No comments about F.M.: The Life of Frederick Matthias Alexander: Founder of the Alexander Technique.

No comments about Lee and His Generals.

5 comments about My Tour In Hell: A Marine's Battle with Combat Trauma (Reflections of History, Vol. 1).

1. 
   Author David W. Powell was a U.S. Marine enlisted man who saw his share of combat in Vietnam around the same time period that I did in late 1966 - 67. He writes a moving chronicle of his experiences there and his subsequent return back to civilian life in his book "My Tour In Hell - A Marine's Battle with Combat Trauma."
   
   The story of his life is at times, hard hitting, sad, remorseful, angry and lonely. But always hidden in the fabric of his tale, you will find hope. He may have been traumatized by battles and war and much worse - but he continues to move forward looking for his life's purpose. He doesn't give up when others may have thrown in the towel. His story is about a man who had his compassion and faith almost destroyed by events beyond his control. His reactions lead to self-destructive behaviors as he tried to self-medicate his feelings, fears and depression with booze and activity.
   
   There is an inner spiritual hunger that Powell had, and still has, that keeps him pushing onward with his life in spite of how he was feeling, or being treated by the world around him. You can feel his heart reaching out to be "hugged" and appreciated. He seems to find rejection, lack of compassion in others and very little understanding of what he went through and was feeling. That is why his struggles for loving acceptance and for inner peace strike the reader so powerfully.
   
   I could feel his pain and know how he felt with the homecoming reception he got when he returned. I think almost every Vietnam veteran can identify with the massive social rejection we received. That was the worse part for us young men coming home. I think we could have lived without parades but most of us did not even get loving hugs from our own families. No one wanted to listen to our stories about what happened to us. And no one ever asked how we really felt emotionally. I think Powell's book speaks not only for his own personal life experiences, but they also speak out for a generation of warriors like him. His voice needs to be heard and responded to before we lose another generation of veterans coming home from wars in the Middle East.
   
   This book should be required reading by all those who were around in the 1960's and 1970's that they may fully understand the sacrifices that these American heroes gave so bravely of themselves. Those peace marching heroes of the "hippie generation" will never be able to walk in their shadow. These men were America's best! So on behalf of all veterans, I say to the author and the others who served, "Welcome Home!"
   
   This book is highly recommended for those who are personally dealing with any combat trauma (PTSD) and for their families and friends so they can achieve some level of real understanding and compassion for what it means. This book is well written. The author writes in a style that makes it both easy to read and understand. He tells his story in a brutally honest manner - even when it does not shine a good light on his own actions or thoughts. His book will change lives and will bring some veterans in for help.
   
   This book is highly recommended and is given The Military Writer's Society of America's Highest Book Rating of FIVE STARS!
   
   This book also receives my personal endorsement. Buy it. Read it. Then share it with those who need assistance in finding their way home!



2. Echoing Mr. Vaknin's five stars, I would also assert that the images of war and PTSD, while poignant and moving, are secondary in this volume to the "way out." Far more than a mere glimpse of hope, Powell's overriding point seems to be that Traumatic Incident Reduction, in fact, does "take the war out of the soldier." That's life-saving information for those who continue to suffer the past (i.e. most of us!), military and civilian "warriors" alike.



3. David Powell's book "My Tour In Hell" broke my heart. This well written account of a, may I say, sensitive young man having to find a way to deal with being thrown into a hell-ish situation. The amazing thing is that it did not break him. May this book, and David's story, be a testament for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as any other traumatic stituation, that it is worth it to travel the path towards healing.
   
   Quynn Elizabeth, author of "Accepting the Ashes- A Daughter's Look at Post Traumatic Stress Disorder"



4. My Tour in Hell: A Marine's Battle with Combat Trauma
   David W. Powell
   Modern History Press (2006)
   ISBN: 9781932690221
   
   Although a history buff, the Vietnam War is one area I have avoided studying simply because I felt it could only be depressing. I was surprised and re-educated about that simple belief by David Powell's autobiography of his tour in Vietnam and how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affected his life after he returned home. "My Tour in Hell: A Marine's Battle with Combat Trauma" retells one marine's experiences on a personal and honest level that makes the reader understand the decisions made by American soldiers, often against their better wishes, and how their time serving their country was both unappreciated and misunderstood.
   
