5 comments about Mengele: The Complete Story.

1. First of all: A damned good book! Bonechilling material!! Furthermore:
   What kind of punishment do you give a man like Mengele?
   Deathpenalty? Life in prison? The first one is over too quick and the second one is too easy. No, I think Mengele has got the best punishment he could have. He was 34 years on the run. Never had a moment of peace in his entire life after the ending of WW2. The stress it brought him, even gave him a shorter span of life. He developed a lot of stress related sickness. Always had to look over his shoulder. Did they recognize him? Was this his last day of "freedom"? If he had been sentenced for life in prison he could have reached, like Hess, a respectable age well over 80 years old. Now he died 68 years of age. Alone and forgotten in some Godforsaken place in Brazil. He sticked, untill his dead, to his beliefs about the Nazi's and the Jews. A rigid and untolereant character of a man.
   He never got the chance to fullfill a job on his intelectuel level, always lowpaid workman's labour. Never could socialise with people of his intelect. That hurt him like hell. So, in fact, life in "freedom" was in fact life in hell. Never the hell he created for the people who died through his hands or command. But even we, as normal people, couldn't give him, if he had be captured, the torments he gave all those other innocent people. For that, we are to civilised. No, I think it has been for the best that he stayed on the run. He punished himself with it. More then we ever could give to him. I feel sorry for his son Rolf. You only get one biological father in your life and he got this one.



2. Was hard to stay interested in this book. I found it very boring to read.



3. A very helpful, scholarly bio with information about Mengele's entire life. A great book for those seeking more than just an overview of Mengele. If you want to know more about Mengele's work, visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's website for "Deadly Medicine" exhibition, now at Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta this summer (2007).



4. 
   That's the feeling one -regretably- obtains after going thru all the pages of this book. One quarter of it is dedicated to his ignominious "works", so it's the only chance we get to know about this criminal; because the other three quarters are about the his wherabouts since the war ended.
   
   There are no first hand testimonies or interviews to peersons who knew him. It all sounds like third person stories, and this is not to question his atrocities at all: there's more than proof to have had him executed many times. I am not looking for necrophilic detail or sadistic descriptions. What I wanted is to know the man closer, his way of thinking, his circumstance, his motivations. The book deals with this very, very, superficially.
   
   The hunt can't be called exactly a hunt, not by far as interesting as the The House on Garibaldi Street (Classics of Espionage) on Eichmann, one of the most exciting books I've read of any subject.
   
   Posner's book lacks substance, grip, interest. A subject like this guy is almost hard not to make it interesting.



5. Excellent book.Couldn't put it down.A touchy subject that most won't write about but if no one does then we will never learn from our past.The author tackles the subject of his life,evils and in the end his loneliness.

5 comments about A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII.

1. When I think of secret agents from the United Kingdom, normally I think of MI 5 or MI 6. Another agency was created during World War II--and disbanded at its end--called the Special Operations Executive or SOE. This book is about one woman, Vera Atkins, and her work within this branch of covert operations that sent patriotic men and women spies into France to help bolster the work of the French Resistance prior to the 1944 D-Day invasion at Normandy.
   
   It is obvious from the start of the book that author Sarah Helm has done extensive research on Ms. Atkins, piecing together not only her work for the SOE, but also Ms. Atkins' personal life. For example, Helm was tireless in trying to find exact locations of photos taken during Ms. Atkins' childhood in Romania. At the very beginning of the book the author talks about the one and only encounter she had with Vera Atkins.
   
   At the time of the interview, Ms. Atkins was but a few weeks from her 90th birthday, and chose to speak little of her involvement with the SOE. With that as a backdrop, the author used her skill and connections to interview anyone who had worked with or knew Vera Atkins to put together a very interesting story. The book is written in narrative form, but at times Helm drops into the text a snippet from one of these various interviews with survivors from that era. Most of the book is about how Vera Atkins tracked down leads on the agents who didn't return or were presumed dead, because Ms. Atkins felt responsible to give an accurate accounting to the families that were unaware their missing family members were agents.
   
   When reading this book, you are aware that you are reading about British history by a British author. One of the ways that this is evident is by the author's liberal usage of French phrases, some of which are not translated into English. For a British audience this may not be a problem, but for the average American audience, it can be troubling at times.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: A fascinating story about World War II and well worth the time to read.



2. It's one thing to be a trained trooper, heavily armed and supported by your comrades. It's another to be a young female civilian, clandestinely landed or air-dropped into enemy occupied territory. Sarah Helms has written a very personal biography, a page-turner that helps today's interested reader access a facet of the war that hasn't been forgotten because it's never been widely known. The portal is Vera Atkins, the woman behind F section at SOE, who was personally responsible for recruiting, training, dispatching and managing civilian female agents in occupied France. It's an inspiring and byzantine story that takes the reader back to the roots of the 20th century. More immediately it makes you shake your head when you realize that many of these young heroines, idealists all, risked and lost their lives owing to the incompetence and betrayal of their colleagues, as well as the twisted and bestial treatment they received from the men and women they faced in German uniforms. It's comforting to know that at least one person - Vera Atkins - felt a personal responsibility to discover the fate of her female agents. Vera's motivations are sometimes questionable and murky, and the tapestry of her roots and experiences are as complex as the war itself. It would have been useful to read more about the specific training of the agents and have more details of their actions in the field. It's not entirely clear what they were supposed to do and what they actually accomplished. More attention on the issue of whether these women were legally considered spieds or not would have helped. Overall Helms book succeeds because it makes an important chapter of the war accessible to today's reader/student. It makes you want to go out and continuing reading on the subject, but one already suspects that her book is one of the best.



