5 comments about Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam.

1. I read this story years ago and remember being inspired by the courage of this young man. One reviewer stated that his plane was shot down, I thought that the bombs he was dropping detonated prematurely and caused the crash. Regardless, it's a great story about a guy who never gave up.



2. While in the USAF, back in 1987, I had first read this book. This is the type of book, that, when you begin to read it, you cannot put it down until it is finished. The author writes in a very easy to read style, no "big" words, but, is very descriptive and detail orientated in his telling of Sijan's heroism. Although, this is a war "related" story, I feel that it is not a "War Story". Malcolm McConnell, through his attention to detail, chronicles the extremely brave and selfless actions of an otherwise ordinary man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After I had originally read this, 1987, I was so overwhelmed by the author's accurate depiction of what had been "Folk Lore" in the Bay View area of Milwaukee. Because of this book, I have always thought of Sijan, and all that he had endured, whenever an obstacle or challenge is placed before me. This is a very inspirational book. As I was driving on Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View, I passed by a Flag that is displayed right next to the road, in a little ballpark that is named Lance Sijan Field. And, every time that I pass it, I instinctively Salute. But, this time, I also bought this book, actually, four, one for my Father, two for my Brothers, and, of course, one for myself. By the way, this time, again, I had also read it in one sitting!



3. The story moves along quickly. Its not a book you are going to struggle to finish. It will hold your attention and is a great motivational story as far as will and mental toughness are concerned.



4. I was a young Air Weapons Controller stationed in Southeast Asia during the time of Lt. Sijan's shootdown. However , it wasn't until much later, when I read "Into the mouth of the Cat", that I came to understand what a truly amazing person Lance P. Sijan was. I have since given each of my son's copies of the book, so that they, too, could read about what the definition of an american hero really is. Some of the comment's logged in this forum question his motivation for continuing to try to escape...they need to read the Code of Conduct that those of us in the military tried very hard to live by. Many of the POW's found it almost impossible to abide by every code, and understandably so. Some of the torture tactics that were administered by the enemy, no mortal could withstand. Lance P. Sijan came as close as any human being could, and ultimately died from it. If one longs to find someone that truly lives up to the definition of "Hero", they should look no further than Lance P. Sijan. He has been my hero for many years. Mike Carbonneau, Firebase Sharana, Afghanistan, Aug. 2008



5. I read this book many years ago and it really hit me hard. I was a Navy Aircrewman who had been through SERE school. The courage and determination of LT Lance Sijan was incredible. I believe you can only relate to his story if you have in the Military and the sacrifices we make every day or have family or a loved one who has been in. I recommend this book for any Military Aviator.

5 comments about Descending From The Clouds: A Memoir of Combat in the 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division.

1. One really needs more than 5 stars to rate this book. It deserves 7 or 8 stars. I have read many personal accounts from veterans of the 82nd Airborne Division and this is by far the best. If one is interested in knowing what it was like to be a WWII paratroopoer day by day, battle by battle one absolutely has to read this book.



2. I really enjoyed this book. I've read dozens and dozens of books about World War Two. What distinguishes Descending from the Clouds from most of the others is the feeling and passion contained in the pages. Col. Wurst recounts not only what he saw, heard, and felt, but also the impression it left on him for the rest of his life. When I finished reading this book I took some time to reflect on what I had read. I came away thankful for the sacrifices men and women like Col. Wurst have made in the history of our nation that allow me to live free and relatively safe.
   
   Honestly, this book is the best first person account of infantry tactics relating to World War Two that I've ever read. I highly recommend it.



3. This is really one of the better stand-alone books written by an American paratrooper from World War Two. It really sets quite the scene when a young boy, enthralled by the military joins his state's national guard out of pride and hunger. But I won't ruin the book by giving away too many details in this review.
   
   Wurst survived his national guard duty, joined the 82nd Airborne and made three combat jumps in the war and fought in Italy, Normandy and Holland from the platoon level.
   
   Some of the more interesting details regarding this book are descriptions of the 1930s and 40s, the national guard at the time, training, and blistering street-to-street combat. But I also enjoyed his commentary on the state of the guard in the late 30s and early 40s. He makes clear how rapidly we advanced as a military in the 1940s.
   
   If you liked this book I would recommend any of Don Burgett's famous books, Parachute Infantry by David Webster, Those Devils in Baggy Pants and All the way to Berlin.



4. 
   
   This book has been in The Military Book Club for awhile but I did not buy it. Came across it at the local library and picked it up since the guy jumped into Normandy. Well, the book has a lot more info in it than just Normandy.
   
   Initially his relating his training brought back certain memories of my own basic training, though I was never in the Army nor a 'trooper'. This single book sort of attemps what Donald Burgette accomplished with his four books on the 101st Airborne and the book does it well.
   
