beings behind the generic descriptors, "soldier," "prisoner," "enemy," "guard," and "civilian."
   
   It is easy to get "lost" while reading this book, and is a challenge to return, during the intervals one puts it down, to the regular and occasionally mundane tasks of everyday living. For it is the ability to do these tasks, and to take advantage of all the small and large freedoms we have today, that was denied the prisoners of war like Mr. Handy and those whom he describes so vividly. And although the author doesn't indulge in self-praise, the reader cannot help but thank God for stalwart men like Mr. Handy and his comrades, who sacrificed so much for the liberty and prosperity we all enjoy today. It's a must-read for all ages.



3. One of the heroes in this book, Gene Meese, is a friend of mine. He no longer talks much about his war experiences but he does say that Ned Handy tells the story with great accuracy. Oh, sure, much was omitted -- some of it quite bad -- but the core and substance is there and treated well.
   
   Knowing Gene and reading the book deepened my appreciation for all the terror our troops, past and present, have endured for our country.



4. Loved this book. It grabbed my attention from the very start and never let it drift...housework and commitments be damned! Knowing it was a true story made it all the more gripping. I highly recommend it.



5. My Dad was a POW in Stalag 17 during the same period of time as Handy. Dad had a hard time of it and it really was difficult for him to talk much about it. I now know that it would have been much better for him, and us, if he had been able to talk about it. He died in 2004.
   
   Many of the things he did tell me in bits and pieces over the years about his experiences Handy described also. The Kregie who killed imself by deliberately crossing over 'the wire', the tunneling efforts, the dirt in the rafters, the sawdust bread, the interrogations, solitary, the bunks, the cold, the hunger, the frightened guards, the end in the forest. Lot and lots of pieces of the puzzle.
   
   Dad was a most devout Catholic and, as it turned out, the only prisoner in camp who had been trained to be an Altar Boy. He gave lessions in Latin to train many other prisoners who were 'getting religion' in those desperate times. Dad described the Christams Mass in great detail, and it was striking to read Handy's account of that sermon. It was erie to read Handy's account of it all and how identical it was to Dad's. It was a very uplifting sermon that Dad and Handy never forgot.
   
   My Mother told me about this book and I ordered it immediatly from Amazon and couldn't put it down until I had read all the way through. It was as if Dad was sitting in the room and describing the whole horror, step by step, and in chronological sequence for the first time which enabled me to put it all together for the first time. Now I have an even deeper understanding and appreciation for what Dad had endured, and how tragic his ongoing suffering had been, what it meant for his life, how much he had sacrificed, not only for those 16 months as a POW - but throughout the remainder of his life. I also got some insights regarding how it impacted mine life and my family's. I wish Dad could have read it him self 50 years ago. Thanks, Ned for getting it out for all of us to understand.
   
   If you have any POWs in your immediate family, especially if that POW is or was your father - or you were a POW and you have children, I would say that this is required reading.

2 comments about The Diary Of Samuel Pepys 1661.

1. Having only read "excerpts" before -- and the "shorter" Pepys is massive -- I supposed the short version was the exciting and interesting parts and the complete diary was the boring version that put everything in.
   Well it turns out all PEPYS IS EQUALLY GOOD. The reason? This man loved life and said so, with great enthusiasm, and at the same time was a conscientious and effective(not always right or wise) public servant. This startling mix, in the end makes him seem a completely modern person. Fascinating.



2. This is a wonderful annotated expose of seventeenth century British life throughout the city of London. Pepys' language is florid and filled with eccentricity. Also, the editing enables the original language to stand, only with contemporary spellings --to allow clarity of comprehension. The additional explanatory notes are excellent.

3 comments about Yank: Memoir of a World War II Soldier (1941-1945) - From the Desert War of North Africa to the Allied Invasion of E.

