3 comments about Hazardous Duty.

1. I have just read this book and sent General Singlaub the following letter.

   Dear Jack, Under"Acknowledgements", you mention the "ill-fated John Saar background briefs", I believe Churchill would have referred to them as the beginning of your "finest hour". Without that encounter with John Saar, Washington Post reporter, our appreciation of you as the ultimate super military soldier would have never been revealed to the American people. You were magnificent and fearless. No one was able to intimidate you nor could they compel you to change your stance on the issues, not even the most powerful people in the land including, Jimmy Carter, the president of the United States. Your courage met all challenges with integrity and honor and truth even though you understood that your whole brilliant career was in the balance. You did not waver or waffle as other great warriors have done when faced with loss of pensions, future advancement, even death. Many came to their "moment of truth" and stumbled miserbly. Your action of heroic patriotismand dedication to duty can not be surpassed in the recorded annals of U.S.History. Holding firm to your beliefs and convictions, your dedication and patriotism took on heroic proportions and should, at the very least, lead to The Congressional Medal of Honor. "Hazardous Duty" should be required reading in every school and college in the land as well as in the world. Your reference in Part III to "No Parade" perfectly presents to the world why democracy really works and why totalitarian governments fail, i.e. Hilter, Mussolini, Stalin whose systems are motivated by fear with no fair representation.




2. I have read about two-thirds of this book and must stop to send copies to my friend and to my daughter. General Singlaub's experiences and insights show the pattern in all the seemingly unrelated events between WWII and Viet Nam (that's as far as I've gotten), events that affected us all. I have been angry, amazed, amused, impressed and proud as I've read this book. I agree with the other reviewer: this should be the text for a history class. General Singlaub's integrity and intelligence illuminate many issues that were hidden in the shadows.



3. A great story about a model Major General in todays world. If you want a great war story about the story of a Stand and Deliver Man. Then go no further! I actually felt sorry when the Clueless James Earl Carter went up against this bandsaw of a man!

No comments about The Rough Riders (Dover Books on Americana).

5 comments about Five Years, Four Fronts: A German Officer's World War II Combat Memoir.

1. Interesting details but a very short book. Although it is 250 pages (twenty of which are appendices) more than half is a historical commentary by Keith Bonn and Wolf Zoepf. The historical commentary is a nice review of war events to frame Georg's comments but it means that book contains only about 100 pages of Georg's rememberances. The historical commentary is good but not 100% accurate. Georg's comments are not very flattering to the German military and many are stray comments about (civilian) women that he met.



2. An interesting and easy to read first person perspective from a former German officer. Grossjohann enlisted in the late 1920s and finished the war in 1945 as a major. It provides insight into what it was like to fight at the tactical level in Poland, the Russian Front, and the west. He fought against the Poles (limited action), the Russians (quite a bit), the Americans, and the French. Provides insight into the steadily decreasing capabilities of German units as the war progressed.
   
   Unfortunately the book is a bit disjointed as it jumps from experience to experience, with the odd sidebar thrown in. Fortunately there is an attempt to put Grossjohann's battles into the larger picture so the reader has some context.



3. An incredible book that reveals the humanity of the 'enemy'.It makes the Germans humans, who also had feelings and fears just the same as their Allied counterparts.Traditionally, growing up in an Allied country one is tought that the Germans were all evil personified. This book gives insight to the fact that the German soldier was just an ordinary human being, being sent into battle to fight a politicians war.



4. The author made a complete hash of his story. His combat narratives are along the line of the Russian shelled the town all night and leveled everything but we held on. Or the Russians shelled the bridgehead all night and we weren't able to hold on. Riveting stuff. The author also takes time out to make sure you know he is quite the ladies may but with simple minded language more fitting for a [...]girl's diary. The little secret of the book is the author didn't see that much action. He basically missed Poland, served a short uneventful tour in Russia then a long tour with a training unit in occupied France, then back for a tour in Russia then back to Southern France before the invasion. The US pushed his unit out of France in short order and the war ended. Oh yes we did that because we had so much equipment and that made up for the fact our troops weren't very good. The excuses of a real loser. Give this a pass, it has no value either as history or autobiography.



