No comments about Ridgway: A Biography of One of America's Greatest Generals.

5 comments about Bootprints.

1. As I sat and read this book my mind began to flood with images I have only seen in movies. But, these images were of my grandfather. The man telling the stories is the man I sit looking at and laughing with over Sunday dinner. While I read the pages, there were times I was laughing to myself and times I couldn't stop crying. My grandfather is a hero in every meaning of the word.
   Ever since I can remember my grandfather sat in his chair reading historic novels about war. And now, I sit and read his stories and accounts of what happen to and around him in World War II. I thank him for writting this book, I know it wasn't easy remembering and telling all of the horrible times he went through. I have always had great respect for my grandfather but, now after reading and understanding how he lived and made it through the war. My respect has grown a hundred times.
   I am proud of him to have the courage to walk though the war again in his memories and share them with us. I will keep this book close to my heart just as I do with the man that wrote it.



2. What a wonderful book! Hobert Winebrenner takes you to the heart of the foot soldier of WWII in a way no one else has. You feel the intensity of battle, along with personal feelings of anger, despair, fatigue,; just a myriad of emotions. He is one of the 'unsung heroes' of the war. His detail to things such as inadequate clothing, poor equipment, etc. is superb. This book should be considered among the best written about WWII.
   It's an honor to place this among all my books. Don't miss this one!



3. Bootprints by Hobert Winebrenner and Michael McCoy
   
   Bootprints is Hobert Winebrenner's story (Michael McCoy wrote for him) of his experience in WWII. In telling his tale, Mr. Winebrenner opens before the war and tells about being drafted into the army. Interestingly, once he'd completed training he was asked to train the next batch with the promise that he'd go to officer training school. Fortunately (or not), Mr. Winebrenner was given the option to become a sergeant at Ft. Sill working with forward observers and training them on basic infantry weapons. After doing this for awhile, Mr. Winebrenner was assigned to the M Company (the heavy weapons company), 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division and sent to Europe.
   
   After spending short period of time training in England, the 90th ID was to fight in the hedgerows of Normandy. It is in this time period that Mr. Winebrenner's tale picks the pace that he follows throughout the book, chapters about a series of battles, with sub-chapter that tell of particular parts of the battle (interestingly, more often than not Mr.Winebrenner tells the exploits of others). Chapters include the battles thru the hedgerows of Normandy, recovering from wounds, Operation Cobra and the race across France, breaking into Germany, the Battle of the Bulge, and the battle for Germany. To close things out, Mr. Winebrenner closed out by telling us about the men he served with and what happened to them after the war.
   
   Reading this book I was torn many times between four and five stars. By the end of the book it had become a strong 4.5 star book. If there are weakness's in it, they're very few and far between. The strengths are many; Mr. Winebrenner paying tribute to his mates, many of the stories are exciting, and the details are exact. Because the strength's, I have to give this book the nod to 5 stars! Mr. Winebrenner, thank you for your service!



4. Hobert Winebrenner has a way of telling about his WW2 service. Although many suffered the same hardships as Winebrenner, only few are able to put it in words as he does. We should be grateful he wrote it down for all of us to read and remember.



5. Without reservation, "Bootprints: An Infantryman's Walk Through World War II" is one of the best memoirs out there by a front-line soldier! Co-authored by Hobert Winebrenner [former Staff Sgt. in the 3rd Bat., 358th Inf., 90th Div.] and Michael McCoy [a much younger freelance writer and publisher], "Bootprints" takes the reader on a journey from the entrance of Winebrenner into the US Army as a 'citizen soldier' in 1942 to post-V-day occupation duty, and beyond (ca. 2005 when the book was published). In short, "Bootprints" is a gripping story of humanity and sacrifice during a time when civilization seemed doomed by the forces of tyranny and fascism.
   
   The military history literature is crowded with memoirs of WWII veterans from all echelons of service, but very few are truly worthy of the highest praise. Still fewer memoirs present war from the perspective of the frontline soldier and are capable of emoting considerable shock, empathy, anger and awe from a 21st Century reader. "My Brother, Hail and Farewell!" by Edward J. Zebrowski (another former US Army footslogger) and "Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS" by Johann Voss (obviously a story told from 'the other side of the hill') represent two examples of books that fit this latter category of WWII memoirs. Add to these two books "Bootprints" and one has a trilogy of outstanding memoirs from the foxholes, fields and rumble of the Second World War. It is unfortunate but true that none of these books is a bestseller in the traditional sense. Each of these three books is fast-paced and full of emotion; each tells a unique story worth reading; and none glorifies war or is self-aggrandizing. So why aren't they bestsellers? Simply put each is published by a small publishing house and their importance as historical literature is spread not by big money marketing as much as by grass-roots word of mouth. So from this reviewer to each of you who reads this, pick up a copy of each of these books!
   
   Clocking in at 283 pages (seventeen chapters and an Afterward), "Bootprints" exudes character and emotion that engages the visceral senses of the reader start to finish. In fact, the reader feels as if they are alongside Winebrenner as the 358th lands on the Normandy beaches as part of second wave of grunts of the First US Army; then participates in the breakout from the bocage and subsequent headlong rush across France to the German border as part of Patton's Third US Army; to breach of the West Wall and retrograde movement back to the Bulge; and the bounce of the Rhine and final drive to V-E Day and beyond. Needless to say "Bootprints" is highly readable prose and at no point should a reader feel 'tired' with the book. This is a 'sit down and read it cover-to-cover' book. Do yourself a favor, find a copy of "Bootprints" and enrich your life with a story from a man who paints a self-effacing picture and gives all of his buddies from the war full credit for successes. While everything written in "Bootprints" suggests Mr. Winebrenner would humbly and firmly disagree, this reviewer feels that, based in what is written in "Bootprints", Winebrenner could have been a prototype man on which the ideal of "The Greatest Generation" was based.
   