   Most of "My Tour in Hell" is Powell detailing his tour of duty in Vietnam. I was instantly surprised that he only spent thirteen months in Vietnam--the typical length for a marine's tour of duty. I had expected the average Vietnam Veteran had spent several years as a soldier. Nevertheless, the time Powell spent and the experiences he had were enough to make anyone have PTSD. Powell faithfully and truthfully exposes his personality flaws and strengths as he recounts his experiences. The book opens with his first day in the field and the fear he felt. He then discusses various patrols and operations in which he was involved. His memory of events is excellent, and I was fascinated by his experiences several times of seeing events in slow-motion when something traumatic happened such as his watching an atrocity or realizing he was being shot. I had not known that slow-motion, so often depicted in films, was an actual human experience. I realize better now how the constant stress of potentially being attacked can cause disorientation, fear and even the sense of time nearly stopping.
   
   Powell's experiences are all the stronger because he questioned his Christian faith during his tour. He asks himself how he can kill people, especially those not directly attacking him, and he comes to reconcile himself to shooting the enemy because they would kill him or his comrades if given the chance. At the same time, he is disgusted by his fellow soldiers' behavior, such as sharing a Viet Cong nurse whom they take turns raping before killing her. Powell discusses how difficult he found it to befriend his comrades because he feared being distracted by worrying about them, thereby putting himself at greater risk. When he breaks his own rule, he hurts all the more when his friend is killed. Powell discusses all these events without being overly emotional in his descriptions, but the pain he felt comes through perhaps stronger because of the scarcity of words.
   
   PTSD became part of Powell's life almost from his first day in Vietnam. When he was on leave, he could not function normally in an airport from fear of the people around him. When he returns home, he finds himself unable to confront people from fear and distrust, resulting in failed marriages and frequent career changes.
   
   The purpose of Powell's book is not only to detail his war experiences but also to explain how he was diagnosed with PTSD and how the use of Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) helped him deal with his emotions and reactions to other people. While he gives us details about his treatment, I felt the book ended a bit too quickly, and I would have liked to hear his overall conclusions about his experiences and why he decided to write his story, but I don't think any reader will doubt the importance of Powell's story and how it adds to our knowledge of what it is to suffer from PTSD.
   
   "My Tour in Hell" also provides several useful appendices, beginning with a study guide of questions for each chapter of the book to help people reflect on Powell's experiences. In addition, the appendices include Frequently Asked Questions about PTSD (including definitions and statistics relevant not only to veterans but civilians who have undergone traumas such as natural disasters or being raped) and a glossary of Vietnam War terminology.
   
   "My Tour in Hell" is an extremely readable and informative memoir about a Vietnam soldier's experience. I appreciate that Powell was honest and straightforward without sensationalizing the Vietnam War. Squeamish readers will not find it gory or difficult to read, and they will come away with greater understanding and appreciation of the military men and women who serve this country. When Powell returned from his tour of duty, he told his wife, "I want to have someone, anyone, hug me and say `welcome: all is forgiven.'" With "My Tour in Hell" Powell has found that forgiveness and been able to tell a story the American public has waited too long to understand.
   
   - Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D., author of The Marquette Trilogy



5. Reviewed by Gina Holland for RebeccasReads (5/08)
   
   "My Tour in Hell," is just like the title says. These are the memories of David Powell's tragic events, of a man who served in Vietnam, and they are not only tragic, but are also something that I would not have imagined. This man goes through some of the most traumatic events that I have ever read or heard about. While I was reading this I felt as though I was actually inside his head and going through the same horrific things that he was going through. This war caused this man to have doubts about himself, his manhood, his religion and other things that no man should have doubts about.
   
   Though it was Powell's choice to enlist, despite the fact that he was twenty-five and married, you realize that it was because he wanted to get it over with and get on with his career. His thoughts were that he was going to go in early and fight for his country and maybe go home with honor and dignity. Not only did he leave with tragic memories but also memories that would almost ruin his life. The accounts of murders and tortures that was seen in this novel, is not only horrendous but mind-wrenching as well. Mr. David Powell, is not only a strong man, but was a strong young man and I, as a citizen of the United States, am proud of him for what he did, what he accomplished and am very grateful that he came out of the whole situation alive. How awful it must be, to watch children die, to watch children fight, to watch children be used a pawns in the game of war.
   