3. Numerous interviews with family members and friends, aggressive pursuit of declassified documents and old letters, allow secrets to be revealed in this book. A LIFE IN SECRETS traces the history of special agents parachuted into France during World War II and their fate. The bravery of these people, and especially of the women, should always be remembered.
   
   Secret organizations are secret, their files restricted, purged, and hidden. That makes it especially difficult to trace decisions, responsibilities, and fates. To place credit for the actual heroic achievements and to place blame for mistakes and over-developed egos is exceedingly difficult.
   
   This book is meticulously researched and reconstructed and reveals the facts of agents in World War II yet it evades being tedious. The reader is left to decide the personality and motives of various responsible cadre members and who may be a traitor or not.
   
   There is no doubt as to the achievement of the agents or the author of this superb book. It is an extraordinary book about courageous people in monstrous times.



4. The extraordinary life of Vera Atkins- the woman who parachuted female secret agents into occupied France during the war, and then in 1945 made it her personal mission to track down the missing agents and find out the awful truth of what had happened to them. Sarah Helm, the author of A Life In Secrets: The story of Vera Atkins and SOE's lost agents, tells the whole story about the underground and dark side of political intrigues, spies and beyond. A most fascinating book.



5. I loved every second of A Life In Secrets. It was like reading the best mystery, spy novel, espionage thriller, personal history, and WWII fact-finding book all in one volume. In it Sarah Helm tells several stories and unravels many mysteries. The obvious story is that of Vera Atkins and her "missing agents", the women (mostly) and men who were dropped into France and other countries by Britain's Special Operations Executive, formed to help assist underground resistance movements in Nazi occupied countries. These agents were civilians who were hand picked and trained to blend in and do their job, and it was Atkins' job to communicate with their families and make sure they were okay.
   
   The obvious aim of Secrets is Helm's biographical telling of the life and career of Vera Atkins, which partially involves interviews with Atkins herself as well as surviving relatives, co-workers, and friends. Just the recounting is fascinating, as Helms travels all over East and West Germany, Roumania, France, Canada, and England, tracking down her tale. Then we have the chronicles of the missing SOE agents and Atkins' dogged pursuit of their fates, however tragic, made even more interesting when Atkins gets approval to travel to France and Germany. Her stories of attendance at war crimes trials, testimonials from concentration camp leaders, guards, and inmates, and her search for closure amongst the wreckage of post-war Europe are detached enough to be clear and objective yet connected enough to be horrifying.
   
   But the deepest and most interesting mystery turns out to be that of Atkins herself. How did Vera Rosenberg, a Roumanian Jew, become naturalized British citizen and SOE leader Vera Atkins? Why was she so interested in Nazi Germany? What drew her to this work, and especially to her dissection of the ends of the lives of her agents? What secrets was Vera Atkins hiding?
   
   The answers to these questions are surprising and a bit disturbing. The lines between good and bad, collaborator and enemy, friend and enemy are blurred. But in the end I had not only a great respect for Atkins and how she did her job (in more ways than one) but for Helm, who solves several deeply buried mysteries. Highly recommended!

5 comments about The Wrong Stuff : The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator.

1. I loved this book - it was unpretentious, genuine, and informative. Truman Smith conveys realistically what it was like for him - and it's obvious by his writing style no one "ghosted" it for him.



2. My husband, Dave Bender, enjoyed the book very much and has passed it along to friends who have the same interests.



3. I Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author is is good at emphasising the sounds and emotions he experienced and even semi-apologises for this at the beginning. A good judge of how good a book is, is how often you think back to what you have read in it. I have done this several times with The Wrong Stuff. A recommended read for someone with WWII aviation interests!



4. This is the worst book that I have ever seen If this smith is a writer I think I wiii start writing . I am throwing it in the recyle.



5. As a pilot instructor with military navy air time I was riveted to read this veteran's narrative about his 35 missions.
   
   Flying in formation through all that european weather in these lumbering explosive beasts had me tighten up just thinking of it and thinking of me doing just that. To sit in those aluminum cans and face down 20mm canon fire coming directly at you and just "taking it" until your face is turned into silly putty is also almost horrifying as you read it.
   
   And all this from 20 yo kid; amazing who really won WW2 and my two uncles were Army pilots in the Pacific. My most cherished picture of them is visiting each other on some unknown pacific island; two kids from Manhattan fighting for their life and then coming home with malaria that lasted years. I'm sure none of these kids knew what they were getting into just the glamor of it mixed with rage of the Japanese attack.
   
   He tops it off with 20 something lust and fantasy about losing his virginity which in today's anything goes at any age culture sees like from another country but still it adds to the stew of emotions you will experience along with him..............a terrific read for any pilot or WW2 enthusiast

5 comments about If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story.

1. I have read several non-fiction books on WWII, and I think this may be my favorite. Not only is it fascinating to hear everything from a first person account, but it was nice for once to not have to cringe every few minutes over four letter words. Yes, I realize that such language was quite common (and still is) in the military, but 95% of the time quoting such language does nothing to communicate the story. Don't misunderstand, he tells it like he saw it, including the horrors of war.
   
   I strongly recommend this book to any and all who want to get a taste of what war in general, and WWII specifically, is really like.



2. This is an excellent and vivid narrative of the war from the critically important perspective of a junior lieutenant platoon commander. War stories necessarily require a grain of salt, but Wilson's detailed recounting of tactics and conditions of the war in France after D-Day convince me that he was a good commander. The tactical choices facing the commander and the limited preparation provided by training are fascinating and are very well conveyed.
   