   "Bootprints" is a 5 star book that should be read by adults who wish to gain perspective on life, freedom, happiness and humility!!

5 comments about Marlborough: His Life and Times, Book Two.

1. Winston Spencer Churchill's biography of his ancestor, John Churchill First Duke of Marlborough, stands out as a restoration of Marlborough's reputation, an account of England under the reigns of Charles II, James II, William III and Queen Anne, and an in-depth military and political history of the War of Spanish Succession.
   
   WSC gives us a picture of the whole man, including his faults. One of WSC's purposes is to rescue Marlborough's reputation from the attacks of generations of historians. The book becomes a brilliant defense and of course it cannot be unbiased. WSC is Marlborough's defense attorney, not his judge.
   
   By the 1920s, Marlborough had been called miserly, greedy, ambitious, duplicitous, disloyal and treacherous. As he recounts Marlborough's life, WSC continually picks up an episode that seemingly illustrates one of these traits, but turns it around.
   
   Where unsympathetic historians saw miserly habits, WSC saw thrift and WSC goes further. Marlborough was miserly when it came to his own needs, such as when he insisted surgeons cut his stocking along the seem so that it could be resown. Yet he paid his army's bills and wages on time; apparently this was unusual in those days. He paid, from his own discretionary funds, which other generals often pocketed as a matter of course, for military intelligence that proved crucial to securing many of his victories.
   
   Where accusers saw ambition needlessly prolonging a difficult war, WSC presents Marlborough has being bound by duty to achieve the best results possible, and to reject a timid peace, which would have left Europe in the hands of a despot.
   
   WSC has a more difficult, but no less successful time defending Marlborough's continued correspondence with St-Germain, the exiled English court of James II and later his son, as recognized by Louis the XIV. The problem here is that today such acts would indeed be treason, but in the seventeenth century they were part of the normal workings of diplomacy, war time or not. After all, if passports and safe conduits were routinely given to enemies to allow them to rest and confer in between campaigns, it could not have been that unusual to keep in touch with people one knew, even if they were officially enemies.
   
   WSC also presents Marlborough's most important relationships: with his wife Sarah Jennings; with his military ally Prince Eugene, with whom he won at Blenheim; with his political colleague Godolphin, who secured funds for his military work; with the kings and queen of England from James II to George I;
   
   But WSC does accuse Marlborough on occasion of having been unwise. He is particularly critical of the Duke's obsession with his palace at Blenheim (where WSC himself was born). Marlborough didnft want an opulent residence, rather he wanted to leave a monument that would survive centuries and remember his name to future generations. WSC writes that as such Blenheim was a failure: it added nothing to the Duke's reputation and the worries it caused may have taken years from his life. Winston Churchill must have felt his biography was a better memorial to his ancestor.



2. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, is the uncontested military genius of late Stuart England, the uncrowned political/military heir to William of Orange and the famous ancestor of Winston Churchill. In tandem with Austria's general, Eugen of Savoy, he led the coalition armies in the War of the Spanish Succession, defeating in detail several of Louis XIV's French and Bavarian armies, most famously at Blenheim, but also at Ramilles, Ourdenarde and Malplaquet. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, his wife, the beautiful but intemperate Sarah Jennings, later Duchess of Marlbourough, became a "favorite" of Queen Anne and secured for him (at least for most of the war) the political support that necessary for him to field an army on the Continent for the many years.

   As a writer of history, Churchill ranks with Gibbon for his mastery of prose and his ability to use vivid imagery to hold the reader's attention to minute detail. For each year of the Spanish Succession War, Churchill opens with a strategic appreciation of how the Anglo-Austrian forces plotted out each year's campaigns, and goes to great pains to explain the reasons behind Marlborough's various deployments. And he paints on a simply massive canvas: he begins with a detailed account of Charles II's Restoration, of James II's abortive reign (and Marlborough's role in ending it), of William III and Mary II's joint reign (Churchill is NOT a fan of William and Mary) and of the underlying workings of the French monarchy. He is not afraid to address the various failings in Marlborough's character, particularly his secret negotiations with both the enemy and the exiled Stuarts, but does seek to defend Marlborough (and Sarah) from the more libellous charges.

   This book was written in the 1930s, politically Churchill's decade of exile (and personally, his worst years of depression). If everyone turned unemployment, financial crisis and depression to such good use, the world would be a far better place.




3. Winston Churchill was a man who rarely met a topic upon which he didn't harbor a strong opinion that he was willing to share. The Duke of Marlborough is no different. Churchill is clearly enamoured with this relative of his and lets it show. That said, Churchill plainly states that there are two camps on Marlborough and tells the world which camp he falls into. By doing so, he opens up the reader to get a feel not just for Marlborough and his times, but also for the debate by historians that rages around a polarizing historic figure like Marlborough. (Sound familiar to anyone else?) The result is a richly layered work.
   
   Winston Churchill viewed history as something that was alive and tangible and his historic writings capture that feeling for readers. Marlborough's battles - both military and political - come to life in the hands of Churchill. We get to see one of the great military minds of the 18th century push military science closer and closer to its modern form. We also see him perform less well on the political front against his foes there.
   
   Through the entire book, we get to listen to Winston Churchill in his element, telling us a story about a topic he feels passionately about. So many of the trials, trevails, and reactions that Churchill ascribes to Marlborough are so obviously parallels to Churchill's life and his reactions that the book has a clear autobiographical tone to it as well.
   
   Highly recommended for history buffs and for people who want to understand Churchill more deeply.