1. "Yank", the late Ted Ellsworth's memoir of his World War II service, is a compelling, first-hand account of a soldier's life in those dangerous times. Newly married, Ellsworth and his friend Tom Braden joined the British Army in the autumn of 1941, before America had officially entered the hostilities. He served under General Montgomery in Africa, then transferred to the American Army and saw action in Italy and France and spent time in a German POW camp in Poland, before being liberated by the Russians. His travails after liberation are as tense and grueling as what he had faced fighting against the Germans.
   The book covers nearly four years of Ellsworth's life, in which he experienced more danger and excitement than most of us will encounter in our entire lifetimes. The prose is not flowery or literary, but it is literate and honest and gives the reader a chance to see those difficult years through the eyes of someone who was there, and who lived them. At times, particularly in the first half of the book, there are passages that seem like stream of consciousness collages of things that happened or things he observed that he recalled but apparently felt did not merit detailed examination. This helps to quicken the pace of the book; Ellsworth glides through the less important events to get to the ones that matter, the accounts of making friends - and losing them - in the maelstrom of war. Once begun, this is an impossible book to put down, and an important reminder of the sacrifices of previous generations.



2. Ted Ellsworth's World War II memoir YANK is simply amazing. Ted is able to write in a balanced manner about the actual events of the war and his own actions and feelings. The memoir is truly incredible. Ted takes the reader with him through his journey as a solider, from fighting for the British in Africa, to Italy, to France and Poland. Ted having been captured with his fellow American soldiers, is brought to a POW camp in Poland, where he vividly illustrates his life in the POW camp. Ted faces death many times but he always escapes it, and eventually returns home to his wife Barbara in his small hometown of Dubuque, Iowa. Ted's experience is remarkable and YANK captures the thoughts, questions, beliefs, and raw emotions of a young American World War II solider.



3. I found this book nearly as compelling as Charles McDonald's "Company Commander," for about the same reasons--fresh, unemotional, unadorned details, etc. I don't know why it took until 2006 to publish a manuscript written in 1946 or so, but that's beside the point. The effect was to take me back in time, as if I were standing at Elsworth's side, fight off German attacks and counter-attacks with meager resources and almost no intelligence (information). It seems taking prisoners was a commander's option, and this worked for both sides. Times change, of course, but somehow the most gruesome elements of war remain the same. The details of his captivity and liberation are worth reading, if nothing else.

5 comments about My Detachment: A Memoir.

1. I read a lot of genre books and have rated novels with less merit higher than Kidders 'My Detachment'. The reason I mention this fact is that I am holding 'My Detachment' up to a higher light than I would if Kidder had written a story along the lines of James Patterson or Stephen King. Instead I think that this story cries out to be considered along with other war novels that have shaped the great American novel, from 'Red Badge of Courage', to Norman Mailers, Tim O'Brien, Hemingway, and Joseph Heller's first efforts. And if I stack what Kidder has given us against these masterpieces, it is lacking on many fronts.
   
   On the other hand this is an enjoyable little book in its own rights. It follows the time line of Kidders early years, from his college days to his time in Vietnam. The story repeatedly brings up Kidders first foray into writing... a story that he wrote just after coming home from Nam. This story is portrayed loosely, but I felt as though it were along the lines of John Wayne's Green Berets. Kidder mentions this book often and contrasts the story he wrote to his actual experience which is what he is writing in My Detachment. He looks back at this story as a bit of young foolishness, and he looks back at himself as an ignorant self centered young man.
   
   Part of the problem with My Detachment, or maybe it is what makes it appealing, is that Kidder really pulls no punches when dealing with who he was at that time. He is a wholly self engrossed person, and the character that Kidder presents us with is both loathsome as well as fascinating. Its hard to find an affinity for the young Kidder, the novel gives you little in the way to latch on to personality wise, and you are left removed from events. Also, the story itself is an almost minimalist war story. Not too much happens, and this is kind of the point of this book.
   
   Kidder is a fine writer. I don't think that this story will be remembered as his best. It almost felt as though Kidder were going for a Nicholson Baker effect. Baker is a writer who is at his best when writing about the inconsequential. He wrote an entire novel about a trip up an escalator. It would have been interesting if Kidder had investigated his time with a different edge, by this I think that Kidder approached his time as if he were Hemingway crossed with a bit of our post modern culture, and not himself. I think he wrote for what others were expecting and not for originality's sake.



2. I almost met Tracy Kidder on October 10, 2006 because he gave a free public talk as an author participating in the Creative Writing Program of the University of Minnesota. Reading the book was a snap for me because I have been reading about Nam since I bought PAPERS ON THE WAR by Daniel Ellsberg back in about 1972. Putting little pieces of that big puzzle together is one of the things that keeps my brain active as I rapidly approach the age of 60. Probably the best idea I found in the book was "creepy lifer puke." Ain't like a man, when people run for public office and ads on TV smear someone for things that you do every day and salute people when you are not in a war zone, but to hear people in the good old U. S. Of A. complain about hippie freaks is just a bunch of creepy lifer puke, as far as I am concerned. When he was questioned about Iraq after his presentation from things he wrote, Tracy Kidder said some things about the terrible nature of war. The big green machine we know so well is unlikely to solve the kind of problems that people in Iraq have after their door gets kicked in. I also liked a bit about things to do in Singapore on R & R. It did not say you have to be in the army to get away with stuff like that, but who'd want to ?