   On the whole, though, the book is not well written. The language is stilted, and Wilson can only superficially relate the war on an emotional level. Of course, one's heart goes out to the man given what he experienced in combat. At one level, the book glorifies war in its portrayal of the courage and tactical shrewdness on both sides. But, on balance, this is an anti-war book. While Wilson can not really let you under his skin, he does compellingly portray the horror of combat.
   
   This is a good read, and I would recommend the book to the general reader as well as to WWII aficionados.



3. George Wilson doesn't waste words on pretty details, he just describes what happened, clear and real, and what his thoughts and feelings were. So, perhaps not the most elegant of autobiographical books, but certainly compelling, realistic and very, very informative. And able to touch you.
   A little hesitant in the beginning, after a few chapters the books start rolling, and never stops, but gets better and better all the time. I couldn't put it down.
   Excellent book!



4. One of my favorite books about WW2 of all time next to With the old Breed and Helmut for my Pillow. If you liked those book then this is a must read for you. I couldn't put this book down, often staying up well past 2 in the morning just to finish certain chapters. And more than a few times I found myself choking back tears. How anyone gave this less than 5 stars is beyond me, they must have been looking for Shakespeare.



5. I enjoyed this book. It is a quick read and keeps you thinking the whole time. It was on the Army Chief of Staffs reading list, otherwise I most likely would not have read it. It gives an interresting perspective from a combat leaders point of view. He was an over used and abused lieutenant in an Infantry division that just seemed to never get a break. Makes you think about how to better take care of your Soldiers.

5 comments about Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45.

1. This is a remarkable book and well worth reading nearly four decades after its initial publication. Tuchman is a gifted author and her subject, "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, is an outrageous, memorable figure. Even readers with a limited familiarity with China or the Pacific theater during the Second World War will find "Stilwell and the American Experience in China" captivating.
   
   Joe Stilwell was, to say the least, an unusual Army officer for his generation. He had a gift for languages and was drawn to career-limiting foreign assignments from the moment in he left West Point. He spoke fluent Spanish and French before he accepted a chance posting to China in his mid-thirties primarily because it offered the opportunity to get out of the country and learn a new language and culture. By the time the US entered the Second World War, Stilwell was the most highly rated Corps commander in the Army, but also had many years experience in China and spoke fluent Mandarin. Although George Marshall wanted him to command the first US ground campaign of the war - the TORCH landings in North Africa - Stilwell was sent to Asia because no one else was better qualified to serve in China, a region of great importance after the British were booted quickly out of Hong Kong, Singapore and the rest of East Asia by the Japanese.
   
   The irony of this book is that Stilwell was at once the best-qualified officer in the US Army to serve in Asia in support of Chiang Kai Shek's KMT Army and also the worst possible choice because of his abrasive mien. On the one hand, no other senior officer had his command of the language, years in country, or understanding of the Chinese culture. On the other hand, no other senior officer was as tactless or boorish - two qualities that do not serve one well in Asia. For instance, Stilwell had the habit of assigning mocking and often cruel nicknames to his tormentors, real and perceived. Almost from the beginning, Chiang Kai Shek, his nominal superior in the China theater, was "Peanut" - an insulting moniker that Stilwell used rather openly and regularly and was well-known by the Generalissimo and his staff, an incredible affront to the Chinese sense of position and authority. Even more insulting and offensive was Stilwell's occasional reference to his polio-stricken command-in-chief as "Rubber legs."
   
   Yet, Tuchman is clearly a fan of Stilwell's. She sees in him the same talent, passion and energy that led Secretary of War Stimson and Chief of Staff Marshall to put him in the role and steadfastly defend him in the face of repeated requests for his dismissal by scores of highly placed US, British and Chinese officials, whose number included FDR himself. But after reading "Stilwell" one cannot help but think that Stimson and Marshall made a mistake in sticking with Joe for so long.
   
   "Stilwell" also reads like a case study in the perils and heartaches of coalition warfare. From the outset, the major allies in the CBI Theater - the US, British and Chinese - were fundamentally at odds over objectives and therefore completely out of sync on strategy. The British did not see the point in bothering with China at all and wanted only to regain their colonial possessions, Hong Kong and Singapore above all, and Burma only if convenient and if it could be done without mixing Chinese and Indian troops. Chiang Kai Shek, on the other hand, had little interest in ejecting the Japanese from China in a bloody, all-out racial war, but rather preferred to stockpile American supplies and allow the US Navy and nascent Air Forces to slowly erode the Japanese war machine. Meanwhile, the US was guided by FDR's dream of seeing China emerge as one of the world's great post-war powers, fully on the side of the United States and committed to democracy. Tuchman stresses repeatedly that the US public, and to a certain extent the US government, was greatly misled on the truth of the KMT regime. The missionary lobby and other important Chiang supporters, including high-level visitors that were successfully hoodwinked, such as defeated presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie, generated a flood of propaganda that gave the average American a wildly unrealistic and positive impression of the Chinese ally. Tuchman contends that Stilwell himself saw the balderdash written about the KMT as the primary culprit in the inability or unwillingness of Washington to change policy once it became clear that the continued support Chiang was a waste of resources and American prestige and position.
   
   "Stilwell" succeeds on many levels and will likely remain in print and widely read for decades to come. It is a stellar blend of biography, military history, American foreign policy, US-China relations, and a case study in coalition warfare.