4. Winston Churchill, in a relatively well-known bad patch during the 1930s, began to write this history of his famous and much maligned ancestor. The first volume contains the first two books of the original four book set. The life of John Churchill, Duke of Malborough, is both a fascinating look at an historical era as well as a personal portrait of a great military general. Book One consists of a large chunk of history, spanning the downfall of Charles I through Cromwell, to the Restoration of Charles II, through the overthrowing of his brother, the Catholic James II by William of Orange married to James II's daughter, Mary, to the crowning of Queen Anne. The second Book of Volume one concentrates on a mere 3 years of Anne's rule.
   
   I will not reiterate what other reviewers have already said. However, I would add that in the writing of this book, Winston Churchill prepared himself to become even greater than his general ancestor. It can hardly be surprising that as this history was being written, events were conspiring to lead Winston Churchill into the biggest world confrontation ever. After studying the campaigns in Europe of Lord Malborough, it can hardly be surprising that Churchill fully suspected the coming of the war long before his fellow MPs.
   
   This is a scholarly work and shouldn't be undertaken without serious patience. Each of the two volumes are in themselves close to 1,000 pages long. The history is written from the point of view of a defender, though Winston Churchill is careful not to gloss over details that might cast an unfavorable opinion of his ancestor. Well worth the effort.
   
   BOOK TWO -
   
   Since I reviewed Book One, I felt it was important to follow up with a review of Book Two of this work. My initial comment is that sticking with something this huge is a task in itself, but often the reward is hard to describe. For me, I feel each time I finish a huge work like this (or Hegel, or Kant, or ... well, anything "Big") I sense my own mind has been exercised a bit. It's a reward in and of itself.
   
   Firstly, like Book One, this is really Volume Three and Volume Four of the a Four Book series bound together in Two mammoth volumes. Reading these 2000 plus pages is like running a marathon: the beginning is difficult, then you break the pain barrier and coast for quite a long while until the last staggering climb to the finish. In Book Three we continue with the war of Spanish Succession. These 500 pages are essentially concerned with the gigantic battles Marlborough fought. It was a time in which his glory was highly esteemed. As we get into Book Four, much like Book One, the narrative returns to the over all political scene which dominated and brought down the Great Duke. It is also the point where the reader might become overwhelmed again by both the multifaceted political machinations as well as the constantly revolving names (John Churchill becomes the Duke of Marlborough, etc.)
   
   However, for all these difficulties, the overall sense from both volumes is as thorough and detailed and enthralling as history can be written. There can be no doubt that Winston Churchill, as he surveyed the ever-mounting rearmament of the Germanic states and looking over the ancient maps of Europe imagining both the current and past, felt an immense burden of responsibility. By undertaking the task of "reforming" The Duke of Marlborough's image, he delved deep in to the vaults of history and warfare. It was not surprising that at the same moment he should be the first to recognize (at least in Britain) the significance of Hitler's intensions.
   
   One other thing struck me as fascinating about this era. The whole course of European politics, war, peace, and financial stability were tied up in the lives of three bickering women: Sarah (Marlborough's wife), Abigail (cousin to Sarah), and Queen Anne (whom both served and guided with gossip and whisperings.) Out of this small time period bore the seeds of Napoleon, the American discontent with England, and Slavery. Big stuff.
   
   I recommend these Four volumes (two books). The paperbacks are perhaps overstuffed, though. Book One split right down the middle. I was more careful with Book Two, though my hands suffered from it. Perhaps spending the money for the hardback editions in this case is worth it?



5. Winston Churchill wrote this book during the 1930's while in political exile. His masterful handling of Hitler, Roosevelt, and Stalin is presaged as he tells the tale of John Churchill, who overcame party strife in England, baseness and shortsightedness in coalition partners, and (finally) Louis XIV of France. WSC tell the story with his brilliant flair and style, but he also pauses with the reader to reflect on such matters as how to blunt a violent political storm without being yourself destroyed, how best to handle superiors who will hold you responsible for results but will not let you do the job, and how to act honorably when all of your life's work is thrown away by your enemies. These trenchant insights were pertinent in 1700, in the 1930's, and today. You are in for a treat, read this one.

5 comments about Jefferson's Secrets: Death And Desire In Monticello.

1. Jefferson has now fallen into the same category as Lincoln: given the zillions of books already written about him, what is there left to add? Burstein's previous book on TJ ("The Inner Jefferson") established that he had quite a lot to contribute to the literature, much of it quite unique in perspective. The same is certainly true of this volume as well.
   
   The focus here is on the retired Jefferson (1809-1826), and much of the author's material is drawn from TJ's private papers after leaving office. One of Burstein's great virtues--perhaps his greatest virtue--is that he looks for unique aspects not generally already addressed by other historians. For example, the impact of "time and mortality" on TJ's thought; his medical concerns and how these concerns are reflected in the unique vocabulary of the 18th Century (e.g., what is the meaning of "sensation"?); and whether there is something to learn about his political views from looking at these issues. Similarly, how did he conceive of "nature"?
   
   Burstein also looks at that perennial issue of TJ and slavery, including an interesting chapter on "sex with a servant" in an effort to probe that relationship. Did TJ's affinity for the ancient Greeks impact on his relationship with Sally Hemmings?--this is the kind of issue that only Burstein would explore. The most fascinating section I found dealt with Jefferson's efforts to get favorable history written so that his record would remain untarnished after his death. I am not quite sure anyone else has dealt with this issue. Finally, the topic is TJ and dying, which ends up focusing upon TJ's religious orientation during this period. Burstein's research is, as usual, prodigious as he searches for evidence to support his interpretations. While a great deal of speculation and imaginative thinking are at work here, Burstein continues to generate scintillating and provocative work that is highly unique and valuable. While one may not always agree with his interpretations, the process of considering them continues to be of substantial value.