   David lets us in on his own personal trauma and I for one am grateful that he chose to share his experience with us. I was not aware of the close-up tragedies that take place in wars. I've never been there, but David brought us up-close and front-center, into a very, very horrific situation, and I commend him for being strong and making his way out alive. I hope that David's life is better for him now.
   
   "My Tour in Hell" is something that all of America must read. It shows just how much our young soldiers do for us and for their country. It makes us wonder, if those young people deserve to go through hell like David did. Luckily, David came out okay, but lost a lot of things in his life. This novel can be read by young adults and adults. The pictures would not be suitable for young children. I for one, thank you David for writing this story and sharing with us. You have made your point of showing the world, just how truly horrible war and fighting can be. Good luck in your future.

5 comments about First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Daviss Civil War.

1. A very disappointing book! Written by a feminist, 20th century liberal scholar intent on imposing her 20th century politically correct views on a 19th century subject, the book becomes a parody of what a truly historical biography should be. The author makes no attempt to maintain objectivity and interjects her own opinions, views and beliefs, trying to get the reader to believe that Mrs. Davis was the one who held them. I am truly glad I borrowed this from the library and didn't waste my money.



2. As has been mentioned in other reviews, there is a paucity of books on Varina Davis. Joan Cashin's book certainly fills that void. With all of the books on Mary Lincoln finally there is something about Varina Davis.
   Cashin has done her homework in research on her and clearly lays out her family's history and Varina's youth, exceptional education and marriage to Jefferson Davis. It is fascinating to read her letters to wives of famous men in history, some smuggled through the lines during the Civil War. She was well liked, well educated and certainly had mixed feelings about secession.
   Jefferson Davis does not fare well in this volume. He never appreciated Varina's intellegence or feelings. It seems then he needed her she was always there, but the opposite was rarely true. She endured her years in Richmond as some of her worst. After the war she suffered poverty and her husband's frequent trips. During much of his post war years he kept a semi-romantic relationship the a Mrs. Clay.
   Only after his death was Varina liberated from the imposed role of former Confederate First Lady. She moved to New York and established friendships with many former "enemies" such as Julia Grant, all to the distaste and chagrin of many former Rebel soldiers and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. A telling letter from about 1901, she related the the right side won the War.
   Varina endured all of this plus the deaths of many of her children with grace and dignity. It seems that maybe the Lincolns and Davis's married the wrong women. I enjoyed reading Cashin's very well book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the War or women in history.



3. interesting and informative study of a woman who was a northerner by birth and sympathies married to a complete and selfish maniac who didnt love her. she was much better educated and perceptive than he was, but she did her duty in every way. happy to see that she had some time to herself to pursue her own interests near the end of her life.



4. Through her extensive research, much of which had not been used before, Ms. Cashin brings Varina Davis to life. The details of her marriage to Jefferson Davis, her serving as the First Lady of the Confederacy, and her life after the Civil War give the reader a great appreciation of Varina Davis and the struggles she faced throughout her life. This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the personal stories of this critical time in American history. Bob and Cherie Allen-Authors A "Guest" of the Confederacy The Civil War Letters and Diaries of Alonzo M. Keeler, Captain, Company B, Twenty-second Michigan Infantry



5. Joan Cashin's FIRST LADY OF THE CONFEDERACY is not only an excellent depicticion of the life of Varina Davis, but is is also another way of looking at Jefferson Davis. The research is outstanding and I found the book very readable. Several criticts state that Cashin is looking at Varina through 20th centuries eyes. The research is what is it. I find no value to those arguments.

5 comments about Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy.

1. It's simply infuriating to tune into the media on any given day to find out what's going on in Iraq. The problem is twofold. One, bias rears its ugly head. The mainstream media are, with few exceptions, largely left-leaning in their coverage of the war. They aren't interested in promoting American values or touting our triumphs, so any stories they do on the war will always focus on the negative. That's why you'll read reams about the ridiculous Abu Ghraib prison "scandal" or other supposed "wrongdoings" and little about the good deeds our boys and girls perform on a daily basis. Two, and even worse in some ways, is the emphasis media place on having stories that grab the audience's attention. It's boring to show schools, roads, and institutions being built. That stuff is for suckers. Our journalists are far more interested in showing cars and buildings blowing up, blood flowing in the streets, and bullets flying. If it bleeds, it leads baby! That's why CNN shows American troops taking bullets in the head from insurgent snipers. That's why the news from Iraq centers on the latest car bombings. Anything to drive those ratings through the roof, right?
   