2. This book is of exceptional quality and stands up very well after nearly forty years. If not for Tuchman, Stilwell, who was one of the best generals in the U.S. Army during World War II, would be lost to history given his unrewarding work in a backwater region.
   
   Tuchman does an excellent job of letting Stilwell speak for himself. His integrity, brilliance, and humble nature come through. So do his pugnacious and combative personality, which while quite useful for a general in an operational command, were counterproductive in China. Having written a book on Stilwell myself, I believe she is absolutely right that he was the wrong man for this posting, which was about diplomacy as much as it was military campaigns. If he had not gone to China, he probably would have lead the U.S. invasion of North Africa instead of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Given their differing personalities and Stilwell's Anglophobia, Vinegar Joe would not have done well there either. He was an exceptionally able military leader, but he needed to be commanding field armies rather trying to be a diplomat.
   
   This book, though, is more than a biography. It is a life and times study with Stilwell being a tool to study the U.S. relationship with China. Many people blamed Stilwell for poorly managing relations with China that ended up weakening Chiang Kai-shek and allowed the Communists to come to power. An easy claim to make since Stilwell died in 1946. Tuchman is balanced in her account and gives Stilwell's critics their moment. She also develops Chiang's point of view and shows that he and Stilwell were pursuing different policies because they had different goals. This leads to her main theme that China has never been under the sway or control of the United States, and that we have many experts on China, and ignore them at our peril. Tuchman was writing with the Vietnam War in mind, seeing Stilwell's experiences as setting in motion events that brought U.S. involvement in that region. That assertion seems a little simplistic, but this book is still highly, highly relevant given the current nature of U.S.-Chinese relations.
   
   With all these points made, this book is not without certain shortcomings. She skimps a bit on operational matters, which is understandable given her focus. While this biography is good, very good, it is not Tuchman at her best. "Guns of August" is better. That comment, though, is like complaining that you won an Olympic gold medal without setting a world record. Most of us would take Olympic gold under those conditions and Tuchman really deserved the Pulitzer she won for this study.



3. As much as I think this books has provided a lot of information/insight during the period, I found author's comtemptuous attidude towards Chinese a bit hard to swallow. In a way, she was somehow biased when she wrote the book. In no way I'm accusing her of distorting the fact, but, how the fact is presented will shape the opinion of a general reader about Chinese. This is probably not the main point of the book, but for a book that has won putlizer prize, I would have expected more.



4. This book very elegantly and faithfully documented the Stilwell's point of view of what happened during this part of history, but it is very one-sided.
   
   First of all, the KMT commanders were not mostly corrupt and incapable like Tuchman had described in this book. A direct quote from TIME artile titled "The Army Nodbody Knows" in the June 16, 1941 issue:
   "...Four years of war have hurt China a lot, but have also taught China a lot. The most spectacular discovery, for a nation in which military leadership has classically been an affair of coin and cunning rather than martial skill, has been that China could turn out first-class officer talent.
   
   There is no younger officer class in the world than that of the Generalissimo's crack divisions. Generalissimo Chiang is 53, Chen Cheng is 41, Chen's Field Chief of Staff is 34. It would be hard to find a divisional or regimental commander in those divisions over 40. Regimental colonels are sometimes in their 20s.
   
   These baby officers are tough babies. They are trim as well-kept guns, big fellows, by Chinese standards, hearty and jolly in rest and brutally energetic in action. They lead in person. With their divisions they clamber up mountainsides which would put most corpulent U.S. colonels hors de combat. In nearly four years of fighting, the young officers have mastered the arts of the field--silent de ployment, timely retreat, sudden concentration, plausible ambuscade, dependable supply of vegetable camouflage..."
   
   But as this book has gone out of its way to emphasize, it is true that Chiang's administration towards the end of the second Sino-Japanese war was becoming weak and corrupt, which eventually led to his lost of mainland China to the Communist. However, this fact needs to be put into context as well. China fought alone for 4 years against a vastly more superior enemy. Therefore many of the best Nationalist Chinese generals were KIA or incapacitated early in the war of resistance against Japan. There were 73 KMT generals KIA during WWII (plus 1 Chinese Communist general), more than any other country Allied or Axis. It is reasonable to assume that many of the KMT military commanders that managed to survive and rise in ranks to the end were more interested in self preservation and personal gain, rather than defeating the emeny. Chiang knew this all too well but could do very little to alleviate this problem, all he could do was execute one or two of them from time to time to warn others not to go too far. So Tuchman's analogy comparing KMT to AVRN is not only inappropriate, but also failed to take into account the context of China fighting a 8-year long war with marginal industrial capacity and grossly inadeqate military supplies. It is a miracle that Chiang did not surrender and broker some kind of peace agreement with the Japanese.
   
   Finally, this book has indirectly proved that Stilwell spent (and wasted) way too much time and energy accusing the KMT leadership and fighting Chiang and Chennault, instead of accepting the tremedous shortcomings of his Chinese Ally and try to work out a less than perfect solution to fight the Japanese. His despise and hatred toward Chiang got to a point when Roosevelt gave Chiang an ultimatum to hand over command of all Chinese armed forces to Stilwell (with explicit instruction to keep this confidential), he rushed to have the letter read out loud in front of all the Chinese and American generals attending a meeting, for the sole purpose of embarrass and discredit Chiang in public. This event led directly to his recall as Chiang replied to Roosevelt that the KMT would rather fight alone than cave in to this ultimatum.