5. There are any number of German memoirs from World War II. Most of them involve a German soldier who served with some storied unit (Grossdeutschland Panzer Division, SS, etc.) and fought in numerous campaigns, and somehow survived. This book is different: the author served five years with several different infantry divisions, and had a pretty mundane career, starting out a senior NCO and being promoted ultimately as far as Major. His superiors apparently thought well of him, because he was taking a class in how to command a regiment when the war ended, but his rise wasn't that meteoric, either. The title of the book is a bit deceptive: the author served only briefly in Poland and France, did two tours in Russia (separated when he got wounded, to end the first tour) and then fought out most of the rest of the war in Southern France and Germany.
   
   The interesting part, at least as far as I was concerned, involved how mundane and average his experience was. He fought with some skill, apparently, but wasn't a great hero or anything, and didn't win any major battles. The largest weakness of the book is the author's apparent lack of any notes or references from his service in the war. This means that on a couple of occasions (especially in Russian) he dismisses weeks of combat with a vague reference to "heavy fighting" instead of giving you any details.
   
   For what it's worth, this is a good book. If you're looking for something about the rest of the German army, other than the glamor units, this is probably something you should look into.

5 comments about Be Not Afraid, for You Have Sons in America: How a Brooklyn Roofer Helped Lure the U.S. into the Kosovo War.

1. This book was so one sided and the author didn't even try to hide that fact. There was nothing about the the countrys history to say why the Serbs would think/know that that country was theres. Its would not be a good book for someone to read if they didn't know anything about Serbs.



2. Having just finished Stacy Sullivan's "Be Not Afraid, For You Have Sons In America," I can only say that it an extraordinarily undervalued gem. Not unlike Chuck Sudetic's "Blood and Vengeance," Sullivan takes a complex international disaster and makes it intelligible by weaving "big picture" historical, stategic and political facts into the lives of the ordinary people who always make history.
   
   Anyone can find the history of the Balkans in general and Kosovo in particular by perusing the recent texts that focus on the governmental players, but this book sees the tragedy in the lives of those who experienced it and make it ever so real.
   
   The book is also highly relevant to our post-Sept. 11 world. It depicts how Albanian-Americans were able to use the openness of our society and gulibility of our leaders to subvert American foreign policy in ways that were totally legal. Her chilling message for today is clear. If blue collar expats in Brooklyn can fund and arm an insurgency across the world, how much easier it would be for weapons of destruction to be acquired and utilized right here at home? Sullivan's book makes the Oklahoma City bombing - much less the continuing threat of Al Qaeda - very close indeed.
   
   Did Sullivan get every just right? As someone who has travelled to Albania and the rest of the Balkans and read more than a little, there are some facts she missed (such as the role of the Berisha family), but not much. I learned a great deal from this book.
   
   Finally, even if the reader has no interest in the intricacies of the Balkans, this book should be purchased and read. It is one great tale.



3. This is a well-written, readable account of the guerrilla war in Kosovo. The author spent years in and around Kosovo, and is clearly in command of her topic.
   
   If you're not familiar with the Kosovo conflict, this is a very solid introduction to it. If you are, it's still very much worth reading. This is the first book examining in detail how Albanian-Americans supported the KLA guerrilla movement, and it adds a lot to any discussion of the Kosovo issue.
   
   Stacy Sullivan's writing is light and very readable, but she has done her homework, and the tone never lapses into sentimentality or self-indulgence. There is a clear pro-Albanian bias, but this is hardly surprising... she spent most of her time on the Albanian side of things.
   
   (This has definitely affected the book's reviews. You may notice that several reviewers have said "it's great" and then given it low reviews, because it didn't agree with their own opinions about the war. This is unfortunate, because it's a book well worth reading whether think the Kosovo intervention was a good idea or not.)
   