   The author's straight forward rekindling his personal history is very satisfying. And on some points his honesty is very refreshing, as when he says he just doesn't remember certain things, or that when two or three guys get together they can remember a certain event in different ways.
   
   His out-of-the way episodes are very interesting: take for instance on page 67 as he relates a major event with a sister regiment, the 504 PIR, being flown into Gela as reinforcements. A German Luftwaffe attack from JU 88 bombers had just concluded a run, as the American C-47s unaware and "full of troopers appeared in the sky." Needless to say as the Air Corp passed over the Navy antiaircraft guns they opened fire on the "low-flying American troop transport planes. "He continues, "Within minutes, 318 American paratroopers and many C-47 crew members lost their lives." Personal stories such as, though very sad, help make this book an interesting read.
   
   Though I have the four volumes on 101st from Burgette on my shelves, I am glad to have read this book on the 82nd Airborne and can readily recommend it to anyone interested in first person accounts in the WWII genre of "I was there".
   
   Semper Fi.



5. It's an excellent war yarn that could have been squared away a little bit better.

5 comments about I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story.

1. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Boring. Whoop-de-do. Soldier deploys, soldier captured early in war, soldier part of fake PR rescue mission, soldier turns "selfless-servce" into big bucks book rights. Being a speedily written book based only on information supplied by Jessica Lynch, army PAOs, and whatever was available from the wire services, there is no delving into the deeper stories, like "Why was a supposedly combat ready unit of combat service support personnel lost and so easily attacked?" (hint-because it was a combat service support unit) or "What is the truth about the alleged compromising barracks photos?" or "Why was this 'rescue' videotaped and then the videotape released to the news media?" No, this book delves into none of these, rather taking the route of cashing in on some quick bucks before the the American public forgets who she is. There is nothing of substance here, only a made for TV movie.



2. When I first heard about the Jessica Lynch incident, i thought like most other soldiers at the time we thought she was a hero. THat was untill the facts came out. I served with the rangers when the jessica lynch incident happened, and most of us had already heard about the mishap. When the facts finally came out most of us were angry. Ive read the ghost written book, and seen the ghost written movie. For those of you who dont know what ghost writter mean its a book about a person or biography that written bye another person without much or any input from the actual person. However the actual interviews and personal statments of lynch are mostly diffrent. After the stories of the other people involved in the incident came out i knew she was no hero and that the real heroes would never heard from.
   
   The resons for Lynches hero status are for 3 reasons in this order.
   Pretty face
   A Women
   Politics
   
   For those of you who still believe shes worthy of a bronz star i will explain why she not. Most of these facts came from her interview with times and other television media (though i hate times i will use them anyway.) All these facts here down are by Lynches own admission.
   
   1. Didnt fire her weapon. Most will say her m16 malfunctioned and it did, though the trouble it had was the most common malfunction and easily fixed, a bullet got stuck in the chamber. This problem is easily fixed and usually caused by dirt (aka) sand or not enough lube. (why they didnt maintian their weapons is another good question) Every person in the armed forces from navy army air force to marines is taught sports (slap pull observe release tap squeeze) in basic no matter what their mos. Its one of the most important facet of military basic training. If she wanted to fix it all she had to do was pull the chargiing handle back, but nope she paniced.
   
   2. She tried to get another soldier in the humvee to fix it in panic but when they didnt (because they were to busy shooting) she threw down her weapon.
   
   3. She then curled up in a ball and started crying
   
   4. She had atleast 45 minutes to get over her sulking and atleast hand out ammo, reload weapons or even fix her own m16. (i might be wrong on time frame of ambush)
   
   5. she countinued to sulk as each of her fellow soldiers died around her.
   
   6. she surrenedered. Though i cant hold it against her for surrenedering.
   
   7. she came back home proclaims herself a hero with help of media and makes million dollar book and movie deals off of her dead friend, which wouldnt bother me so much if she actually did something heroic. And do give me the bull she want to be left alone, got to here website aka shrine to herself and look at the opening picture.
   
   Some of you might say well she never experinnced combat before and just broke down, while that may be true its not deserving of a heros status let alone a bronz star. She broke all of the core army values and then some.
   What makes me mad is that she was made out to be a hero, though there were several others people during that incident that did way more then she did and are deserving of silver and other medals.
   
   THe real heroes
   The soldiers in her humvee that protected her and shot at the bad guys while she sulked.
   Pfc Miller who was in a humvee few trucks behind her who deserves a silver star for taking out a mortar position with a "cough" malfunctioned rifle that he fixed.
   the other soldiers who died fighing.
   The rangers and seals who rescued her
   If you can trust the story, the doctors who protected her.
   