5. How far will the united States go to support a ruler on the words of others? Stilwell was, first and foremost, a soldier; a general of uncommon skills. Not so much the common touch as the respect by the troops for putting them first, their welfare was his top priority. His years in the east made him the obvious choice for the China post. No general has been asked to do as much as he had to do on the political front, treating with allies who were concerned above all for their place in the sun, while at the same time, fighting a tenacious, skilled, dedicated enemy. Surely a harbinger of what was to come in a place tro the north, called Korea.

5 comments about Nimitz.

1. Some WWII commanders. such as Patton, Ike or MacArthur, seem to have a new book written about them every year or so. For no particular reason, others, no less important, seem to be virtually ignored. Nimitz is one of these men, and it is fortunate that the one biography (as far as I can tell) written about him is quite excellent. Potter writes very well, did some outstanding research, and has an enormous love for his subject, letting Nimitz's natural charm, humor, professionalism, and common sense come through on every page. My only real complaint is that the author's near worship of his subject precludes any real discussion of the admiral's strategy, decisions, and mistakes. Some nice maps, footnotes, an excellent bibliography. Definitely one of those books worth purchasing and reading over and over.



2. I bought this book at the Navy Exchange on a whim. Two pages into this book and I was hooked. After 20 years in the Navy after reading this book, I can see Nimitz's impact everywhere I look.
   Most biographies are written by hero worshiping sychophants, or worse written by the subject of the biography whose recollection of events are always flattering. Potter tackles the single most important man in U.S. Naval history with appriciation, but not at the expense of his detachment.
   You begin with the Admiral's family history, how his grand father came to America. You then follow his lack luster school performance that explodes into focused determination to pass the Naval Academy's entrance exams. Because the Admiral's claim to fame was his leadership during WW II, the lion's share of the book covers his assumption of command U.S. Forces Pacific and follows it through his presence at the signing of the Japanese surrender at Tokyo bay. However; the last few chapters covering his dedicated work to maintain the U.S. Navy as a seperate and powerful force is eye opening and gives the reader (especialy if your a sailor) a scare at how close the U.S. Navy came to being dismantled like it had been after every war.
   The thing I took away from the book was as you look around the Navy, many officers are detail minded. The higher the rank, the more of a bean counter they become. I used to be disappointed that we no longer had officers like Perry or John Paul Jones, that they had all become accountant politicians. However; reading this book, I now see that men like Jones, Perry, and Halsey might win battles. It was the detail minded officers like Nimitz that win wars. It is very obvious that in today's Navy officers are trained in the shadow of Nimitz. Many of our ceremonies are now patterned after the way that Nimitz conducted ceremonies. The way we refuel, the submarine, the way we detail sailors, so much of the Navy was forged by Nimitz.
   This book covers not only his triumphs but his defeats, his short commings. It deals honestly with the subject, with out elevating him to super human. You see a man. This book should be mandatory reading for every sailor on earth. I highly recommend this book!



3. Potter's biography of Chester Nimitz, CinCPac, is a good war biography. It can usefully be read in conjunction with Potter's volume on William Halsey, "Bull Halsey," and Thomas Buell's biography of the less flamboyant Raymond Spruance, "The Quiet Warrior."
   
   The book is functionally--but surely not elegantly--written. It traces the life of Chester Nimitz from his childhood to Annapolis to his rise in the ranks of the Navy to World War II and beyond. Much detail is provided, including information on his family life.
   
   The maps of the various campaigns in the Pacific are extremely helpful to the reader. The book traces the kind of decisions that Nimitz had to make--from replacing Admiral Kimmell after the surprise attack on Pearly Harbor to assigning Raymond Spruance to carrier command at Midway to relieving Admiral Ghormley at Guadalcanal with Admiral Halsey, to working with the mercurial General Douglas MacArthur, to the climactic battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
   
   This is the kind of functional biography that provides great detail on combat strategy and tactics as well as on the person being studied.
   
   A good volume if one wants to understand the role and importance of Chester Nimitz in World War II. Not an elegantly written book, but a good functional work.



4. E.B. Potter's Nimitz is an adequate depiction of the Navy's preeminent leader of WWII. Adequate, vice great, as Potter did not seem willing to criticize, although Nimitz was evidently a man who did provide few episodes worthy of criticism. He was loved by the troops, respected by his peers and immediate subordinates, and worked well with superiors (King, Knox, and Roosevelt) that demanded excellence in all of their subordinates. The reader may wonder why there are so few narratives dedicated to Nimitz during WWII, as compared to the plethora available depicting the wartime exploits of MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and Patton. It would appear that his quiet competence, as compared to the showmanship of some of the others, did not lend itself to a flashy best-seller, thus Potter is the only one who has attempted to tell his story.
   
   Potter did a good job, but his personal friendship with Nimitz appears to have rendered him incapable of criticizing the man. While Nimitz did apparently have few faults, Potter did a disservice to the reader by failing to scrutinize some of Nimitz's faults, such as his apparent indecisive streak when it came to strategic decision-making (for instance deciding the correct avenue of approach to Japan, whether the Philippines, Taiwan, or the Bonins, especially in discussions with Roosevelt and MacArthur).
   
   Also, as a practitioner, I felt that the lack of discussion of the specifics of operational planning and decision-making under Nimitz's command, missed an opportunity for comparison with the methods that the military uses, successfully or not, in today's formulation of strategy and operational construction.
   
   Finally, I would have liked to have read a little bit more of the leadership philosophy that made Nimitz successful during his years at sea. The chapter on his command aboard AUGUSTA went a long ways toward scratching this itch, but what the Navy leader of today needs is a discussion, through framework or anecdote, of what made a successful career.
   