   I have some quibbles with the book. She really doesn't give enough time to KLA atrocities, including the ones that have caused KLA members to be indicted to the Hague. She largely ignores the strange cross-currents in the province, like the killings of "collaborators" (who may or may not have been such). And some of the numbers in the final chapter are a bit iffy.
   
   But these are quibbles. There are a lot of wonderful pieces in here: her Albanian-American protagonist shopping for Stinger missiles in a Pakistani arms bazaar, young Americans in a disorganized KLA "boot camp", Geraldo Rivera setting off an artillery strike. And the general quality of the writing is high, and the book takes a complicated subject and boils it down into a clear narrative.
   
   Highly recommended to anyone who's interested in this still-controversial topic.
   
   
   Doug Muir



4. Sullivan's book recounts the Kosovo conflict as seen by participants and supporters of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK). Despite this focus on one side of the conflict, it is remarkably even-handed, and does not gloss over misconduct by the UCK and Kosovo Albanians during and after the war. It is not (and does not claim to be) a complete history of the conflict, but it's an important contribution to that history.



5. Having lived many years in Kosovo after the war, I found many people who have not lived here think the KLA and the revolutionary movement did not exist, or that they are terrorists of the worst kind. This book shreds those misconceptions and illustrates how love of one's country will lead any person on a similar path to ensure his country and countrymen's freedoms. Any westerner will question his or her own patriotism - how far would you go to save your country from oppression? I bet many would hide and run away, not find ways to make a different path for so many!

2 comments about Our Country, Right or Wrong: The Life of Stephen Decatur, the U.S. Navy's Most Illustrious Commander.

1. Mr Guttridge has written a fine addition to the library of naval history. Stephen Decatur's life is a veritable "Who's Who" of early American Naval History: Preble, Bainbridge, Barry, Perry, Porter, Hull etc. He was there in America's first war with Islamic extremists (Barbary Wars) and was an early proponent of steam propulsion with Robert Fulton. He was friends with Presidents. Many cities, as well as ships, have been rightfully named after him. Guttridge makes it clear in the book that Decatur's life was overshadowed by his apparently irreversible journey to a tragic end in a duel. The magnitude of the tragedy reminds one of the epic battle of Achilles and Hector in Homer's Iliad; Why didn't someone stop the madness? The book reads easily and quickly. I couldn't give it five stars for a couple of reasons. First, the editing grows shaky at points. In the very first sentence of the book, Decatur's famous burning of the frigate Philadelphia is placed in 1807 rather than 1804. It is clear that the author knows the correct year from the rest of the book, making this a typo of some magnitude. We are also told repeatedly that Decatur hates to write. Once or twice is enough, thank you. Second, as is too often the case in military histories, the book suffers from want of any geographical maps or diagrams of sea battles. These gripes aside, the book is a good read.



2. Since his death from a wound received in a duel in 1820, the US Navy has named five ships the USS Decatur. At least 46 cities and counties in the United States have been named Decatur. Stephen Decatur is probably the United States greatest naval hero.
   
   Decatur was one of those people who just seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and then to have the ability to do exactly what was required to make the best possible advantage out of the situation. He was cool and audacious in combat, loved by his men. Then of course, he was plotted against by rivals in their competition for glory that led to the duel.
   
   The title comes from an after dinner toast that Decatur made at a social gathering: 'Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.'

3 comments about Picture Letters From the Commander in Chief: Letters From Iwo Jima.

1. LTG Tadamichi Kuribayashi, an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, was one of those rare individuals who seem born to become soldiers. Displaying a strong will and unorthodox tactics during the struggle for Iwo Jima in early 1945, he nevertheless was possessed of a rare humility and ingrained honor that made him a highly-respected leader to both his subordinates and enemies.
   
   "Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief" is a very short read. It is simply a collection of LTG Tadamichi Kuribayashi's letters to his family during his time abroad as a young military man and his letters from Iwo Jima island. Reading the actual letters portrayed so movingly in "Letters From Iwo Jima" serves to round out one's understanding of who Kuribayashi was as a man.
   