3. Having read "House", I knew that I liked Kidder's writing style and was curious about this book because of my own experiences. Much like Kidder, I was attending graduate school in Boston when I was drafted into the Army and ended up doing a tour of duty in Viet Nam. Also like Kidder, I was somewhat ambivalent about serving in the Army as I did not support the war and did not believe the U S should be in Viet Nam. So we both were sent off to do something that didn't need to be done for people who didn't want it done for them. Kidder does an excellent job of describing the almost fog-like state of mind that someone in their 20s adopts while in the military in order to get through the entire process, from basic training to final discharge.
   Kidder discusses how the day you arrived in-country, you started counting off the days until you could leave. It was rare to find anyone who couldn't tell you the number of days until they could DEROS (date of estimated return from overseas) or ETS (estimate termination from service). I will never forget drunken soldiers at NCO clubs, who had been in country all of three days, singing the "Short Song" - the Animals' version of "We Gotta Get Out of this Place."
   Kidder does a marvelous job of sharing the sense of tedium you experienced as well as the sense that you were completely and totally wasting your time. For most of us, your only goal and objective in serving in Viet Nam was not to be killed and Kidder helps the reader understand how one would adopt this philosophy. It was clear that we were not out saving America for democracy. Kidder also brings parts of his failed novel on Viet Nam into this book in helping describe the fantasies of those who were serving in the rear echelons.
   Kidder does a good job of explaining that many of the people who were sent to Viet Nam were not humping through the boonies but instead were placed in mindless jobs in the rear echelon. There they had to take orders from officers and senior NCOs who were putting in their required time in a war zone because it was a box that needed to be checked off so they could get their next promotion. The constant rotation of new officers on a one year tour meant that for at least the first six months, an officer was learning his job before he became any where close to being proficient. It was almost constant OJT.
   This book resonated with me in terms of reminding me of having many of the same experiences and feelings as Kidder described in his book: misadventures on R&R (I was in Bangkok and Kidder was in Singapore but the experience was quite similar); dislike and disdain for "lifers": a sense of how unfair life could be if you received a "dear John" letter from your fiancee; frustration over the fact that most of one's college friends had been clever enough to avoid being drafted and sent to Viet Nam; the fact that your peers viewed you as a "baby killer" instead of a patriot.
   If you served in Viet Nam, particularly as a REMF, you will enjoy this book. If you have ever wondered what it was like to spend a year of your life mostly bored to death with moments of abject fear when under mortar, sapper or rocket attack, this book will help explain those sensations. It is well written, is a good read, has a good deal of humor, and takes one back to what it is like to be 23 years old, depressed over being rejected by "the one great love of your life," and totally clueless about what you are doing in a foreign country taking orders from people you do not respect and performing a function that seems completely useless. I really liked the book, but I also lived the experience. Maybe you had to be there.



4. My Detachment is the story of Tracy Kidder's one year tour of duty serving in Vietnam. He describes his experiences, command style, and attitude to the war and the Army in this memoir.
   
   This book has received many accolades, but I find this hard to understand. The story Kidder tells about himself doesn't inspire respect.. He portrays himself as a superficial, lying coward.. Having read the reviews others have written, I think most reviewers found these traits to be endearing. I did not. I think the acclaim this book has received has largely been from people who thought poorly of the Vietnam war and found expression of these feelings in this book. But certainly there are better, more thoughtful and intelligent anti war books than this.
   
   Kidder says he is against the war because a friend told him should be. He gives it no more depth of thought than this. By the end of the book he has become a true believer in the anti war cause, but we never see this develop.. He never gives any indication that he has given this any depth of thought.
   
   Kidder's experience in Vietnam was unremarkable. Nothing happened. He did not see any action. He did not talk to people who saw action. He never interacted with the Vietnamese. He was never exposed, even second hand, to the realities of war. He gives us nothing as a basis for why he opposes the war
   
   The only example he ever gave about something tragic was when he mentioned how the Communists had shelled innocent civilians in a refugee camp. It was the enemy who did this.
   