2. Burstein has written an insightful book on the Jefferson, as he says, that has usually been ignored by many other historians, i.e. in the period after his presidency. Specifically, Burstein analyzes the thoughts and attitudes held by Jefferson on life, the role of women and slaves in society, religion, freedom of thought, politics and other topics. The Jefferson that emerges from Burstein's study is a multi-faceted man who both inspires awe for his intelligence and his abilities but also sets him in place as a creature of his time, especially concerning the issue of slavery.
   
   Burstein is especially keen on observing Jefferson's use of words to convey his inner most feelings and thoughts. He is especially observant of the medical terminology that Jefferson uses in discussing many different subjects. As Burstein mentioned, he usually didn't give his correspondent everything he was looking for in terms of revealing his innermost thoughts and secrets. After his presidency, Jefferson preferred a retreat from the public sphere and generally guarded his privacy. But we do get to understand Jefferson's devotion to his family, his sometimes very contradictory statements on human liberty and freedom especially when juxtaposed against the very present institution of slavery, his views on republican government and many other areas that he expounded on.
   
   There are friends, family members, well-known politicians, doctors, thinkers and others who emerge in Burstein's book, mainly through the correspondence that Burstein uses to help bring light to the elusive aspects of Jefferson's attitudes and sensibilities. The controversies surrounding Jefferson and the institution of slavery are discussed, especially concerning the generally accepted sexual relationship with Sally Hemings, with interesting insights by Burstein on Jefferson's attitudes on sexual relationships, racial differences and so forth. Though he would be considered a racist today, he was a creature of his time, with an odd, but seemingly well-thought out view of the nature of the races (not that his view was right).
   
   Burstein really does try to understand the foundations of Jefferson's inner beliefs and sensibilities. Jefferson was a devotee to the rights of man (though this didn't include everyone in his day), his family (he was especially close to his granddaughter Ellen), and the principles of republican government. Interestingly, despite his advocacies, he often turned to others to make the effort to combat his political opponents, we see this in his wanting to combat the histories written by such Federalists as Chief Justice Marshall.
   
   The reader will get to see snippets of the inner Jefferson in this book. Burstein, as he stated he wanted to accomplish, succeeds fairly well in presenting the living Jefferson as opposed to the dying Jefferson, though we do read of the effects of aging and other health issues that gradually took their toll on his physical body. We see the many facets of this highly intelligent human being who was such an influence in his day and through his words, actions and ideals continues to be to the present. The debates go on.



3. Thomas Jefferson was a great and brilliant, but flawed and unconventional man. What can the zillionth book add that hasn't already been said? Quite a lot. It should not be anybody's first book on Jefferson, but it should be everybody's second, or third. Of course, Burstein hasn't got Jefferson "figured out", but neither does anyone else.....
   
   This wonderful volume focuses on Mr. Jefferson's later years, and does give us a good view of his thought processes. Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, and Jefferson can be quoted to "prove" ANYTHING. "Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that this people are to be free,..." The inscription on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial ends with a period, but look up the rest of the quote. I use the comma deliberately. He who said that "All men are created equal" also had things to say about the orangutang. And he also had sex with his slave, Sally? Well...maybe. In any event, he documented his views on this subject, too, complete with charts. The ongoing arguement with John Marshall gets coverage, too. It has been more completely documented elsewhere, but Burstein does an excellent job. This feud is truly one of the most profound topics in American history. It spanned from their early years till the day Jefferson died, and beyond, going from a rivalry, to disagreement, to blind, unreasoning, hatred after the Aaron Burr treason case of 1807. My own opinion is that the cause of the whole mess was multifaceted, involving familial, personal, political, and philosophical elements. {Not religious; they agreed about that} In this battle of giants, we have the origin of the Civil War, and of much of our political conflict today. An athiest who "swore on the altar of God"? This is covered, too. Jefferson may not have been orthodox, but he was assuradely not an athiest. A slave owner who hated slavery? Not unusual...the same is true of George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, George Wythe, and Robert E. Lee. {Lee inherited his slaves, and freed them before he had to}. A word of caution; though some of the founding fathers did not believe in slavery, they certainly did not believe in Black equality, either.
   
   Andrew Burstein has produced a superb work. As I said, NOT a first book on the subject, but an essential one. For a first book, see Joseph Ellis, or Noble Cunningham. Dumas Malone is, of course, definitive, but few will mine the gold in those six profound volumes.



4. There is next to nothing here that caught my interest. I was looking forward very much to this work, and I was extremely disappointed in it. I had just finished an excellent biography of John Adams, which impelled me to try this one. I can only recommend that you don't waste your time. Every moment on this book was, to me, a complete waste of time.



5. The good stuff in this book is invaluable to anyone with a serious interest in Jefferson. I'd award five stars for such unique scholarship, but I've subtracted two stars as a rebuke to the author and to his editors, if there were any, for perverse self-indulgence. The readability of "Jefferson's Secrets" is damaged by its repetitiousness; Burstein even repeats the same quotations from Jefferson's letters in three and four chapters, without significantly adding to his exegesis. But a more serious flaw is Burstein's rhapsodic admiration of Jefferson's mind at the same time that he protrays the man as a consummate hypocrite and egotist--not only a slave-owner and unreconstructed racist but an exploiter of servants to the point of callously making one his concubine, a Jacobin in rhetoric who lived in the style of an ancien regime aristocrat, a man who gave his daughters a decorous education yet maintained that women had no claim to equality. Burstein's defense seems to be that we should forgive Jefferson's inconsistencies because he was conflicted, and a man of his times. Indeed, the central theme of the book is to demonstrate exactly how Jefferson was a man of his times, whose world-view was shaped by the ideas and particularly the scientific knowledge of the Enlightenment. That's the good stuff, the analysis of what Jefferson himself thought he meant by what he said and wrote, given the "vocabulary" of his time and place. However, in the next breath Burstein proceeds to declare that Jefferson was in some sense the first Modern Man, a harbinger of Romanticism precisely because of his ambiguities, the very same ambiguities that Burstein has just dispelled. Really, Professor Burstein, it seems to be YOU who are conflicted, by your adulation of the "timeless" Jefferson even while you pin the human Jefferson to the cultural matrix of his lifetime!