   At the same time, the images we see from Iraq do offer a partial representation of what our soldiers face on a daily basis. They are in grave combat situations where life and limb are at constant risk. It's a war zone, obviously, a place where the enemy can hide amongst the civilian population quite easily. The jihadists in Iraq use the innocents as cover to build and deploy their notorious improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that have killed hundreds of American soldiers. They use houses to hide guns, ammunition, explosives, and other arms used to wage daily war against the hated "infidel" invaders. They also prey on the innocent Iraqi civilians, maiming and killing them for helping us or for not joining in the fight against the crusaders. The foes we face in Iraq are murderous thugs without a shred of human decency. They're roaches that scuttle under the nearest rock when we shine the light of justice on them. We don't need to "understand" them, or try to befriend them, or listen to their complaints. We need to exterminate them before they kill us and our loved ones. And they would. Without a moment's hesitation, they would kill your parents, your wife or husband, your kids--and they wouldn't lose a moment of sleep over it, either.
   
   That's why a book like Ilario Pantano's "Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" is such an important read. Pantano, a Marine officer who reenlisted after 9/11 to go fight America's enemies in Iraq, tells us exactly what we face in that hostile land. His is a depressing tale, a story about death, fear, destruction, and the inability of America to face its enemies without tying both hands behind its back. The author tells us about friends he's lost to the enemy, desperate firefights in the streets of Iraq where the next bullet could very well have your name on it, and how our troops can't properly fight a real war because of politically correct Rules of Engagement. When you learn that our soldiers have to fill out paperwork like a beat cop when they stop someone to search their car, or have to carry around handcuffs in case they need to arrest someone (and these things happen in Pantano's Iraq), you just know we aren't going to win the war. Even worse, Pantano faced capital murder charges for a traffic stop gone bad that resulted in the deaths of a couple of Iraqis. That's right: capital murder charges. In a war zone.
   
   "Warlord" is a great book. Not because of the insightful picture it paints of the Iraqi adventure, although that's a large part of it. Not because Pantano tells us wonderful stories about the brave men and women pouring their blood into the desert sands in order to avenge our country for 9/11 and protect you and I on a daily basis, although that's another part of the book that deserves praise. The best part of the book is how it deftly blends biography with war narrative. Ilario Pantano and I, as far as I can tell, are roughly the same age, yet his life goes so far beyond anything I've accomplished. Born in New York to Italian immigrant parents, Pantano went to a private school, stared down thugs in the streets of New York, joined the Marines and fought in the first Gulf War, went to college, married and divorced and married again, had kids, worked for Goldman Sachs, worked in the entertainment industry, and helped start up a new media company with the birth of the Internet age. Then he reenlisted to fight in Iraq again, this time going through additional training to become a Marine Corps officer! Then it was off to Iraq to fight the jihadists and to try and stay alive. Then back to the United States to fight for his life in a courtroom. Wow! This guy is a real hero.
   
   The only drawback to "Warlord" is the absence of a description from Pantano about the actual event that led to his trial. We learn about the situation through a recitation of the trial record, but Pantano never really talks about what happened in the context of his war experiences. Some readers of a left-wing persuasion would probably take this as some sort of admission of guilt, which is likely total nonsense. A far more adequate interpretation, based on his character traits outlined in the rest of the book, is that the incident is too painful for him to talk about. Yet he still should have addressed it directly. No matter, though, as the book is a real page-turner and a must read for those trying to craft a bigger picture of the Iraq War.



2. Pantano's experiences reveal the horrible injustices being visited on our soldiers as a result of the "political correctness" movement in the U.S. That type of thinking demands that a U.S. at war MUST have war criminals and will seek any convenient target. While a very few of our own troops undoubtedly engage in illegal behavior during a war, Pantano's story points out the need of the "politically correct" crowd - and even those members of the military who lose their objectivity because of those influences - to find horrible crimes being committed (and those crimes need to be instigated by an officer) whether or not there is any basis in truth.
   
