No comments about Radioman: An Eyewitness Account of Pearl Harbor and World War II in the Pacific.

No comments about SURTEES OF THE 95TH RIFLES - A SOLDIER OF THE 95TH (RIFLES) IN THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS.

No comments about The Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: A Chaplain's Story.

1 comments about Escape Betwixt Two Suns: A True Tale of the Underground Railroads in Illinois (Shawnee Books).

1. With great anticipation, I have awaited the release of this book. Pirtle recounts the true story of Susan "Sukey" Richardson's escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad. Through letters that had been hidden away for more than a century, Pirtle weaves us in and out of the life of one of Sukey's most sympathetic supporters, William Hayes. Through this non-fiction account we learn of the hardships all Americans faced during the mid-19th century. We're told of Sukey, her master, and those brave men and women who risked their lives, reputations, and personal finances to help others make their way to freedom. Equally fascinating is the courtroom drama between Sukey's master and those who allegedly helped the young woman in her run to freedom.

   If you're a US history enthusiast, a fan of Illinois history, an Underground Railroad aficionado, a Civil War buff, or just a casual reader who's interested in a captivating story...you'll be sure to enjoy this tome. I highly recommend it.

   And...if you're interested in other stories related to Southern Illinois history, I urge you to try to get hold of Pirtle's other two books: "Shining Moments" and "Where Illinois Began: A Pictorial History of Randolph County."

No comments about Letters from Fort Lewis Brig: A Matter of Conscience.

5 comments about Currahee!.

1. This is one of the best war books I've ever read. It is a first hand account of a 101st Airborne soldier telling when he parachuted into Normandy on D-Day.The Author did a really good job putting everything into detail from training to combat and the horrors of war. He talks about people being blown to pieces and mg42 machine guns almost tearin soldiers in two. He talks about a bayonet charge they did on the Germans. This is an excellent book full of intense action. You can't do a whole bunch better than this. I can't wait to read his sequals,Road to Arnhem A Screaming Eagle In Holland,Seven Roads to Hell A Screaming Eagle In Bastogne,and Beyond The Rhine A Screaming Eagle In Germany. I'm Sure these are great books to. If you like world war 2 books buy this. You won't be sorry



2. Good work. A truly remarkable story. Well written and told up to standard. Anyone who has pulled on "risers" will appreciate this book.



3. Very well written book, hard to put down, when reading book you feel like you are actually with the soldiers fighting in France.



4. Donald Burghett is our everyday guy; on his toes and not a blowhard about his own heroics.....down to earth Warrior of the highest caliber. East to follow,tells Easy Co of the 502d, 101st Airbourne and their OVERUSE and most americans don't know OUR guys were put under "Love HIMSELF" MONTGOMERY, known for wasting his OWN soldiers lives.....Montgomery a blowhard, Patton loud and lost a lot of men but got results and without any doubt along with Easy Co and the rest of 101st & 82nd Airbourne as well as the Brit, French and Polish Airbourne beat Hitlers best, the SS
   
   A very realistic read GARY R TOMS SR War history student for 55 yrs



5. Note: This review is for the hardback 1999 edition.
   
   I first read this under the title of As Eagles Scream back in 1977. Having completed a re-reading of it (actually have done it several other times) I wanted to put my review down for others.
   
   Currahee! Is Mr. Burgett's account as a paratrooper from induction thru Normandy serving in A Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. There are four sections; Training for Combat, Waiting for Combat, Combat, and Afterward. All parts give Mr. Burgett's experiences at that particular point in his career. Focus is always on what he sees and experiences, not the "big scene" around him. The Afterward was written when Currahee! was a stand alone book.
   
   My Likes:
   Wow, where to begin. Seldom have I read a personal account of warfare that contains the details this book has. Mr. Burgett's memory is exact and to the point. In telling his story he mixes no bones and calls what he did. If he screwed up, he tells you that he did and what the effects were from it. The descriptions are detailed, down to telling you minute details (one of my favorites from when I first read the book was his telling of breakfast in training to be a paratrooper; cornflakes and coffee, either eat the cornflakes dry or wet with coffee. Btw, that was after their morning run). The best section for these details was the Combat section. Here Mr. Burgett shines by describing is drop (in excellent detail), his experiences upon landing, and the running battles with the Germans thru his wounding. Of particular interest is his description of how Dead Man's Corner earned it's name.
   