5 comments about Scrappy: Memoir of a U.S. Fighter Pilot in Korea and Vietnam.

1. I had the pleasure of meeting Scrappy a couple of years ago at an astronaut and aviator autograph show in Florida. He was more interesting and likeable than the more famous spacemen sitting around him. His new autobiography is excellent. I couldn't put the book down until I had finished reading it...in one sitting. I enjoyed it so much I purchased another copy as a gift!



2. I have known Scrappy for several years and I have heard many River Rats talk about him. But until he wrote this book I never knew the details of his life, and what an interesting and exciting life it has been. If you have interest in flying and history, this is the book for you. Scrappy takes you through all of his adventures.



3. I had the honor of reading Scrappy over the past three days while traveling by air on a business trip. I found his book difficult to put down. The book just keeps moving without ever getting bogged down. Every time I turned the page I found something new and refreshing.
   
   I feel like I have known Scrappy my whole life now after reading his story. In fact when I got home last night I kept telling my wife Scrappy this and Scrappy that.
   
   The story is at times very touching. I felt like Scrappy was able to take words from my soul and put them on paper. He showed me insight to my own experiences as a son, or a father, or a husband. On the other hand it was full of action and excitement too. Scrappy is filled with his professional and private ups and downs. And most of all it was filled with stories about flying.
   
   All in all this is a great book. I found it refreshing and easy to read. This was no school book that I had to pull myself through. No, Scrappy pulled me through. Page after page he carried my attention to the end. This was a real page turner of a story. This is Scrappy.



4. Scrappy and my dad, Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, were cohorts and compadres in a world that only fighter pilots can understand. I read this book with great enjoyment, appreciation, laughter and admiration. Through no end of great tales, self-deprecating honesty and acute analysis of the political bureaucracy in play during the Vietnam war, I learned far more about fighter pilots than I already knew I didn't know! "Scrappy" is a great read and should be on everyone's list - not only for Air force veterans but for active duty pilots of today.



5. It was great book that was only marred by numerous technical errors. The three that I remember are the misspelling of Iwakuni and Tachikawa, Japan and the placing of McConnell AFB in Topeka, Kansas and not in Wichita, Kansas. Considering that an Air Force man wrote the story about another Air Force man, these errors should have been caught.

5 comments about Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend.

1. That any reviewer can grant this book five stars, as some here have, boggles the mind. I have to seriously ask them what books they read that they consider this one worthy of such a high rating. Yes, the subject of the James boys is inherently fascinating and, yes, Ted Yeatman's research was extensive, which is worth one extra star, but as a writer he failed to present his material in an interesting fashion. First, he is too much in love with facts and uses them whether they are necessary or not. (I do not need to know, as just one example, the name of every insignificant Missouri militia outfit that ever marched in the same county as the James boys unless that name is relevant to them. Footnotes would have been a better location if Yeatman felt compelled to include this arcane data.) Another reason the narrative bogs down is that Yeatman failed to heed his word processor's grammar checker when it pointed out the thousands of passive sentences he wrote. Or perhaps he had that feature turned off. If so, he should flick it back on immediately. Lastly, a good writer spins out a narrative that flows like water. Yeatman's jumbled writing contains too many icebergs the reader must dodge or sink in the process.
   
   I am not yet finished reading it and am not certain that I can continue to the end much as I want to learn about the James boys. What a shame. Bad writing made this book a great waste of the author's extensive knowledge. I fail to understand why Cumberland House published this book without extensive editing or not publish it at all. Obviously, they thought the subject material would carry it.



2. I have to agree with some of the reviews of Mr. Yeatman's book.
   This is extremely poorly written. If I had wanted to read a Civil War recantation, I'd go back and re-read the many in my library.
   While some of the historical references during that period may be necessary background for the James family, more often times than not, in this book, the author flies off on a tangent leaving the reader wondering "what happened?"
   Trying to muddle through this book is like wandering through a blizzard. There are moments when the snow clears, only to be shrouded again moments later.
   Where were the editors? A fascinating subject that has been sadly botched by this effort in my humble opinion.



3. This is high-quality 19th century history that captures the tension with which the James brothers lived. It places the reader in Frank and Jesse's historical and geographical context. Above all, it is fair. Yeatman lets the reader decide. Frank emerged as particularly complex, because he was able to straddle the life of a respectable taxpayer and a dangerous outlaw.
   
   This work is particularly poignant, because of current U.S. debates about government spying, habeas corpus, posse comitatus and many other issues that matter as much today, as they did in the days leading up to the Civil War and Reconstruction.
   
   Yeatman's handling of the James brothers Civil War material is particularly deft.
   
   Yeatman's work is filled with numerous historical gems, such as Bess Truman's family's connection to the James brothers; Phil Sheridan's connection to the bombing of the James Sammeul home.



4. Much has been written about this icon of American outlaw mythology. If you are into the facts in detail, and an even-handed view of this subject, then I would highly recommend this book. If you are looking for an exciting tale, full of action and mayhem, you might wish to look elsewhere. All in all, it's a fine read with a lot of facts, and would make an excellent text source for a univerity class. There is a lot of interesting material within, such as Frank James' life after his brother's death. It's well worth the price of admission into this world.



5. The information is great, but it just did not grab my attention. I love the photos of the family and era.

1 comments about Phantom Reflections: The Education of an American Fighter Pilot in Vietnam.

1. Having grown up during these events and going to school with many that either had been in Vietnam or where going there this was a most interesting read.

5 comments about First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.