   The double standard
   
   Though i cant remeber her name off hand, the black female pow and 2 other soldier who were captured while fighing long before Lynches story. They didnt get bronz stars or a heroes welcome, why because their not a pretty face.
   
   And for those bush basher out there, no i dont think this was a propoganda thing to flm the rescue inbed reporters asked to come along with the rescue unit and they did. The hype over the incident was mostly the media doing, aka fox and cnn. The pentagon didnt put out the same number of release for the previous POWs.
   
   If you want the truth about the incident read her interviews right after the incident aka times and walter i think was the other one. The book itself is a sham.



3. This book is just what it claims to be, The Jessica Lynch Story. And she IS a soldier. All the reviewers who have chosen this format to start spouting political agendas based on their own theories are in the wrong place. People read reviews to decide if they want to buy a book, if they want to hear a bunch of media spin and MIS-information, then they can watch TV or read the New York Times.
   If Jessica had been a man and been rescued, that soldier would still have been given media attention, and probably a book deal. The battle that was fought during the time of her capture was one of the bloodiest and most deadly for our troops. Whether or not she actually fired her gun does not matter to me.
   Any solder serving in our military is already a hero. Anyone brave enough to sign up and go to war for our freedom, including the rights to speak about whatever we want, are my heroes.
   The people who sit home in front of their computers and televisions, spouting off arm-chair politics without knowing the truth are not educated enough in the facts to declare who is a soldier and who is a hero.
   So while I got off track in trying to compensate for the political reviews, suffice it to say that this book is an easy read. Well told from a young girls' perspective and something I would have never wanted to endure as a 20 year old girl; Rick Bragg has the perfect style to compliment the story.
   
   Soldier: 1.a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service.2.an enlisted man or woman
   Hero: a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.



4. At first I didn't want to read this story. This woman was subjected to some great cruelity, and there is not much pleasure in reading about that. Lynch was a young West Virginian teenager when she enrolled in the U.S. Army. Her recruiter told her she could see a little of the world and earn some college money. Fast forward two years, and Jessica is in the battle of her life. Her humvee in racing away after an ambush and then an RPG slams into it causing her best friend to die and her to be critically injured. She is then subjected to three hours of cruelity by Saddam's Fedyeen. The Iraqi doctors at the hospital try to save her and then she is "rescued" by U.S. Special Forces. The rest of the story is about her homecoming.
   
   Jessie's story shows the cruel nature of war. Some of her fellow soldiers were executed in front of her eyes. She was abused for three hours by the Fedyeen. Jessie wishes this war was never fought because she lost her best friend. It also shows the friendship and sympathy she gained nationwide and especially in West Virginia. A nice story about the difficulties of the Iraq War.



5. I just saw on the news that she said this was fabricated. While I think what she went through was horrible, and she did survive it. There are a few issues. First of all she was out of it most of the time according to her. She did not fire a single shot. There were several real herose in the book who endured torture and stuff like that. It was dumb luck and she made money because of it.

5 comments about An Officer and a Junkie: From West Point to the Point of No Return.

1. This memoir is a well-written book that manages to portray the grim reality of the author's experiences in the oft-glamorized world of drug and alcohol abuse. His narration style is very easy to read and the story flows effortlessly. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an insightful, entertaining, and thought-provoking true story. I sincerely hope that the author stays sober and is able to keep his life on track, if only for the sake of the many friends and family from the book who cared so much about him. Well done.



2. My problem with Winder's memoir is not necessarily that he managed to obtain a degree from West Point despite his rampant drug abuse and flagrant disregard for the rules of his school. I agree that, for the most part, everyone deserves a second chance.
   
   However, being a drug addict with an ability to form sentences doesn't qualify Mr. Winder as a memoirist. His story is not particularly interesting. While the West Point angle certainly drew me into the book, at its core Mr. Winder doesn't have anything new or insightful to say about addiction. Yes, West Point is a uniquely challenging place, but most of the time Winder comes across as a typical college-age frat boy with a sense of entitlement drowning his problems in booze and drugs. He's clearly an intelligent man whose writing skills need some serious polishing. (For example, he seems compelled to describe each character by their height and/or weight, hair color, and skin tone.) I wish Mr. Winder the best of luck, but ultimately I cannot recommend this book.



3. I completed reading this book in 2 sittings, and felt uncomfortable with the author's voice the entire time. He is entirely too proud of his prodiguous consumption of drugs and his cleverness at concealing it from others. I fear that this young man is destined to resume some form of self-destructive and self-delusional activities unless he develops some humility. The entire tale came across as the self-aggrandizing bragging of an insecure adolescent. It would behoove him to read some Greek tragedy -- perhaps Oedipus -- and reflect on the consequences of over-confidence and pride.
   