   The only thing I found interesting in the book was the brief description he gives of his work. His detachment's job was to use radio detection techniques to locate enemy units. The brief description of this was the most interesting.
   
   "When I'd left the United States, some people in the antiwar movement were still saying this was a war waged only between a corrupt South Vietnamese regime and valiant local insurgents. But on the part of our map that covered the brigade's AO, most of what you saw were large North Vietnamese units, and just a couple of Vietcong companies. And here was the kicker..... All of those units, including the two little VC companies, communicated directly with a giant corps headquarters across the border in Cambodia....... which in turn communicated directly with Hanoi. More than geography separated me from my principled antiwar friends back home....... He should be against the war, of course, but I'd bet he didn't know why"
   
   I was appalled when I read this. He offers us proof of North Vietnamese aggression, but this has no impact on him at all.
   
   Kidder dislikes the Army. He volunteered in hopes of avoiding being sent to Vietnam. When he finds out he is going to be sent he argues that his Harvard education made this a waste of material.
   
   Initially Kidder believes that he is too good to be sent to Vietnam. He comments that the war is for the uneducated and unsophisticated. However, once in Vietnam he starts to identify with these people in a total reversal of his attitude. He is their champion. He is an officer but has nothing but contempt for other officers no matter how good they are to him. He likes all enlisted men no matter how shameful their behavior. He doesn't like officers because he doesn't like regulations and inspections.
   
   Kidder makes a big display over how he feels he must protect "his men". But when he says protect, he means protect them from annoying inspections and regulations, But, he has little use for true protection concerns. His men are supposed to wear their helmets. He thinks this rule is ridiculous. His men are supposed to keep the sandbags maintained around their living and working areas to protect from mortars. He thinks this is just "make work" doled out by the Lifers as harassment. The real shocker is even when he hears about people getting killed by mortars in the camp, he still thinks the sandbag filling is harassment.. So much for protecting his men.
   
   His men didn't respect him. He showed no leadership qualities whatsoever. The whole book is a celebration of his weaknesses. He wanted to be a good leader, but in his mind his men had to like him for him to consider himself a good leader. So, to "Protect" his men and make them like him he asks very little of them. No expectations whatsoever. They live up to these expectations. He wants his men to like him yet by the end of the book he is still hopelessly not respected by his men and he knows it. His sergeant didn't have this problem with leadership, so the men listened to and respected the sergeant. But this leadership lesson was lost on Lt. Kidder.. As if to highlight his weaknesses he even tells us that while he was on R&R in Singapore a prostitute rejected him and the madam thought he is gay.
   
   He lied in his letters to family and friends. He never got anywhere close to any danger, but in his letters he constantly suggested he was in the thick of the war, and he is a good and respected leader. He is a writer so he wrote stories about the war while he was there. He wrote stories about soldiers in the field. People with whom he had no contact whatsoever. Stories of combat, racial problems, drug problems, the raping Vietnamese girls. Yet he had no personal knowledge of any such activities nor heard anyone tell him of such things. He admits this, yet he disingenuously wrote these things anyway.
   
   Kidder paints a truly pathetic picture of himself in this book.. I found it very hard to read. Almost embarrassing to read.



5. The tone of Tracy Kidder's excellent memoir from his tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968 and 1968 is dour, full of resentment and disbelief in the value of war, and one of the stronger pacifist statements in book form. Rather than re-living the horrors of the Vietnam War and struggling to stay alive in a combat zone not marked by peripheries but rather by indistinct underground burrows where the ubiquitous 'enemy' remained hidden and disguised, Kidder's 'Detachment' was an Intelligence unit, for the most part safe from assault attack, but a unit that suffered the psychological destruction that accompanies an isolated band of men living in filthy conditions and always under the threat of 'inspection' by commanding officers seemingly more concerned with polished boots than by healthy mental states.
   
   Kidder, who never believed in the concept of the war in Vietnam, was a Lieutenant in charge of a small band of enlisted men whose job was to gather Intelligence to pass on to the war planners. His memoir unveils his own need to transmit to his family and girlfriend back home a sense of constant danger and participation in killing, and it is this disparity between his own convictions and the 'image' he felt necessary to send home that makes his memoir so frighteningly memorable. He shares his relationship to the men under his command, the multiple problems he confronted with personality types and aberrant situations, and the manner in which he grew as a man during his prolonged exposure to the underbelly of the commanding officers of the war. 'But to represent something is to command power over it. Maps are the tools of many ambitious people, of policy makers, commanders of armies, and youths who like to play at being one of those. And the problem is that the maps are easily confused with the world'.
   