   Despite my criticism, I have to say that Nimitz's life is one worth studying, and as discussed above, there are few choices of books dedicated to Nimitz's life, so I do recommend Potter's work. I would just like to see another biography written through a cynical twenty-first century eye, so that we can reap the benefit of a critical discussion of his mistakes, as well as his triumphs.



5. This is a wonderfully done work! The best account of the war in the Pacific I have read. The overblown accounts of MacArthur and Halsey over shadowed the real brains, the true hero of the victory. It depicts Nimitz as a strong, but caring man whose tactical and strategic skills are not widely known. It should be required reading for high school/college literature courses.

5 comments about Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller.

1. Chesty Puller is the greatest Marine ever, and this book delves into the events that shaped this man. This book taps into the ineffencies that Puller had but also showed the strengths that Puller strived on. It's very interesting to see that Chesty was not very strong in the math department but was well versed in all the great battles of Rome, Napoleanic wars, Robert E Lee campaign, Persians and many more. Chesty was an avid reader of the classics and utilized those images to help him fight future wars.
   
   This book should be read by all future Americans wanting to lead men into battle.



2. "We've been looking for the enemy for several days now. We've finally found them. We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them."
   
   Burke Davis provides a very readable biography of Chesty Puller - the greatest Marine ever. Although easy to read, the sheer number of combat exploits is difficult to grasp. This man was in and out of combat for 37 years!
   
   If Puller were alive today, I suspect he would face many, if not more, of the same frustrations and roadblocks to training and leading marines. His early experiences with low intensity conflict would be invaluable in Iraq and Afghanistan.
   
   He respected his opponents and learned from their strengths... "We'll have to get over the idea that we're the greatest people on earth in every respect, that we're infallible and that no one else has ideas worth considering. One of the reasons we had to fight against odds on Guadalcanal was this insufferable American notion of superiority, and our carelessness in face of danger. It goes back to Pearl Harbor and far beyond."
   
   An amazing story about a rare breed of soldier that should be required reading.



3. In the 70's I was a teenager, about 15, and I read everything I could on military heroes. When I saw this book I passed on it because it was about a general. My heroes were Sgts or junior officers-Cols were okay if they were pilots. With only a few dollars, I bought Baa Baa Black Sheep instead. Most book publishers felt the same as I did, they didn't want another general refighting the war for self benefit. When I finally read the book, as an enlisted paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne, I realized that this is not at all a general's book. Chesty fought in every rank, first as a sergeant, than from every officer billit from 2ndLt to Brig General. The book is a military history of America's little wars from the 20's to World War II, with an encore in Korea, where Puller was awarded the Army's Distinguished Service Cross and his fifth Navy Cross. I return to this book often and I think that anyone, regardless of occupation, will find this book inspiring. The Army has David Hackworth, the Air Force Bud Day, the Navy has John Bulkley, The Marine Corps has Chesty Puller, and every Marine knows his name. I know, partly because of this book I became one.



4. I had heard all the stories when I was in the Corps about Chesty Puller, winner of the Navy Cross 5 times, but knew little else. I saw this book and read it in one night. It was an interesting read about a man who went from a Private to a General Officer.
   
   It dealt with his years fighting the "Banana Wars" in the Caribbean and Central America and dealt heavily with his actions during the Second World War. I have met veterans who served under Puller who were divided on him. But there is no doubt of the impact he has had on the Corps.
   
   If you are a Marine or are no longer on active duty, read this book as a primer. Read his son's book, Fortunate Son and Eugene Sledge's With the Old Breed. They both will give you an insight.



5. This is a really good book on Chesty's life. Sure glad it was available!

5 comments about Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography.

1. William Gienapp's Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America answers a longstanding need for a biography of Lincoln manageable in size, accessible in style, and wise and balanced in content. Lincoln appers on every page of the book and is never lost sight of in the welter of events. He emerges from the text a real believable person, an individual and persuasive assessment of Lincoln's leadership abilities, the finest such appraisal avilable anywhere.



2. A good short, solid political biography. While Lincoln and the Civil War is its focus, by no means is this a battle history: Gettysburg is described in one paragraph.
   
   Professor Gienapp has written a book that will introduce one to, or remind one of, the long and trying path traveled by Abraham Lincoln toward ultimate greatness.



3. A short, but very well biography of Lincoln. It counts only 250 pages, but it gives an excellent overwiew and superb analyse of the life of AL. The bibliography is also very interesting. One of the best books about the 16th president. A must for a Lincolnhistorian.



4. Bill Gienapp was a brilliant historian, and his work "The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856" is a pillar of American political history. Unfortunately, his final work, "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America," is a tremendous let-down. It is perhaps one of the worst examinations of Lincoln's life, and has almost nothing to do with "Civil War America." Essentially, it is an unqualified love poem to Lincoln, and strives only to prove his greatness -- there is no critical analysis at all. Lincoln is given credit for every political and military success 1861-1865 and is absolved from blame for all his mistakes. In reality, Lincoln was a complex personality and his public career was much more tumultuous than Gienapp proposes. It is disappointing that Gienapp, a man who dedicated his life to exhaustive, nearly flawless historical research would resort to such frivolous, uncritical "pop history" at the end of his tragically short life. Skip Gienapp's Lincoln and, instead, read Stephen Oates's "With Malice Toward None" or Don Fehrenbacher's "Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s."