   I would not recommend using this book in a drug education program aimed at teen-agers. It reads like a challenge to try to outdo the author -- which could be fatal since I doubt very much that anyone, even the author, could consume anywhere near the quantity of drugs and alcohol he claims for as long as he claims to have done so and survive, let alone be coherent.



4. Once I started reading this book, I found it very difficult to put down. Throughout the book, Michael Winder consistently hits you with brutal honesty. He pulls no punches in revealing his daily experiences as an addict. Just when you think he's hit the bottom, he finds a new rung to descend. The documentation provided has convinced me that he's for real. To further add to his life's saga, he weaves his life as an addict with the rigorous training of being a West Point cadet. Amazingly, he was able to turn his life around, climb out of the bowels of hell and write his memoirs. I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to his next one.



5. I was at USMA with the author. The number of "liberties" he takes to describe his time there leads me to highly doubt the entire story -- either that, or *I* was on drugs the entire time and am not remembering it accurately.
   
   I'm sure there's some truth sprinkled in with what he writes, but I don't believe the whole package -- not for one second.

5 comments about Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam.

1. James Hirsch has written an inspirational account of two American POWs, Fred Cherry, an African-American fighter-bomber pilot, and Porter Halyburton, a southern white jet navigator. Both were shot down flying missions over North Vietnam and spent seven-plus years in prison camps. The author weaves considerable biographical material on the two servicemen into descriptions of their capture, interrogations, torture and harsh prison conditions. The book draws on extensive interviews with the two flyers, their families, fellow POWs, other military colleagues and close friends.

   The narrative depicts how POWs struggled to maintain dignity, sense of honor to the U.S. military and mutual support in the face of cruel treatment by North Vietnamese captors. This reader has for years wondered what POWs endured while imprisoned. No longer, for this book presents graphic descriptions of horrible prison conditions and physical and psychological torture. Anyone with strong views on the Vietnam War, pro or con, would find this book engaging.
   
   The discussions of Vietnamese torture and abuse of American servicemen make distressing reading in light of revelations about U.S. mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo and the legal justifications for it offered by some U.S. government officials. At times the Vietnamese denied POW status to captured Americans. When Major Cherry refused to answer questions in his first interrogation and showed his Geneva Convention card outlining his rights as a prisoner, his Vietnamese interrogator barked, "Forget about it. You're a criminal." (p.33)

   People have tortured each other for thousands of years. Sometimes torturers sought military advantage; other times, enforcement of religious beliefs; or they simply needed to dominate. Gravensteen Castle's torture museum (Ghent, Belgium) contains an array of medieval Europe's crueler torture instruments, a sober reminder of how deeply ingrained human cruelty is.

   This long history of torture might easily engender cynicism about the Geneva Conventions or any other rules attempting to restrain human cruelty. The drafters of the U.S. Constitution, however, displayed optimism, banning "cruel and unusual punishment."

   According to Hirsch, U.S. POWs evinced similar optimism. Major Cherry recounts his relief that a uniformed Vietnamese was in charge of his capture, for "he assumed that a soldier, even a Communist, was more likely to respect a prisoner of war. According to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 - which North Vietnam had signed - POWs were to be treated humanely." (p.30) Halyburton's wife, a POW activist, optimistically declared: "All we ask is that North Vietnam adhere to the conditions of the Geneva Conventions, that they identify the prisoners they hold, and they protect them from abuse. That's all we ask." (p.210)

   Hirsch cautiously avoids raising any "coulda shoulda wouldas" of the Vietnam War. That's not his story. Yet, the narrative makes clear that support for the Vietnam War was an important psychological need of the POWs and many other combatants. How else to make it through still another day of torture or fighting thousands of miles from home? That psychological need, however, can hardly become the justification for any war. The U.S. political system demands extreme prudence of its leadership when engaging troops and a thorough debate of the issues. Hirsch's book poignantly reminds readers how U.S. troops ultimately bear the consequences of war-making decisions.

   The issue of race figures prominently in the book. Porter Halyburton, a southern white officer, must confront the views he absorbed from a racially segregated society when he cares for Major Fred Cherry, an African-American POW and his cellmate. Major Cherry, in turn, must bury years of racial insults and slights. The account of how both men ultimately bridge this racial divide is truly a message of hope.

   This reader winced, however, at the description of Halyburton's overcoming his segregationist upbringing as being the moment when "Cherry had ceased being black." (p.133) It's not clear if this is Halyburton's or Hirsch's expression. Perhaps the words didn't come out right. Still, it would have been more satisfying in this reader's mind to hear Halyburton exclaim that he, Halyburton, had ceased being white.