   I purchased this book as soon as it came out and could not put it down. While I felt the "flashbacks" were far too frequent, the book was still a great read.
   
   This should be required reading for all those folks who say they oppose the war but support our troops, as it exposes the results of such thinking.



3. Men like this are very rare. He followed his heart and got stabbed in the back from a fellow Marine. Thank God the system worked and noble countrymen came to his aid. I believe this story illustrates the civil war raging in our country even as we wage war in another. A great story and an eye opener. I thank Ilario and all men like him for what they have done and are doing to protect my country, my family and myself. God bless you all!



4. Warlord is a look at the moral ambiguities of contemporary warfare and their political resonance on the home front. Its protagonist is not a fashionable anti-hero, but a real American hero, the kind of guy who witnesses the WTC attack and immediately decides to re-enlist, shaving his hair into a Marine buzz cut even before going home. And yet when he does return home from serving his country at war, he finds himself under threat of capital punishment. The stakes here are not just personal: Pantano needs to win his grand jury case on behalf of every soldier in combat who might hesitate to defend himself in the field - and be brought back in a body bag - rather than be tried as a murderer at home.
   
   In addition to the intrinsic drama of the Black Hawk Down-style firefights into which Pantano leads his men, there is the drama of the courtroom, where the details of the incident - the "murder" of which he was accused - grippingly unfold. His reputation and character are almost impossible for the prosecutors to besmirch, but the trial outcome remains in doubt because he may be hung out to dry as a political scapegoat.
   
   Pantano graphically conveys the madness of combat that civilians and politicians cannot comprehend (and yet which many unfairly judge), but there are nice touches of humanity in the madness as well. The family dynamic is another compelling element. Pantano has a wife and young children at home, and it's partly because of his love for them that he goes to war - to defend his country and family in the enemy's backyard rather than wait until the war comes to his own. When he does return, it's his family's turn to defend him, in the courtroom and in the war zone of the American media. The drama is ratcheted up when Pantano discovers that a Pakistani website has marked him and his family as a target for extremists everywhere.
   
   Warlord has a hero you can root for and care about; drama in the battlefield, the courtroom, and at home; and a triumphant (if a qualified one) ending. It's a tale of the gap between the soldiers' reality and the media and politicians at home undermining their efforts - a tale that couldn't be more relevant, instructive, and gripping in light of our war in Iraq.



5. Obviously factual and straightforward. No personal bias is interjected by the author - he just tells it like it is. The transition between combat scenarios, background and the courts martial procedings are logical and seamless. Great read! AND a bit scary when you realize the obvious political prejudice by the government. After reading this book you will better understand the challenges and threats that our military men and women are facing in the war against terrorism.

4 comments about My Life in the Irish Brigade: The Civil War Memoirs of Private William McCarter, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry.

1. The Civil War has always been of great interest to me. Consequently, when I find a book that tells of real-life experiences coming directly from the pen of the man who experienced the things he wrote about, I am automatically interested. Private McCarter wrote candidly of what he witnessed, felt and thought while in the Irish Brigade. His book is easy to understand and evokes vivid mental pictures of the scenes he describes. He seemed to be an educated, good-hearted man who, if he was alive today, I would love to meet.



2. William McCarter was a twenty-one year old Irish immigrant when he enlisted in the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry in August 1862. The unit soon became part of the Second Brigade, First Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, better known as the fabled Irish Brigade and Carter's memoirs, "My Life in the Irish Brigade" has the distinction of being the first full-length memoir published by an enlisted man in the Irish Brigade. McCarter's account covers the brigade from the Seven Day's Battles in which it made its battlefield reputation, to its assault against the Bloody Lane at Antietam, to the charge up Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg where McCarter was gravely wounded and forced to leave the army. Because he was detailed as the personal scribe to General Thomas F. Meagher, commander of the Irish Brigade, McCarter was able to meet and judge the famous generals of the Union Army such as Ambrose Burnside and Winfield Scott Hancock. Kevin E. O'Brien, who has written widely on the Irish Brigade, edits the volume and in addition to his Endnotes he has included several interesting items in the Appendixes, such as the poem "The Irish Dead on Fredericksburg Heights" which was printed in the "Irish-American" in 1863. McCarter's recollections are quite engaging, and his description of the Brigade's actions at the fateful battle of Fredericksburg, where the vast majority of its 1,200 men were killed or wounded, is the best part of the book. If you have more than a passing familiarity with the history of the Irish Brigade, this is an excellent book to give you a unique and fascinating perspective on their glory days during the Civil War. It is also one of the better written memoirs, by enlisted man or general, you will find.