   There are no insights to his tactics for the Iwo Jima battle and only a small window is opened into his personal views on the Pacific War in one of his last letters from the forsaken island. The rest of them were written and sketched by him for benefit of his wife and children. As his son Taro and later, his infant daughter Takako, were very young when the letters were written oftentimes the subjects were light and focused on Kuribayashi's observations of his time in the United States or anything light-hearted he could report from the dismal island of sulfur that is Iwo Jima.
   
   The letters reveal above all a loving and doting father, who despite enormous distances from his children still cautioned them on discipline. Preparing for the Battle of Iwo Jima, which would cost him his life, he still found time to correct his Tako-chan's grammatical errors in her letters to him and apologized to his wife for not fixing the draft in their kitchen during his last leave. His occasional snipes at his wife for not writing him or for the paucity of packaged herring roe sent to him during his stay in America will elicit a smile from any married man. His love for his wife and children permeate the letters, particularly in his first letter from Iwo Jima, when he instructs his children to grow fast and take care of their mother after his death.
   
   "Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief," if read as an appendix to Kumiko Kakehashi's powerful portrayal of Iwo Jima in "So Sad to Fall in Battle," serves to further deepen an understanding of who Tadamich Kuribayashi was as a man.



2. The book is a compilation of Kuribayashi's letters home to his children during his military career. It's a very touching glimpse into the heart of a father from another culture who is separated from his children and is trying to have some kind of communication with them. Each letter is illustrated with Kuribayashi's own hand and each provides for the children an illustration of their father's everyday life in a foreign land, taking a stroll, riding in a car, even taking a bath.
   
   Kuribayashi encourages his children to do well and to be good to each other and to listen to their mother. His last letter from Iwo Jima is especially sad as you can tell he expects never to see his family again.



3. This unique book offers an amazing insight into the commander of the Iwo Jima's forces mind and experiences. It adds a great deal to both of Clint Eastwood's films! A definite "must read"!

4 comments about Sigh for a Merlin : Testing the Spitfire.

1. The exploits of Alex Henshaw are done some fine justice in this book. It highlights testing of dangerous airplanes during WWII and how so many people contributed without mention. any flying fan will trully love this one! A must for aviation fans.



2. A nation at war, all hands to the tiller. Henshaw, already renowned as a young solo long distance record-breaking pilot, after a brief spell twiddling his fingers at Vickers, Weybridge meets Geoffrey Quill - another talented young flier, already chief test pilot of the Spitfire. In no time at all, he is offered and accepts the post of production test pilot at the massive, barely finished Castle Bromwich factory in the heart of the Midlands, with its Black Country weather.
   By the end of the war, Henshaw had flown over 3,000 Spits straight off the line, barrel rolled Lancasters and flown upside down along ....!
   Excelling in inverted flight, Henshaw's required to demo the Spit at the drop of a hat, flight test them in appalling conditions and keep a large team of disparate pilots working foir the common good. His sheer professionalism, commitment and outstanding flying skills shine through. Modestly written, a superb account of a great plane and great pilot.



3. You will not read a better book about flying the Spitfire than Alex Henshaw's "Sigh for a Merlin"! Although no combat sequences are included as would be expected of a Spitfire book, the testing of so many aircraft leads to as much tension and action as any of the best combat-based stories.
   
   Alex Henshaw writes as well as he flies. I was reluctant to put this book down as Mr Henshaw regularly shares the flying with the reader. You are right there as he tests new aircraft and escapes from tricky situations due to aircraft failure.
   
   For anyone who has heard a Merlin engine on any aircraft, you will understand the title. You'll make the same sigh of satisfaction/awe as you read the last page of this book...if you haven't done so already while reading the book!
   
   I read this book several years ago but it still has an affect on me. There are some good Spitfire books out there, but this is the best.



4. To anyone interested in the history of both the Spitfire and the magnificent engine that powered it, this is a top read. A well-written memoir, it retains the interest from first page to last. Highly recommend it.

3 comments about War in the Boats: My World War II Submarine Battles.