   My Dislikes:
   OK, I have one; I wish Mr. Burgett would have divided the Combat section into two to make for easier reading. The only other possible dislike is that the story cuts off after Normandy and we have to buy The Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland (World War II Library). There are minor problems with him referencing non-airborne weapons (a M3/M5 Stuart is references as a M3 Lee/Grant and few problems with German equipment).
   
   The Rating:
   Five Stars! An Ab Fab writing with a great personal story. I'd love to have toured Normandy with Mr. Burgett. But then reading is book is almost like touring his fight with him. I highly recommend reading this book if you're interested in what the 101st Airborne did during Normandy, particularly from the individual's point of view. There are some excellent photographs, only two maps (I wanted more), the second one is nicely detailed.

No comments about Gentlemen from Hell: Men of the 487th Bomb Group : Leaders of the Largest Eighth Air Force Mission of World War II.

No comments about Sarajevo Roses: War Memoir of a Peacekeeper.

5 comments about Mussolini: A Biography.

1. Jasper Ridley's biography of Mussolini does a good job of retelling the life of this ambitious but fatally flawed leader. Mussolini was no Hitler. Even had he desired it, he could never have established totalitarianism in Italy as the temperment of the Italian people simply would not have allowed it. Instead he was sort of like the neighborhood bully elevated to power. Threatening yes, but not truly evil. Had World War Two not happened, his fate probably would have been more similar to Spain's Franco, whose regime died of natural causes with him. The most interesting aspect of Mussolini's life was his transistion from socialism to fascism, but even this can be viewed as opportunism from a man with no real political convictions other than obtaining and maintaining power. Overall, this is a good introdution to the man who in the end got what he deserved from his own people.



2. Jasper Ridley offers the reader a facile biography of the Italian dictator. Though Benito Mussolini's youth and early adulthood as a radical intellectual are adequately explained, the analysis of Mussolini's rise is shallow. An internationalist socialist until just before World War One, he becomes an Italian nationalist with almost little explanation of why he changed other than his serving briefly as a draftee in the pre-1914 Italian Army. Surely, there is more to explain Mussolini's turnabout. The analysis of post-war Italy and it's ungovernability and social breakdown is weak. Was Italian democractic tradition inch-deep, ready to be exploited by an authoritarian? The Fascist economic system is barely mentioned. Mussolini's thoughts on Hitler's big gamble of sending troops to the demilitarized Rhineland in 1935 are not explained. How did Mussolini come to be the weaker of the two European right-wing authoritarians and did he acknowledge that Hitler dominated the political alliance between the two men? Why did the Italian army have problems defeating the primitive Ethiopian army in 1935-36? Or why did the small, woefully armed Greek army defeat the Italian army and chase it across the Albanian frontier? Why was Italy not ready for World War Two? This biography lacks analysis. More muscle is needed to fill out the man who was Benito Mussolini.



3. This is not a comprehensive biography of Mussolini the man and politician. More a fragmentary story of the life of M. The process of ascension to power, the conversion of the socialist into the fascist, and the politics of the first ten years of consolidation are not really explored in their depth, as is now expected from a Duce's biography.
   Moreover there are considerable gaps in the treatment of the pre-war years and the foundation of the Empire. Also, there are many subjective statements and personal appraisals of the author that do not correspond with the objective view of the modern historians about Mussolini. For instance, his position regarding the jewish question and the racial laws, is not objectively assessed, in its historical context. Also, Salo's period and Mussolini's uncomfortable relationship with the germans are not satisfactorily analyzed. For a more balanced and comprehensive one volume approach I would recommend professor Richard Bosworth's Biography of Mussolini. For truly in depth study, Renzo De Felice's books remain unsurpassed.