2. I read this book expecting a lot of "war" data. But what I received was far beyond what I expected. It was fantastic. It did just what it set out to do, which was capture the comradry and the "Two Souls Indivisible" and their plights together. I have the pleasure of knowing Fred Cherry and he is a wonderful man. After reading the book, I have another level of respect for him and what he has accomplished.



3. I read this book on the advise of a cousin in Montana. And when I finished, I remembered sitting with my mother and crying as we saw Uncle Fred's name on the list of released POW's. I was in my junior year in college at the time. I have kept an article from Jet Magazine of an interview that he gave just after he was released. Much of what he said in that article is in this book; just fleshed out to the full, long, seven years. I knew some of it then; I know a lot more now. I am very proud that this book was written about these two men, my Uncle and Mr. Halyburton. They are living history. And Mr. Hirsch does a wonderful job of presenting them as just that-real history-real people.



4. Hirsch recounts the friendship that developed between two aviators who were shot down in North Vietnam and endured seven years of imprisonment and torture. Fred Cherry was the first black pilot captured by the Vietnamese, a hot fighter jock and a pioneer in integrating the Air Force. Porter Halyburton was a southern gentleman, steeped in the racial relationships of the old South. Cherry was a Major with combat tours in Korea; Halyburton a young Lieutenant j.g. Although they spent only seven months in the same cell, each credits the other with saving his life as their captors slowly bled the will to live from them. The author also recounts the travails of the two wives, of whom one became a leader in the POW movement and the other declared her husband dead and refused to accept his return. The author skillfully avoids both treacly sentimentalism and excessive gore and concentrates on the leadership and mutual support that kept the survivors alive through years of isolation, abuse, and starvation. Certainly worth reading.



5. I spent the Thanksgiving 2006 Holiday wrapped up in a book that clearly made me appreciate how fortunate we truly are!!! Two Souls Indivisible is one the best written novels I have ever read. James Hirsh is an outstanding writer and does a superb job not only with the development of the two main characters but also captures the torment and hell all of our POW's went thru -- notwithstanding the race relations aspect which is also described in much detail and serves as the underderlying theme. Whether you are a history buff and someone who is looking for a superb book -- this is it. Some of the details are graphic but it is truly necessary so that the reader appreciates the chaos and sheer brutality that these men were faced with. Five stars doesn't do justice -- make it 10 out of 10.

5 comments about Horses Don't Fly: A Memoir of World War I.

1. This story is not about horses, or flying. It's about one thing: character. In Frederick Libby's autobiography the reader sees the story of a young man born in Colorado before the turn of the last century. He grows up learning the family business, mainly horse breaking and cattle ranching. The early chapters are a bit juvenile in their telling but this is only a reflection of his retelling of childhood events. The narration becomes more sophisticated as he recounts later years, but always maintains a simple frontier charm.

   While a young man traveling through Canada in 1914 he volunteers for the Canadian army when war breaks out in Europe. He joins as a truck driver even though he has never driven a car before. He ships out to france and spends a cold wet year ferrying supplies to the frontlines. But through it all he maintains a positive outlook and high admiration of the boys in the trenches. After a year of driving he volunteers for the Royal Flying Corps as a observer (gunner). So this American who volunteered with the Canadians ends up with British flying as an observer/gunner/photographer against the deadly German flyers. He later earns his pilot rating and ends up as a squad leader. The desciptions of battles, some of the only first person accounts of the flying war, are intense but not sensationalized. He never glorifies war and tries to give some account of the hardship experienced by the men in the trenches.

   The entire narrative shows Captain Libby as a man devoted to those he works with. Whether it is cattle hands in the American west or the officers of the RFC he shows that once he is committed to something he stays with it. The fact that he was barely twenty years old when this started shows how the youth of the time rose to the challenge of the day. Several time during the book He says that he does not know what they are fighting for. However, a man who gives his word to a group of men and sees it through to the end knows exactly what he is fighting for.




2. The other reviewers have it right--a very good book. There is a slow start when we learn about his youth, and he masters the family business of horses. The story really picks up when he joins the Canadian military and then the Royal Flying Corps in France. Frederick Libby is not a deep thinker--he believes in friendship and loyality--he doesn't spend much time worrying about the why of war. He is spontaneous in his response to situations rather than thinking things through. His clear writing gives us a sense of what life was like, but I do not understand why he survived and most of the aviators did not. If I liked this book, then why did I give it only 3-stars? The book has been over-edited and has a feel as though a lot of the life has been rewritten out of it. I want to know more about Libby's experiences, and I feel a bit cheated. Another reason for 3-stars is that the story starts slow, peaks in the middle, and goes back to a slow and finally a disjointed end when he returns to the United States and health problems end his military career. Libby lives for another 50 years, and we are given a very simplified version by his granddaughter which grabs my interest but doesn't deliver more than generalities. A search of the internet does not find any more information about Libby's life. This book whets your appetite for more knowledge about this time when aviators believed they were knights, and the internet has a huge amount of information on this subject.