1. Somewhere in my reading, I remember someone who said that there is only one name from the 20th Century that is guaranteed to be remembered 1,000 years from now; the name of the first man to step foot on another planet, Neil Armstrong.
   
   I was alive when Apollo 11 landed and Armstrong made his historic step but, at 11 months old, far from old enough to remember the event. Despite that, though, the events of July 20, 1969 are so much a part of historical memory that it seems like we were all there. There's always been one mystery, though, and that's been the man who actually stepped off the Eagle and onto lunar soil for the first time. Now, the mystery is, at least somewhat, solved thanks to the publication of an fascinating biography of the First Man On The Moon, titled, appropriately enough, First Man.
   
   James Hansen, who was given extraordinary access to Armstrong himself as well as his family and personal records, tells a story that stretches from Armstrong's boyhood in Ohio, to Korea, to his years as a test pilot, all of which were mere training for his ultimate destiny. In addition to a mass (though not overwhelmingly so) of technical data about everything from the X-15 flights that Armstrong flew at Edwards AFB to the Gemini and Apollo programs, Hansen paints, as best he can, a portrait of an intensely private man who was thrust, willingly or otherwise, into an intense spotlight comparable to that of his boyhood hero Charles Lindbergh.
   
   Like Lindbergh, Armstrong was and is, it seems, the reluctant hero. Hansen consistently quotes him as giving equal credit for the achievements of Apollo 11 to his crew mates and the men on the ground and in the factories who built the Apollo program from the ground up.
   
   The most compelling parts of the book, of course, come when Hansen tells the story of the landing and first sojurn onto the lunar surface, including excerpts from recordings of conversations among the crew that were never broadcast publicly. After that, somewhat disappointingly, the book comes to a very quick close. The story rushes through the post-Apollo 11 euphoria and Armstrong's short involvement as a NASA administrator and offers vignettes showing the difficulties that he had coping with the public's fascination with him, some of which was obsessive to say the least.
   
   All in all, though, First Man is an excellent read, and, as the official biographer to the First Man on the Moon, Hansen has done a fabulous job with the task that Armstrong assigned to him.
   
   If you have any interest in the history of the American space program at all, this book is a must-read.



2. James Hansen's authorized biography of pilot/engineer/astronaut Neil Armstrong is a well written and long awaited in-depth look at a man who has led a truly extraordinary life. His detailed accounts of Armstrong's roots, interests, loves, successes and tragedies made a captive reading experience for me. It was Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 journey that inspired my lifelong interest in spaceflight.
   
   I feel for him in his pursuit to maintain as much of a personal life as possible over the years. NASA and the space program may be owned by the taxpayers, but it's human participants are not. Neil has recognized this more than many others have.
   
   An excellent biography. I highly recommend it.



3. Simply put, there is no finer book in print that helps us understand the modern-day Christopher Columbus of our times - Neil Armstrong. Not only will you come to better understand the man, the First Man, but you will also walk away with a tremendous appreciation for the Apollo program generally and the Apollo 11 mission specifically. Budget some serious time to get through this book but add it to your list of reads for 2008.



4. "First Man" is the long awaited authorized biography of Neil Armstrong. The book is a significant work in the body of aerospace history, as Armstrong has consciously lived out of the public eye for most of his life since the Apollo 11 mission. To say the book is detailed is an understatement (did you know that Neil's childhood dog was named "Tippy"?), but James Hansen paints a vivid portrait of the man and his life with exquisite precision. The book is stunning for its depth of information, but is also very readable on a visceral, human level. The net result is a work demonstrating both great academic rigor and the essential character of the first man on the moon.
   
   The book, while keeping Apollo 11 as the center of its arc, does not dwell exclusively on Armstrong's role in the space program. I was pleased to read about his family and personal relationships: understanding these helps the reader to understand who Armstrong is and how he got to be that way. I was found the account of his relationship with his mother, Viola, enlightening, and appreciated the recounting of his role in the Korean war as a very young aviator. Understanding his later successes (and failures) in the greater context of his personal and professional life is one of the true successes of this book. I was, of course, transfixed by the account of the interpersonal relationships between Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins, the three "amiable strangers" of Apollo 11.
   
   Certainly the accounting of Armstrong's test pilot and spaceflight endeavors is of primary interest to anyone likely to read the book, but I was even more impressed than I expected to be by Armstrong's post-Apollo choices. I am especially struck by the parallels between Armstrong and Charles Lindbergh as Armstrong has aged. While still a vital man, Armstrong has willfully chosen to live his life modestly without relying on his fame as the first moonwalker for either ego or income gratification.
   
   This book is by no means a light read, but anyone with an interest in aerospace history should make this book a priority: it is astonishingly well documented, well written, and compellingly told. My earliest childhood memory is watching Armstrong walk on the moon; only now do I really understand and appreciate the "First Man" fully.



5. For a man whose name rightfully resides in the rarified company of Columbus, Galileo, Copernicus, Cortes and de Gama, James Hansen's exhaustive biography of Neil Armstrong unspools a painstaking, sometimes wonkish narrative of how this extraordinarily talented, driven and devout man willingly exchanged his deeply cherished anonymity to become the most famous human of the last century.
   
   As an eight-year old watching Armstrong and Aldrin's first steps in 1969, I had every expectation that nearly four decades later I would be writing this review from some long-established and thriving U.S. lunar colony - a vision that was quickly extinguished through the convergence of national space fatique, severe under funding and the somewhat schizophrenic, sclerotic aspirations of NASA over the past quarter century - unfortunate developments that only serve to make Armstrong's unique story and experience all the more compelling.
   