4. It should not be surprising that how people think today is shaped largely by the media and influenced by a need to conform to the majority. Americans, in particular, get most of their information of their world from TV and do not read books or feel the need to examine issues of concern in depth. Americans, although characterized as individualists, have a strong need to be a part of the majority and not of the kooky far-out fringe. It is the popular media and the need to be within the mainstream that has shaped the American's perception of history. Have a typical American describe "Benito Mussolini" and the result is a caricature. Jasper Ridley's "Mussolini" describes an "Il Duce" who is definitely more than a cartoon. Ridley describes Mussolini's path from committed socialist revolutionary to leader of Fascist Italy. Mussolini's work ethic and firm sense of nationalism is detailed. One interesting fact is that Mussolini never really admired the Germans or National Socialism and Hitler in particular. However, he eventually co-operates with Hitler to further Italy's security. After reading this book, one gets the impression that the oft parroted Allied fantasy that the Axis powers were committed in taking over the entire world is exactly that. Rather than a unanimous vanguard, the Tripartate Alliance was merely a marriage of convenience. Indeed, one can see the same kind of propaganda being generated by American neo-cons, with such nonsense as the "axis of evil."
   
   The book also details events throughout the world during Mussolini's time which impacted his decisions relating to the state. In particular, the entire world was not interested in another European war. Rather than follow obey the will of the people, the governments then, and now, followed the agenda of the elites and plunged the world into senseless slaughter. As with Italy of the past, true American patriots are those that place the interests of America, and not those of other tribes, first.



5. It should not be surprising that how people think today is shaped largely by the media and influenced by a need to conform to the majority. Americans, in particular, get most of their information of their world from TV and do not read books or feel the need to examine issues of concern in depth. Americans, although characterized as individualists, have a strong need to be a part of the majority and not of the kooky far-out fringe. It is the popular media and the need to be within the mainstream that has shaped the American's perception of history. Have a typical American describe "Benito Mussolini" and the result is a caricature. Jasper Ridley's "Mussolini" describes an "Il Duce" who is definitely more than a cartoon. Ridley describes Mussolini's path from committed socialist revolutionary to leader of Fascist Italy. Mussolini's work ethic and firm sense of nationalism is detailed. One interesting fact is that Mussolini never really admired the Germans or National Socialism and Hitler in particular. However, he eventually co-operates with Hitler to further Italy's security. After reading this book, one gets the impression that the oft parroted Allied fantasy that the Axis powers were committed in taking over the entire world is exactly that. Rather than a unanimous vanguard, the Tripartate Alliance was merely a marriage of convenience. Indeed, one can see the same kind of propaganda being generated by American neo-cons, with such nonsense as the "axis of evil."
   
   The book also details events throughout the world during Mussolini's time which impacted his decisions relating to the state. In particular, the entire world was not interested in another European war. Rather than follow obey the will of the people, the governments then, and now, followed the agenda of the elites and plunged the world into senseless slaughter. As with Italy of the past, true American patriots are those that place the interests of America, and not those of other tribes, first.

1 comments about Civil War Stories of Northwest Ohio Heroes (Great Lakes Connections: The Civil War).

1. I am a native of Northwest Ohio and I am ashamed to say that I do not know much about the history of my region. I also have never read much on the history of Civil War except on the big battles that have been written about ~~ Gettysburg and Fredericksburg and so on. I never really paid attention in school (if the teachers did even mention it) regarding the Civil War soldiers from our area.
   
   Just by chance the other day at a festival that a little town in Ohio, Grand Rapids, hold every October, my family and I walked by this author's booth. My father bought this book. (I bought the other three books by this author because my interest in the Great Black Swamp area has been ignited by a series of newspaper articles a few years' back.)
   
   My dad read this book in three hours. I wasn't so lucky ~~ I do have two preschoolers ~~ but I managed to read it in two days. This is a very slim volume but it is full of historical tidbits about Civil War fighters from the Northwestern Ohio. It is full of emotion as the author compiled stories from old letters and poems written during this time. It is full of pictures. Every story in this book is a complete story. It is written very concisely and beautifully ~~ each character's voice was portrayed in a vivid way. In short, this book is a testament to heroes who just happened to live in a turblent time and did the best they could in their circumstances. It is a testament to those who have marched off to war and never returned home. This book has ignited a spark of interest on my behalf on the Civil War in the Cumberland Gap and other places in Tennessee and Kentucky as Sherman marched his way to Atlanta.
   
   If you are from Ohio ~~ even if you aren't! ~~ I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a Civil War or History buff. This book is a delightful addition to any American history student's library ~~ it is not boring (like too many history books are) and it is interesting. It is also a proud testament to the heroes from my part of the country ~~ these men are just ordinary men in extraordinary times ~~ and this book is exactly that!
   
   10-11-05