3. Libby's story does not compare to the biography of Eddie Richenbacher, "Fighting the Flying Circus." You really get a sense of what the fight was like from Richenbacer, while so many of the details are glossed over by Libby. Libby's story starts out very slowly, picks up when he becomes an observer and pilot, and just peters out when he rejoins the United States military. We are left with lots of unanswered questions--why did he survive so long when most died in a couple of weeks, what did he think when his squadren was literally completely replaced every few weeks, etc. There is no introspection--no emotional side to this book. We do know that he likes to drink, but he is not a deep thinker--loyality and friendship are important driving components of how he makes his decisions. There is a feel to the book like it has been rewritten and the juicy (emotional) parts removed. The book was interesting but very limited if you are looking for information about that time. Read Richenbacher's book for a much better understanding of that time.



4. Frederick Libby's HORSES DON'T FLY is the author's autobiographical account of his life from his birth in 1892 to 1918. His mother having died shortly before his fourth birthday, Libby was raised on his father's Colorado ranch with an older brother. Fred became a "cowboy" in the most authentic sense of the word, working on his family's ranch as well as others in the Southwest. Training wild horses to become cow ponies was his much sought after specialty. Then, tiring of hard life on the range at age twenty, he has the vague notion of settling in a warm and more lazy environment, such as Tahiti. However, he gets sidetracked to Canada where, at the outbreak of World War I, he's seduced into enlisting into a motor transport unit of the Canadian Army with the promise of travel and regular pay. By the end of 1917, Libby is a commissioned officer in Britain's Royal Flying Corps, having logged more than 350 hours of combat flight time over the trenches of the Western Front, and with 24 confirmed downed enemy planes to his credit.

   The book contains no indication when Libby penned his memoirs. The style indicates somewhat of a detached perspective, which is perhaps evidence that the author wrote many years after the fact when memory had smoothed over the emotional highs and lows of his early years. But, no matter. Libby comes across as that sort of young hero that most Americans, I trust, would like to see representing their country overseas, or anywhere. He's conscientious, unflappable, brave, modest, hard working, honest, honorable and loyal. Indeed, his only vices seem to have been, as a cowboy, foolish gambling, and, while as an RFC pilot, a weakness for the British Army's regular rum ration. Girls are only mentioned as reserving their best for the lads in uniform. I suspect that Libby's wilder youthful indiscretions became lost in the retelling. In any case, the chief attraction of HORSES DON'T FLY, besides the personality of Libby himself, are the insights the reader gains into the hard life of a cowboy, and the early years of military aviation when warplanes could be either "pushers" (rear-mounted propeller) or "tractors" (front-mounted propeller), and both pilots and observer-gunners were exposed to the elements and the enemy in open cockpits with neither seatbelts nor those little packages of salted peanuts. Libby himself was personally awarded the Military Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace for gallantry in action.

   To Captain Frederick Libby, long dead since 1970, honor is due.




5. One of the wittiest memoirs of any era I have ever read. An often bust your gut funny read from a true turn of the century Forrest Gump who grows up to be a war hero. My most common thoughts as I read this wonderful prose was "I wish I had been born back then." Family, courage, honesty, loyalty, and right from wrong all mattered; and all issues were black and white. Libby goes from cowboy private to fighter ace, endures the utter stupidity that is WWI, yet keeps a sense of humor and fast becomes someone you wish you had personally known and called a friend. Do you think Uncle Sam would let you "trial run" an aerial combat mission today to see if you have the "right stuff" to be a pilot or aerial observer?

5 comments about A Diary From Dixie.

1. This primary source document is one of the best windows we have into southern society during the American Civil War. Mary Chestnut was a southern aristocrat, married to the man who was the first to resign his seat in the US Senate before the war. She knew many prominent Confederate leaders well--Jefferson Davis, John Bell Hood, and Wade Hampton among them--and was acquainted with nearly all of the major players in the war (she even spent several occasions in the company of Robert E. Lee and Joseph Johnston). Because she knew so many people, she was in a position to cast a very revealing light on the war from the southern point of view.
   