   If you're looking for deep, metaphysical musings on how his lunar celebrity transformed both himself and the world at large - keep browsing. First Man is a walking tour through the guts of the Gemini and Apollo programs prefaced by deep immersion into his Ohio upbringing. Yes, the acronyms and jargon are a little thick but at the end of journey what emerges is a portrait of an intensely private man who remains just that. With just a nod to his place in history, Armstrong provides a much needed reminder of America's potential in microcosm - smart, fallible, unflinching, determined - and oh yeah, he also took a little trip.
   
   A fascinating read.

5 comments about Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II (Modern War Studies).

1. "Ernie Pyle's War" by James Tobin was a thorough read. Tobin described Pyle down to the very last detail, uncovering almost every aspect of his life. After reading this book, the reader had a clear view into Pyle's mind and was able to recognize the feelings he possessed about his professional and private life. The way Tobin intertwined Pyle's messages home with biographical details along with interviews of acquaintances, made this story an easy read. "Ernie Pyle's War" earned five "stars."
   Tobin's style of writing was one reason this book was so effective. He used partial quotes from Pyle to title his chapters, which brought an immediate sense of intimacy to the story. Tobin began the book with a chronological introduction to Pyle. This style of writing, although typical for biographies, was well suited for this story and not at all cliché. Readers were able to become acquainted with Pyle as a young man and then mature along with him as he grew into an established adult. By describing Pyle as a young man, readers were able to understand more clearly why he was the way he was as an adult.
   Tobin used vivid descriptions to paint a picture of Pyle in the minds of the readers. This was an important aspect because Pyle's physical demeanor was one of the main problems and/or benefits in his life. As a child and young adult, his size hindered his relationships. But, as a war correspondent, the people saw Pyle as more of a hometown boy rather than a studious journalist. This added to his success as a war correspondent.
   After transitioning into Pyle's career as a war correspondent, the story line became more tedious. Pyle was in and out of combat and the surface facts of his life were boring. Tobin, understanding the paleness of biographical data, used Pyle's messages home to spice up the story. Like most people, Pyle's life was not what it seemed to be. Besides leading a "glorified" life as a war correspondent, he had major problems at home. Tobin showed the audience this by weaving together Pyle's biographical information with the messages he sent home. This gave the reader a sense of what Pyle was actually feeling. Using these messages instead of his columns allowed reader's to see the "real" Pyle.
   Tobin uncovered personal feelings about his professional and personal life, which gave the reader a feeling of empathy toward Pyle. Showing that he did not feel like an outstanding reporter, let readers see Pyle was human. Tobin successfully showed the man behind the pen by opening up Pyle's mind to the audience. He did this by using Pyle's own letters and messages home that contained intimate details of his life. Without the added touch of Pyle's actual writing, the story would have failed to be as successful.



2. "Ernie Pyle's War" by James Tobin was a thorough read. Tobin described Pyle down to the very last detail, uncovering almost every aspect of his life. After reading this book, the reader had a clear view into Pyle's mind and was able to recognize the feelings he possessed about his professional and private life. The way Tobin intertwined Pyle's messages home with biographical details along with interviews of acquaintances, made this story an easy read. "Ernie Pyle's War" earned five "stars."
   Tobin's style of writing was one reason this book was so effective. He used partial quotes from Pyle to title his chapters, which brought an immediate sense of intimacy to the story. Tobin began the book with a chronological introduction to Pyle. This style of writing, although typical for biographies, was well suited for this story and not at all cliché. Readers were able to become acquainted with Pyle as a young man and then mature along with him as he grew into an established adult. By describing Pyle as a young man, readers were able to understand more clearly why he was the way he was as an adult.
   Tobin used vivid descriptions to paint a picture of Pyle in the minds of the readers. This was an important aspect because Pyle's physical demeanor was one of the main problems and/or benefits in his life. As a child and young adult, his size hindered his relationships. But, as a war correspondent, the people saw Pyle as more of a hometown boy rather than a studious journalist. This added to his success as a war correspondent.
   After transitioning into Pyle's career as a war correspondent, the story line became more tedious. Pyle was in and out of combat and the surface facts of his life were boring. Tobin, understanding the paleness of biographical data, used Pyle's messages home to spice up the story. Like most people, Pyle's life was not what it seemed to be. Besides leading a "glorified" life as a war correspondent, he had major problems at home. Tobin showed the audience this by weaving together Pyle's biographical information with the messages he sent home. This gave the reader a sense of what Pyle was actually feeling. Using these messages instead of his columns allowed reader's to see the "real" Pyle.
   Tobin uncovered personal feelings about his professional and personal life, which gave the reader a feeling of empathy toward Pyle. Showing that he did not feel like an outstanding reporter, let readers see Pyle was human. Tobin successfully showed the man behind the pen by opening up Pyle's mind to the audience. He did this by using Pyle's own letters and messages home that contained intimate details of his life. Without the added touch of Pyle's actual writing, the story would have failed to be as successful.



3. James Toban has written a stunning book in "Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II". Toban has succeeded in giving readers the rare opportunity to see the human frailties concealed within one of America's greatest and most valuable World War II correspondents.
   
   James Toban present a picture of the complex Ernie Pyle; a man that entered the World War II carrying only a broken Remington typewriter and a deep desire to describe the life and hardships of the horrific world of the infantrymen to the American public. The reader will learn of the contradictory Ernie Pyle. The Ernie Pyle who despised war, but who could not stay away from the physical and emotional anguish of battle. The Ernie Pyle who loved his wife, but who continually left her behind to travel to the front lines. Ernie Pyle, the seemingly frail and terrified journalist who demonstrated his bravery by traveling to the front lines to be with and write about "his boys". Ernie Pyle, a genius for writing about the common soldier, but who needed constant reminding that he was the best at what he did. His articles became legendary and the hope and news link for Americans with loved ones in the front lines.
   
   James Toban's "Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II " is a must read for World War II readers and all readers who wish to know about the human spirit and about a plain old fashion brave American.