3. William McCarter's book is quite an interesting tale of his involvment as a private for the famous Irish Brigade. McCarter's vivid descriptions of soldier life, marching, camping, facing cold weather, hard living and the Battle of Fredericksburg was very well done. McCarter missed Antietam although his regiment did face the Confederates at the heights of Fredericksburg. McCarter tells such a facinating, informative, sad, happy, yet chilling story at times during his soldier career that it was hard to put this book down. His vivid story of Fredericksburg and how the brigade battled it out, how he was injured and how he escaped death while suffering upon the battlefield was certainly the best part of the book. I wish more soldier accounts were written as well as this one as this book is one of the better books I've read that tells a soldier's story. 5 STARS!



4. Doing research on the Irish Brigade for some writing, This book was just what I needed.

2 comments about Making Sense of Normandy: A Young Man's Journey of Faith and War.

1. The book gives a rare insider's glimpse into the world of a 19 year old teenager as he is thrust into battle at Normandy. You can almost hear the artillery, feel the cold and adrenaline, mixed with fear, smell the smells, (and even the extreme boredom they sometimes endured, that is never mentioned in "the movies") and sense the bonds that grew between the young men. This may be the only book of its kind - an honest and frank, first person look at the war and the people involved, complete with their shortcomings and personal agendas, and in many cases, extreme bravery and selflessness. I felt like I was there as I read it, and I recommend that anyone and everyone read it. I, for one, appreciate the "greatest generation" more now than ever.



2. Carver McGriff is the former minister of the church I attend. I bought the book in the church bookstore two days ago and Carver signed it. I went home read it straight through. It was one of those "cannot put it down" experiences.
   
   I have read many books about the war. Most were written by professional authors. They were polished. They told stories of bravery and sacrifice other men and women. This book is different. It is intensely personal. Carver shares the things that so many other men who went through that crucible were either unable or unwilling to tell us about. Now, for the first time, I really understand why.
   
   My father and his four brothers all served in the army. Several were in Europe, serving alongside Carver. One was in Patton's Third Army as it marched from Paris through the Battle of the Bulge and into Germany. They never talked about it. Because they never opened up we of the next generation, at least in my family, probably never truly understood what they went through and how it changed them.
   
   My father died while I was young. I never really had a chance to talk to him about what he went through. I also never had a chance to thank him for the sacrifice he made so that I could grow up in this great country.
   
   If you are thinking about buying this book to read a great war novel then it is probably not for you. If you want to peek into the soul of a young, scared, World Way II private on the front lines and find out what it was really like then by all means get a copy. Carver takes you on his very personal journey into the mouth of hell and back. You will better understand the way the war shaped this country and the millions of people who served in it.

1 comments about Rifleman Costello: The adventures of a soldier of the 95th (rifles) in the Peninsular & Waterloo Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars.

1. This was the best book of all the books I have read by soldiers of the 95th Rifles.

5 comments about Last Man Out: Glenn McDole, USMC, Survivor of the Palawan Massacre in World War II.

1. This book should be required reading for every high school student in America - most people have no idea what many ordinary young men endured as prisoners during World War II, how they behaved under the unbelievable burden of watching their friends die and how they overcame the horror of being POWs of the Japanese in the Philippines - this book is extremely well-written, simple and concise without self promotion concerning one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare - it's an easy although uncomfortable read - it'll make you proud to call McDole and other POWs fellow Americans



2. This book was very good even though it tells a terrible story. There is a lot of detail about massacre of 139 American prisoners of war and the survival of just 11 as they hid in garbage and swam 5 miles in the ocean to safety. This is a great source for a national history day project. This book would be 6 stars if that rating existed.



3. This should be a must read book!!! Although written by someone else, the actual Veteran, Glenn McDole was there right by his side and threw in plenty of quotes and first hand accounts.
   
   Read the book and get a good example of what happened in some of these Japanese P.O.W. camps. I can assure you that your jaw will drop to the ground!!!