5. The product came in great condition as expected and when the shipping was late, the dealer was able to let me know what was going on. The next few days I received the book with no problems. Also the seller was quick to respond and very easy to work with. Thanks!

5 comments about Spitfires, Thunderbolts, and Warm Beer: An American Fighter Pilot Over Europe (The Warriors).

1. Although history and aviation buffs will definitely enjoy this book, there was so much more to it. This book really makes you think about the value of life. Many, many people died in this book, from training accidents, falling off boats in the ocean, getting hit by "friendly fire", as well as getting hit in combat. Yet nobody complained. Lives were expendable for the cause. And for some pilots, just the act of flying was worth dieing for. The act of living seemed to become more important, and people seemed to live life to the fullest in spite of the troubling times.

   Don't get me wrong, this wasn't some deep, intense book. It was also very entertaining. I learned a lot about early aviation, and the early part of the war between England and Germany. But at the end of it I got a much better inside view about what it was like to live during World War II, and to enjoy the life we're given.




2. This book gives you a good balance of what life was like. The fighting and living before and after America arrived on mass. It also compares the strength's and weakness of both planes and how they completed similar jobs but were built on completly different theories. Good book reccommend to people who enjoyed first light or spitfire offensive.



3. It's not often you get to read the very inner thoughts of a fighter pilot but this book allows the reader just that. Leroy Gover, whose combat career of 159 missions is the subject of this book, habitually kept a diary and this, coupled with excerpts from his letters home and candid interviews with the author, really makes this memoir feel as though you're relaxing in the mess while Gover talks to you.
   
   A California kid, Gover learnt to fly before he could drive and was an experienced flyer at the time he decided to volunteer for service in the RAF. This was before the US entered the war and is an early indication of the type of person Gover is. After training, where his enthusiasm for flying new aircraft is evident, he and his classmates embarked on a long, sometimes hazardous journey to Canada and then by convoy (the hazardous bit!) to England. Within days, perhaps hours, of landing in England, Gover is amazed and humbled by the spirit and resilience of the English civilians and this is a theme that continues throughout the book. We follow him through OTU (Operational Training Unit) where he finally gets to fly his dream aircraft - the Spitfire. He is then posted to 66 Sqn and comences flying fighter sweeps, convoy escort etc.
   
   Gover, although aware of his abilities as a flyer, knows he has to be good at what he does to have a greater chance of survival. Through his writings and the author's clarifications and additional information, Gover comes across as a humble, yet ambitious fighter pilot. He knows he isn't invincible and more than once he doubts if he'll ever return home. He never ceases to be amazed at the situations he gets into and his love affair with the Spitfire, and the city of London and girls when on leave, is very evident.
   
   America's entry into the war eventually sees Gover joining the US Army Air Force and eventually converting to P-47s with the newly formed 4th Fighter Group which was destined to become one of the most famous of all American fighter groups. Here, I believe, is where his personality and combat experience come to the fore. He quickly becomes an excellent leader who keeps an eye on the men who fly behind him on formation. He feels their loss greatly, as he does throughout his time in England when friends are killed.
   
   Reading this book is like talking to an old friend who has been away for a few years. It is a candid, sometimes amusing, always eye-opening look at how these men made it through day-by-day. Once a day was over, they were always ready to put it all on the line the next.



4. A friend who was reading this book told me about it and rather than wait for him to finish, I was fortunate enough to find a hard cover edition available on Amazon a week or so ago. Being fascinated with stories such as this and flying in general I decided I wanted a copy for my own. I'm glad I did.
   
   LeRoy Gover is an authentic American hero who, in his early twenties decided he wanted to become a military fighter pilot. It is May of 1941. Gover has been a pilot of his own and other aircraft for nearly seven years and has accumulated 800 hours of flying time. He lacked any college education however, which was a requirement to join the Army or Navy pilot training. The RAF had no such requirement. If you had two hundred hours as pilot in command and could pass a physical, the RAF was interested in training American and Canadian pilots to bolster the RAF which was involved with the Battle of Britain at the time.
   
   Gover and a few friends are accepted, receive basic training in Canada and eventually ship to England in a convoy which may have been as harrowing as many of the experiences he would eventually have as an RAF and US fighter pilot.
   
   His story is told from letters and dairies as well as some interviews as Grover was alive at the time the book was published and from them we get a glimpse of three fascinating years in the history of WW2 and the air war in Europe.
   
   These young men lived constantly with the pressure of combat flying and the dangers of being in wartime England, yet Gover's telling of the experience makes it sound like the old joke about what it is like to be an airline pilot...hours and hours of sheer boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror. He describes more than the flying. There is also the comradship, being assimilated into the life and culture of wartime England and the carefree way they sought release with parties, alcohol, movies and some very friendly English women.
   
   Almost casually as one reads of the experiences it starts to dawn on the reader than young Grover is an exceptional pilot and exceptionally fortunate, as well. Thirteen men graduated with him in his training class. He and another are the only survivors. After one hundred and fifty three missions, he had acquired the Silver Star, three DFC's and eight air medals. He shot down four Germans for sure, had three probables and damaged seven others.
   
   After finally returning to the US after three years in combat he remained in the Air Force until 1961, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He continued to fly following retirement and it is reported that as of the writing of the book he had twenty eight thousand hours of flying time and probably more time in fighter aircraft than any person alive.
   
   But this books charm is not in the accomplishments of this remarkable individual. It is in the landscape of the time painted by Gover's words.
   They span the years and one can hear the sound of the Merlin engines and feel the concussions of the German bombs falling on the English countryside. If this appeals to you...you need to find a copy.