4. this must be THE book to read on war - what it's really like in all of its aspects - his description of the beach, after D-Day was gripping and haunting and it has stayed with me many years later -
   
   and how he relates the everyday and ordinary in war -
   
   and how, in any group or organization, it's often a small percentage of the people who are carrying the load - that's just one example of the many insights and truths in this book that relate to all of life, not just life in a war zone -
   
   and it is a great book for anyone to read - a stunning life achievement for ernie pyle -



5. This is a fascinating book, and this from a reader more into fiction than historical biography - but the best fiction writer would be hard pressed to come up with a character like Ernie Pyle.
   
   A page turning look into World War II from someone who could have been your neighbor but was far more than what you would have expected.
   
   I have no idea why a modern rendition of this story has not hit the big screen - it seems a natural, captivating story that would educate as well as entertain.

5 comments about The Rogue's March: John Riley and the St. Patrick's Battalion, 1846-48 (The Warriors).

1. Throughout Mexico, one can hear of the legend of the SanPatricios, a battalion of soldiers in the U.S.-Mexico War that wasmade up almost entirely of deserters from the U.S. Army. Predominately Irish and/or Catholic, the San Patricios fought well for the Mexicans -- and they suffered for it significantly when the U.S. finally won the war.

   Stevens does an excellent job of telling the story of the battalion, the history behind its foundation, and the punishment its members faced after the war. Adding to the interest of the story is the role that many of those in the U.S. Army during the U.S.-Mexico War went on to play pivotal roles in the U.S. and CSA armies during the Civil War.




2. A must read for the student of Irish-American and Vietnam history. Goes into detail of the anti-Catholic/anti-emmigrant climate of America in the the 1840's. A story of America's first war of agresssion against another independent nation, shows the beggings of Americas imperialistic wars.A good companion text for istorians of America's involvement in South East Asia,"if we do not learn from history we are cursed to repeat it."



3. An engaging history lesson of both the Mexican-American War and the Anti-Catholic/Immigrant prejudice of Nativists and West Pointers who would later be made famous by the American Civil War. This is as much a story of persecution by bigoted officers as it is an Order of Battle for the conflict. All the major battles of the war are covered with maps and detailed first hand accounts of what happened.

   Well-educated and brilliant officers were of differing opinions about the legitimacy of the war, the treatment of German and Irish Catholics, and the tactics used on the field. It was surprising to me to read the correspondence of figures such as Grant, Lee, Sherman, Taylor, Scott, Bragg, and a host of others, illuminating their personal feelings on both sides of those issues and how the experience of the war changed the sentiments and conduct of many of those same officers. This would be reflected in the Civil War some 20 years later.

   An intriguing example of the use of "flying batteries" as an innovative use of Artillery showed one of the reasons an outnumbered, and arguably out classed, military was able to defeat an enemy on foreign soil so far away from home.

   The story revolves around the main character, the leader of the "San Patricos" and as a counterpoint, an established Irishman settled in the country and the Army. They both faced the same insults and persecutions, and the same offers and temptations to change sides and ironically, both men end up being promoted from enlisted men to commissioned officers in the two opposing armies.

   I imagined at first that this would be a story of a man's internal conflict of having to choose loyalty to church over country; though a powerful theme of the book, this was not so much the case. The stronger case was made that the largest desertion rate in the history of the US Army occurred at a time when because of their nationality and religion, men were treated as less deserving of respect and dignity resulting in harsher treatment than "native born Americans". Punishments for identical infractions were much more degrading and humiliating for "foreigners" than for "Americans" in the same unit. A lesson in the effects of fair and equal treatment could not be stronger given to the American Army and indeed this did change. The disturbing part of this history is the undeniable cover up by first the Army and then the Government of the United States for over 120 years. This book should be on the required professional development reading list for Officers and NCOs alike.

   Mr. Stevens writing puts emotion and personality to the characters and events described by using copious amounts of official Courts-Martial transcripts, Government Archives records of Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, and the United States. In addition he draws from the personal diaries, journals, and letters, of the men and women involved. He also cites official war correspondence from the officers of both sides, and newspaper articles of the day.




4. Peter F. Stevens does an outstanding job in bringing to life the issues that permeated and greatly harmed the American armies of General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott from 1846 to 1848. At the core was American nativism, hatred and fear of newly arrived Catholic immigrants mainly from Ireland and Germany. Recruited nearly at the pier, these soldiers had no loyalty nor a real investment in their future as Americans. What loyalty they had was toward their Catholic faith. Meeting them in the army was a cadre of immigrant hating junior officers who often imposed discipline more severe than found in European armies. The result was the highest desertion rate of any war the United States ever fought. More important, the Mexicans took advantage of immigrant soldiers' unhappiness and formed the St. Patrick's Battalion, led by John Reily, that distinguished itself in battle against former comrades and messmates until their defeat and capture. The author shows how severe the courts martial were that resulted in the execution of fifty deserters and the lashing and branding of others including John Reily. That this series of events became a downside of Manifest Destiny and a forerunner of the Civil War becomes prominent in the text. This worthy book is a fine read, well researched, militarily and historically sound, and serves as a real contribution to the field of military and social American history.



5. a los martires irlandeses, nuestros hermanos de Hibernia ue sublevandose ante una injusta guerra, impuesta a un vecino debil y dividido, se unieron a este, luchando con coraje allado de los mexicanos, por cierto, hermanos de religion; la mayor parte de estos, los que sobrevivieron, aun marcados en el rostro por el vencedor, unos marcharon a Yucatan donde prosperaron, otros al istmo de tehuantepec en donde encontraron oficio y los demas por diversos rumbos de la geografia mexicano en donde dejaron su simiento, prueba de ello, son os numerosos apellidos irlandeses que encontramos a lo largo y ancho de nuestra patria...¡Gloria eterna a los martires irlandeses!