4. This is by far the best book ever. Finished in in 3 or 4 nights, just kept thinking "then what, then what."
   
   Must read for any military or war buff.



5. This book had special relevance to me as my uncle was one of the POW's at Palawan who did not survive the Japanese internment. The facts of how and when they were captured shed light on the chronology and daily hardships they encountered as slave laborers. The cruelty and starvation inflicted by the guards at the camp were incredible.
   As a U.S. Marine Vietnam veteran it was always my resolve to NEVER be captured alive should it have happened. This story exemplifies why. Being alive in a POW camp was NOT living.
   This book is very interesting, a good read, and one you cannot put down until the very last page. The cross-section of American men who lived and died is remarkable.

4 comments about Hemingway on the China Front: His WWII Spy Mission with Martha Gellhorn.

1. Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn met in Spain as they were covering the Spanish Civil War. They were married in 1940. In 1941 they accepted a mission at the request of the US Government to make a trip to China. They also agreed to write articles for various magazines on their trip.
   
   The Government official largely responsible for getting them to make this trip was Harry Dexter White, later identified as a Soviet agent. It is interesting in that Hemingway was visiting an area where the Chinese Communists were trying to take over the country.
   
   It was a rough trip. This was the time of the Japanese invasion of China, it was the time of Mao Tse-Tung and Chiang Kai-Shek. It was not the time or place to take a pleasure trip. This was also well past Hemingway's prime writing period as he was declining into depression and alcoholism.
   
   It was a hard trip on their marriage, and by the end of the trip the marriage was basically over althouch Martha Gellhorn held on for another few years before divorcing him (the only one of his wives to leave him).
   
   This is a well written, well researched book that covers a little known incident in World War II history.



2. This is a surprisingly good book. Peter Moriera apparently has no other books to his credit, nor is a literary scholar, yet nevertheless delivers a smooth brisk text that is fact-filled. It is carefully documented with honest, substantive footnotes that demonstrate original research. It is also just a good straight piece of storytelling about a fascinating adventure at an important juncture of modern history: while Hitler was attacking Britain, Japan was conquering the East, but before America was involved in either front.
   
   This would be a great reading experience whoever was at the center of it, but the writing team of Hemingway and Gellhorn offers the opportunity for drama and shrewd but carefully fair character study. Indeed all the principals including their Chinese interpreters, state department figures, Hemingway's drinking pals, Generalissimo and Mrs. Chiang Kai-Shek, Chou En-lai, are presented in fair, balanced, and fully rounded portaiture. The depiction of Hemingway and Gellhorn is a miracle of balance and fairness. The book does not take sides or have any agenda. It presents the strengths of each from an informed and sympathetic perspective, their respective flaws with realism and wry detatchment. Truth be told, by focusing on a fixed episode of Hemingway's life late 1940 through 41, Moreira is able to deliver one of the best portraits in life of Hemingway to date, superior indeed to many first person accounts. To those who may not have known Gellhorn's work as well, a reading of this book will only leave you wanting to see more.
   
   Finally, the subject matter is not just a lark like an Indiana Jones adventure. Moreira illustrates how the two writers were subtly enlisted on behalf of the Roosevelt administration both to get over and "spy" undercover as reporters, but also to deliver something of its message afterwards. How both Hemingway and Gellhorn managed to do that as each, in their own way, preserved a degree of integrity and truth-telling is the real underside of the iceberg here awainting discovery.



3. In a short book about a few months in the lives of Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, Canadian journalist Peter Moreira has managed to give us a portrait of the two writers as they really were. Hemingway on the China Front shows us the pair at their journalistic peaks and valleys, their relationship at its most romantic and as it starts to disintegrate, and two individuals coping gracefully and not so gracefully under trying circumstances.
   
   Let's get this "spy" business out of the way. It's a good title and it may capture a few readers who'll think "I didn't know Hemingway was a spy!" Hemingway and Gellhorn were going to Asia (China, Burma, Hong Kong, the Dutch East Indies) as journalists. It was no secret that they would be digging for information. They were both well-known war reporters, and would therefore be looking for war-related intelligence. Even if they hadn't already been famous, they would have stuck out in Asia like sore thumbs, Hemingway for his height and Gellhorn for being blond. Any undercover work was out of the question. Hemingway was asked by the U.S. Treasury Department to check of the transportation situation in China, to gauge how the money the U.S. was sending China was being spent. Gellhorn was a friend of the Roosevelts and was a regular White House visitor. While there's no evidence that she too was asked to check up on the Chinese, she could be expected to be debriefed when she returned to the States.
   