   Besides knowing so many influential leaders, Mary Chestnut also lived in both Confederate capitals--Montgomery, Alabama and Richmond, Virginia--while they were the government seats. Her husband's plantation was in South Carolina, and in fact her home in Columbia, South Carolina lay right in the path of Sherman's destructive march through the South. As such, Chestnut is poised to offer very interesting commentary on the fire that burned much of that city. Mary and her husband gave their all to the Confederacy, and lost much of what they had because of the Civil War.
   
   Several things in this journal are unique and worthy of mention. First, Chestnut and her friends are living the high life for much of the war, having parties, dinners, and luncheons and more-or-less living it up, even when the Yankees are approaching Richmond. They live comfortable lives, and, though Mary has a very insightful perspective into the suffering of her soldiers, she often spends as much time complaining about some minor inconvenience (such as being without her maid for a week) as she does deploring the sorry state of the starved and ill-clothed soldiers. Mary does what she can, and helps in many ways, but she is not willing to give up her parties, even when her husband repeatedly begs her too.
   
   This diary also provides a unique view of slavery. A staunch abolitionist, Chestnut hated slavery less for the cruel treatment of the slaves than for the insolent behavior of many of them. Her husband's slaves were well taken care of, and did less work than they consumed in goods. Mary recounts many horrific tales of what happened when the slaves were set free--a story of a white family going along a road and picking up a wagonload of Negro infants which had been abandoned by parents enjoying their freedom, for example. She never questions that slavery is wrong, but she does argue that Harriet Beecher Stowe's account of slavery was the exception, not the rule. This is an interesting perspective, whatever the truth of it.
   
   All in all, this is a great diary, and a splendid resource. Thank goodness this book has been reissued. The edition edited by Ben Ames Williams contained unsatisfactory notes, including some in which Williams shamelessly engaged in self-promotion of his novel. This book is indispensable for anyone looking for primary accounts of the human aspect of the war between the states.



2. This book deserves 5 stars for educational value alone. While it does have its slow points, I can say that I have learned more about antebellum culture and Southern war perspective from this book than any other I have read up to this point. The book gives us a glimpse into the mindsets of a demographic of the Southern population we can rarely find anywhere else, and it's incredible to believe that this work was almost thrown into the fire for fear of capture when McClellan's forces dwelt a mere six miles from Richmond's door in early 1862.



3. Mary Chesnut's diary of life in the South during the American Civil War is possibly the best of all American diaries. You could spend weeks making your way through the labyrinth of events -- trivial and important -- and personalities found in the diary.
   
   This edition of the diary is superseded by a better one: "Mary Chesnut's Civil War" edited by C. Vann Woodward which won a Pulitzer Prize for History in 1982. Woodward's edition offers a more complete text and is heavily footnoted with explanatory material. The text in Woodward includes many interesting passages excluded from "A Diary from Dixie" because of limitations of space and because some of them reflected unfavorably on the South and Southerners.
   
   One virtue of this edition is a fine foreword about the diary by literary critic Edmund Wilson, but Wilson's foreword can also be read in his book "Patriotic Gore." I recommend you read Woodward's "Mary Chesnut's Civil War" instead of this book.
   
   Smallchief



4. C-Span did a series called "American Writers" in 2001 and although I consider myself well read it was the first time I had ever heard of Mary Chesnut.
   
   This story of the Civil War, told from the perspective of the civilians at home, was a real eye opener. Mary Chesnut, the wife of a Confederate general, was well off, but even Mary and the ladies in her circle couldn't get shoes to replace their worn ones and could only afford the outrageous prices for food because they had money. One can only imagine the suffering of those less fortunate. Life for civilians was severe and the news from the front, often heartbreaking, added to their woes. This is a unique first person account of the Civil War.
   
   I remember reading that the author of "Gone With the Wind", Margaret Mitchell, did about five years of research before she actually started writing her book. I feel it is highly likely that she read Mary Chesnut's book as part of that research.



5. Mary Chestnut's diary received great exposure as a result of Ken Burns' documentary on PBS. It is well worth reading because 90% of the history we read of the American Civil War focuses on the military campaigns and the politics. Ms. Chestnut tells us more about the social impact of the war than we get from most authors. On top of that, she was a highly intelligent woman who was writing things in confidence that she would be unlikely to say outloud. She had a unique window into the workings of southern society and Confederate politics and she was completely honest in her evaluations. What we get here are very carefully worded opinions that no self-respecting southerner would have dared to admit in 1863. On the topic of slavery, Ms. Chestnut declares, "Ours is a monstrous system." Amid newspaper reports blasting Union General Grant for his brutal tactics and lack of finesse, Ms. Chestnut observes, "He has the disagreeable habit of not retreating before our irresistable veterans." All in all, hers is one of the most honest and well-written accounts of civilian life in the south during the Civil War.

5 comments about Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.