1. Capt. Ruhe captures the essence of the submarine officer. The frustrations, hardships and ultimate glory of the silent service are powerfully captured on every page. The patrol accounts make you feel as if you were there. Ruhe details all his daily concerns, both as a junior officer, and as the Executive officer. You get a good feel for his leadership style, and those of the other wardroom officers. I only wish he had included some of their accounts of different incidents to get a broader feel for the story. The prose is easy to read and spiced with homey wartime era ancedotes and subtle humor. I Recommend it to all Navy officers, especially Submariners and any WWII history buffs



2. As a reader from Germany interested in history I already read a number of memoirs from German submariners and technical/historical literature on the topic. So in comparing this book with the above mentioned ones my mind just forms one question: How did this bunch win their war? And the answer: Because Japanese ASW-effectiveness was near to nonexistent. Facing an adversary as Great Britain it would have been doubtful if any of the submariners in US-boats would have survived. But this author as many others lament the high losses (about 50 boats with crew; for comparision:Germany about 700 boats, 30000 of 40000 men). At least he does not boast the 'welldeserved' victory as is typical for US-authors. And he even apologizes for his sometimes jingoistic diction being result of wartime mentality. Having said this I can admit that I enjoyed reading this book,for it is an interesting and first hand insight view of US sub warfare in WW2 and a counterweight to the standard literature centered on either technic or 'big picture' history.
   I can recommend this book with the above mentioned restrictions.
   But do read some similar books written by German submariners for balance (but not 'iron coffins', that is biased to say the least).



3. War in the Boats is a classic in the field of submarine history and World War Two history. It's a good read, highly entertaining, and filled with information about the war from the first person perspective of a young officer in the silent service.
   
   Inside you'll find spine-tingling stories of what it was like to serve on a diesel boat in the war. The tight confines, harsh conditions, interesting flushing systems for toilets (let's just say you didn't want to plug the bore of this breach feed weapon), stunning bravery, chance and a depth charge so close light was seen through the ship's hull.
   
   This book really puts into perspective the dangers of submarine warfare in the war and does a very nice job of presenting the history of the Pacific war without bogging the reader down.
   
   This book easily compares well to it's contemporaries such as RADM Dick O"Kane
   s Clear the Bridge and Galltain's Take her Deep!
   
   But enough! I'll ruin the book for you if I tell you more.

No comments about The Reminiscences of Major General Zenas R. Bliss, 1854-1876: From the Texas Frontier to the Civil War and Back Again.

2 comments about Deng Xiaoping: Chronicle of an Empire.

1. This book, written by one of Hu Yaobang's staff, shows a very different picture of the players during this period of time than in books penned by western China Watchers. While Deng appears to have truly been interested in political as well as economic reforms, the hardliner coalition in the Chinese Communist Party was able to use his paranoia of personal attacks against him to veer him away from Hu Yaobang's progressive programs. Had he been able to see through the machinations of the hardliners, China might have been farther along in its modernization than it is.

   I think the most interest aspect of this book is how it portrays Hu's successor, Zhao Ziyang. Western authors portray Zhao as a reformer. However, Ruan Ming shows us a schemer that is more interested in pushing Deng to the wayside and garnering full authority for himself and his "new elite". In 1989, the West saw a tearful Zhao supposedly working in the interests of the student protestors, symapthizing with their demands for democracy and reform. However, Ruan Ming shows us that this was a merely a tactic in his ongoing struggle to build power for himself within the party.

   Overall, I think this book should be required reading for anyone interested in the inner workings of China's government. For once we have an account from a former member of China's government. I feel his account has painted a picture of China's key political players stripped of their masks. We are given an excellent example of how divided China's government is and how that relates to China's ability to develop into a "First World" Power in the future.




2. This book is far too dense to be read by anyone (like me) without a thorough background of recent Chinese history and politics. Even though I am comfortable with pinyin, no way could I keep straight the constant barrage of names zipping by. No explanation is ever given for various Chinese political terms, many of which were not familiar to me. And there is no historical narrative present to unite the material and keep it interesting.

   If you are just an average joe/joan like me who wants to know more about China, don't waste your 28 bucks on this book.