   Moreira tells a quick-paced story of two young and glamorous war reporters on a trip to exotic lands while the war is getting underway. They were newlyweds as well, although they'd been together for several years. While they jokingly referred to the trip as their honeymoon, the only parts of the trip that might have qualifed were the initial stop in Hawaii and their stay in Hong Kong. The rest of the trip reads like an endurance test. The conditions in China were filthy and crowded. It was a huge dose of culture shock for the pair, and they handled it in different ways. Hemingway stayed drunk as much as possible. Gellhorn was learning that living with an alcoholic could be exhilarating at its best and unbearable at its worst. Even after they broke up and she refused for the most part to talk or write of him, she admitted that the best times of her life were with Hemingway. And the worst.
   
   Moreira explains clearly the political situation in China and we're able to appreciate the dilemma that the writers faced in trying to support the U.S. allies represented by Chiang Kai-Shek and Chou En-Lai, while not ignoring the repressive regimes they controlled. They weren't entirely successful.
   
   Hemingway on the China Front, for all its attention to journalistic detail and scholarship, also has a large helping of entertaining stories. The two met some fascinating characters in Asia including Emily Hahn, several dashing American pilots, Chou En-Lai and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. And Moreira re-tells some of the best stories from Gellhorn's Travels With Myself and Another. It's great to find a new take on the lives of two people who've been written about so thoroughly.



4. This is an interesting study of two unbalanced personalities, Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, before and during their trip to the Far East from January to May of 1941. Hemingway was a very heavy drinker, at times abusive but capable of great charm, and Gellhorn, a true limousine liberal stamping out injustice and helping the poor, but totally unable to allow herself to come into contact with them.
   
   But do not be deceived. Hemingway did not "spy" on anyone, there was no "mission", and the US was not yet in World War II. The basis for the sub-title was that Hemingway reported separately (from his published reports) to Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthal and Harry Dexter White. They recognized that Hemingway and Gellhorn might write pap and propaganda for the public (sounds like contemporary media reporters) but wanted to obtain a balanced assessment of the readiness of the Far East in case of a Japanese attack, and most particularly China which was gobbling up vast sums of US aid.
   
   The stories of Hemingway's drinking bouts and Gellhorn's obsession with cleanliness became wearisome. However, the depiction of China as a poor, filth-ridden country with a fascist government was nonpareil. The corrupt Chiang was more interested in fighting the communists than the Japanese, and the vast majority of US aid was not going into fighting Japanese aggression. The author makes this very clear, but there is little followup explaining why FDR continued his ruinous policies with respect to China until Japan was defeated literally without or in spite of Chinese help.
   
   Some of the author's errors will be jarring to an historian. For whatever reason, he seems to only very reluctantly concede that Harry Dexter White was a spy, and he leaves the case against the Canadian born Laughlin Currie (like the author) somewhat in doubt. This is incomprehensible for a writer in 2004. The publication of the Venona material in 1995 established for all time that White was a high-level Soviet agent who did almost irreparable harm to the US while leading the American delegation in setting up the IMF (one of the KGB's finest hours), and Currie was part of the Silvermaster ring under the code name "Page." One of his major coups was reporting to Stalin that FDR was willing to let the Soviet Union keep the half of Poland they conquered in 1939, and that he would pressure the London Polish exile government to make further concessions. (See Haynes & Klehr, "Venona" for details.) Following that, the betrayal of the Polish exiles and their army was a foregone conclusion. At any rate, these were the birds with whom Hemingway was flying.
   
   A small point is the editing. For example, author Moreira states that Hemingway committed suicide in 1961 and Gellhorn followed 27 years later with her own suicide in 1998. The author and his editors need a lesson in math.
   
   All in all this book is an interesting read concerning life in China and the British colonies in the Far East in early 1941. Hemingway and Gellhorn are flawed and complex characters worth in-depth studies, but one needs a strong stomach and substantial personal interest to deal with their idiosyncrasies. They fit the CBI (China-Burma-India) theater well, particularly the other name used for the CBI theater, "Constant Bickering Inside."