5. I found this book interesting for about the first half. It is interesting to hear how Leroy Grover got into the RAF will no military training. The book is disappointing though in the lack of in depth combat action. I was reading the book waiting for Leroy's first combat and he doesn't even include his first kill in his diary. The author has to tell us about it after the diary entry for the day of Leroy's first kill. I expected something much more descriptive about Leroy's first combat. I just didn't get the feeling that Leroy was an agressive fighter pilot. He encounters a HE III on a training flight. He is flying a fully armed Spitfire and meets a single unescorted German bomber. Leroy says he didn't feel experienced enough yet to tackle the German bomber yet he had 800 flying hours, although none of that was combat time. Leroy was also in England and flying either for the RAF or the U.S. for two years, yet his score was only 4 victories. It just didn't seem like Leroy had the fighter pilot persona to meet the enemy and shoot him down, at least not the way this book is written. Most of the book covers going into London or some town or village and socializing. Leroy Grover was alive when this book was written. I can't understand why this book wasn't written as a first person account since the author could talk to Mr. Grover and verify and update any events that had taken place. I think there is more to the story of Leroy Grover's involement in WWII but this book doesn't reveal that very well. I would recommend, Fly for Your Life, Reach for the Sky, The First and the Last, Thunderbolt, and Gunther Rall's book, I can't remember the title. I found these books much more interesting.

5 comments about The Wild Blue : The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45.

1. The Wild Blue is about the young men who flew the B-24 over Germany in World War 2 against all odds. Mr. Ambrose describes the heroism, courage, and skill with a lot of detail. He successfully makes you feel like you are in the great lumbering bomber in the hostile skies over Germany. He also describes how the Army Air Force (only after the war were the army and air force separate) recruited, trained and then chose those few that would undertake the most dangerous job in the war. The pilots, bombardiers, navigators and, the gunners of the B-24s suffered a 50 percent casualty rate.
   
   This book follows the lives of ten men from different towns and different backgrounds and watches them come together and form a team. The trust was important because up in the skies of Germany it was good to know that someone had your back. I believe that Mr. Ambrose captures that perfectly. He takes the reader along in the crowded, uncomfortable planes as the men aboard fought to the death through smoke and terrifying flack to reach their industrial targets in the Rhineland. Their goal was to destroy the German war machine.



2. This book is not about the men and boys who flew the B 24 it is a book about Mc Govern. Reading the book sort of makes you feel like he was the only man in the war. I purchased the book to read about all the men. The author could have even shown some about other men that did basicaly the same that became famous: Kennedy, Jimmy Stewert and others. He focused only on McGovern and I certinaly wonder how much he paid to get Stephen to write this book or is Stephen that much in love with Mc Govern. I can not stand the man now and will not ever knowingly buy another book of his.
   Mary Jo PottsThe Wild Blue : The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45



3. The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany by Stephen E. Ambrose is controversial because some scholars point out Ambrose has lifted the work of other authors without placing said work inside "quotation" marks. That is a tragic error. Is it an error of omission or commission? I do not know. I do know it is ethically wrong. The book tells the story of former US Presidential candidate and US Senator George McGovern. It tells of McGovern's upbringing, his journey to college, the outbreak of World War II, his falling in love and marriage, his joining the US Army Air Corps, his training as a pilot, and his combat deployment and action where he was based out of Italy bombing the Axis war machine. It is written in Ambrose's wonderful narrative style. It is highly readable and entertaining. Read in January 2005.



4. Not up to par with the classic Ambrose WWII books.
   
   Citizen Soldiers: The U. S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany
   Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
   
   Ambrose seemed to mail this one in. It reads like a first draft that needs polish and upgrades.
   
   The interesting part of the book is when it centers on George McGovern, yes the ultra-liberal Democratic candidate for President who got a mere handful of votes in the 1972 election, who was a B-24 pilot in the War!



5. One of the things I love about Ambrose's books is the personal history he brings to the subject. If you look at the bibliography of "The Wild Blue" you will notice that many of the sources are interviews he has done with many of the characters in the book, along with other primary source materials. What this does is brings a very personal style to the telling of these stories. Other so-called "oral histories" are bland and often read like a transcript. Ambrose brings other research to the stories so you can understand the context of the time they lived in. "The Wild Blue" is no exception to this.
   
   Before he was a liberal Democratic senator from South Dakota and an anti-war candidate for president, George McGovern flew 35 combat missions over Europe in World War II. Of these 35, only a few were "milk runs." The others were deadly encounters with the enemy, and only his skill and bravery saved his life and the lives of his crew. McGovern also volunteered for this service - no one was drafted or forced into piloting these heavy bombers.
   
   McGovern is a noted anti-war figure from the Vietnam era and was soundly defeated by Nixon in 1972 for the presidency. One of the great ironies of McGovern's political career is in aligning his anti-war stance with his magnificent and heroic service in WWII. Perhaps that experience shaped his views in ways we, or anyone who has so vocally criticized him, can never imagine.
   
   A theme in all of Ambrose's WWII books is that of the "citizen soldier," that of ordinary (mostly young) people dedicated to their country, families, buddies, and surviving the war. One of the accounts from "The Wild Blue" is of a mission where McGovern's engine had been blown out by flak, and his efforts in bringing the crippled B-24 home safely and in saving his life and the life of his crew. McGovern was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. He was 22 years old. What were you doing when you were 22?
   
   Through this personal history, and other similar books and films on this theme, we pay only a fraction of the respect that is owed to these men.