   Where Kidder succeeds in his memoir about his war experience is in his brutal honesty, his fearless approach to report the reality of a war everyone is electing to forget, and the impact that Vietnam had on the mentality of the world and especially now with the youths who face another very similar war. His pacifism may annoy some readers, but his intelligence as a reporter and a writer cannot by ignored. As Kidder completed his tour, he observed a lifer, Major Great, on his way to back into Vietnam and ultimately society: 'I tried to imagine the life in front of him. Paperwork and acronyms and young men who wouldn't get dressed right. Too bad he wasn't a more prepossessing villain. But what a horrible life. Incomprehensible, really. And, of course, he probably walked off still shaking his head, thinking much the same about me.'
   
   Kidder has written a gripping book, one that would serve us all well to read - a different view of the long-term effect of Vietnam, and war in general. Grady Harp, March 08

5 comments about American Warrior: A Combat Memoir Of Vietnam.

1. A sobering and provocative account of a difficult time in American History, where unparalled valor and dedication were the norm. American soldiers rose valiantly once again to our Nation's defense, but failed to receive the recognition and appreciation they deserved. The writer has captured that sacrifice and dedication in vivid detail reflecting that teamwork and courage are paramount in combat, whatever theater, whatever war, whatever cost. Well led, well trained and well equipped, the American soldier is "Army strong".



2. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK THAT BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES. DOC TELLS IT LIKE IT WAS AND WAS ONE OF THE BEST COMMANDERS I HAD THE PRIVLIGE SERVING UNDER.



3. Agree that it is one of the very best books written about the Vietnam War. Numerous killings, almost without count, and cold, unemotional narration with no attempts to be anything but a factual report. General Bahnsen told it exactly the way it was, whether you like it or not.



4. This riveting non-fiction book describes leadership, bravery, compassion, dedication, and determination to seek out and destroy the enemy that should be the model for any officer going into combat. Although the setting is the Vietnam War it could just as easily been WW2 or any other war. You will find that this book ranks with anything written about General MacArthur or General Patton. Much of it has applicability for anyone who aspires to be a leader/manager in any civilian occupation.



5. This is one of the best books I've read. Worked this area with the 1st Infantry Division. It was like being there again. Knew a lot of the stories from a friend that was in the ARP.

1 comments about Leadership: Achieving Life-Changing Success from Within.

1. This is very easy book to read. It is so inspirational and informative. I found myself taking notes and writing down quotes to use myself at a later time. His philosophy on leadership makes so much sense. If there were more leaders like him who used the principles he uses in leading others, I can only imagine how the world would be. He shows you can lead and get results while still caring and letting those you lead truly know that. I wish I could send a copy to many, many folk I know who could learn from him. My hat off to Alford McMichael.

1 comments about We Band of Brothers: The Sullivans & World War II.

1. As one of eight children growing up in Michigan, I wasmesmerized in 1962 when I first saw "The FightingSullivans," by that time already an 18-year old black & whitemovie. Like my Dad (a WWII veteran wounded in Europe while with the103rd Inf Div) and my two older brothers, I entered into the militaryservice during the Vietnam War, married a WAF (the daughter of a NavyWWII vet aboard the USS Sigourney and USS Duluth), and have nowwatched four of our own eight children enter the Army and Air Force.As a Catholic, I strongly identify with the large family of theSullivans, their religion, and their commitment to military service.While I enjoyed the 20th Century Fox movie, I especially appreciatedthe even-handed and fair treatment that Commander Satterfield usedwhile writing this book. It's the only one I know of whichcomprehensively covers the family. It is well-researched from both amilitary documents viewpoint and that based upon newspaper articlesand family and friend interviews. He presents the family as they were--- not saints, just ordinary Americans growing up in the midwest withcommon family problems. Both the author and the Mayor of Waterloo, IA(a nephew of Katherine Mary Rooff Sullivan) were receptive to emailinquiries I sent. I heartily recommend this book to all butespecially to those whose interests center on family militaryservice...