1. Robert Gould Shaw's letters home are a very realistic look of the Civil War battles by a unique individual with many perspectives. The brutality of battle along with the emotional turmoil from such a young officer bring the war to life. The authors have given us a true picture of a brave officer and the war. As you read the letters of Shaw you want to pull the blankets closer on the cold winter nights he spent in the field. You can share the suffering along with Shaw at the loss of friends. The courage and love of family and devotion of country are evident throughout his premature adult life. God bless the 54th and may Robert Gould Shaw and all that served with him and under him never be forgotten.



2. Russell Duncan's compendium of letters both exalts and puzzles.The job of editing the letters and setting them in the context of war, family ties, friendships, etc. is thorough and, for the most part, makes them accessible. Let's not forget, though, that the editor omitted some letters that don't support his main thesis: that Col. Shaw was a rich young pleasure-lover who fought to get back to his privileged existence, never changing this outlook throughout the war; he "never fully understood nor dedicated himself" to the cause of Black freedom (pp.1-2). So here we are presented with a young man raised by abolitionists who went to all the hazards of preparing and leading something new, a black regiment, before dying in the middle of it, without understanding what he was about, or dedicating himself to it. It's fashionable to "debunk" the heros of yore, but even those letters we have tell us otherwise, and Duncan reverses his appraisal, back and forth, several times. We should also beware of measuring citizens of other times against a modern baseline on classism, racism, etc. Apart from these problems, found in the introduction and some footnotes, the book lets Shaw speak for himself (he does it eloquently and enjoyably) and the reader can draw his/her own conclusion on ideas, events, and character development.



3. it's must have book I love this book



4. If, like me, you have seen the film "Glory", where Matthew Broderick plays Col. Robert Gould Shaw, white commander of the black 54th Massachusetts Regiment during the Civil War, you will see only a brief a glimpse of who Shaw was in his short life. Broderick does a masterful job of capturing some of Shaw's personality, but if you want to get inside this young man's head and find out who he really was, I highly recommend reading the book, "Blue Eyed Child of Fortune", ed. by Russell Duncan.
   
   This collection of Shaw's letters shows a far more complex and conflicted young man than Broderick was given a chance to play. While his parents burned with the abolitionist spirit of Boston's intellectual elite, Shaw struggled with his own prejudices and his own self doubts throughout his short life. Never an exemplary student, he dropped out of Harvard to work in his uncle's New York firm, but rapidly found the work boring and unsuited to him. Struggling to find his place in the world, the Civil War came along and gave him a sense of purpose and direction.
   
   Enlisting first in the 7th New York Guards, he served until his enlistment was up, and then joined the 2nd Massachusetts, gaining position as an officer. He "saw the elephant" at Winchester, Antietam and Cedar Mountain, was slightly wounded in two of those engagements, and found out first hand about the horrors of war. During winter camp in 1862-63, his father visited with word that Shaw had been tapped by Massachusetts Governor John Albion Andrew to command a new black regiment. At first, Shaw refused this offer on the basis that he felt a strong bond with the men he had fought and bled with, but then changed his mind and accepted the position of Colonel of the 54th Massachusetts.
   
   Returning home to Boston to take command of his new regiment, he was deeply conflicted over whether these men would pan out to be good soldiers, but as time wore on and they proved their worth, Shaw's respect for his men grew, as did their respect for their commanding officer. After three months training, they left for duty in South Carolina after a grand parade down Boston streets. Shaw chafed for some action for his men, and the first that they saw was the tragic raid and burning of Darien, Georgia under the command of Kansas jayhawker Col. James Montgomery. Shaw was outraged at this action and very nearly refused his orders from his commanding officer, but reluctantly had to obey and ask his men to do what he felt was utterly immoral and against the codes of war. He would write letters of protest to his father and to others.
   
   Eventually, in his quest for real action for his men, they were assigned a diversionary action on James Island to allow Union troops to land on nearby Morris Island for a planned assault on Fort Wagner a few days later. Sustaining light casualties in a skirmish, Shaw was impressed that his men were indeed up to snuff as soldiers, and so, a few days later, after a long exhausting march in a storm to Morris Island during which they got no rest, they were assigned to the lead attack column on Fort Wagner on the evening of July 18, 1863.
   
   Sadly, Union intelligence on Ft. Wagner was badly flawed. It was originally thought that the fort held a complement of only 300 men and that after days of relentless shelling by the Union navies, that the fort would be softened up enough to withstand a frontal Union assault. However, most of Wagner's nearly 1500 men were in a massive bombproof riding out the shelling, and so, when the Union assault began with the 54th leading the attack column, they took the heaviest casualties, including the young Col. Shaw, who foresaw his own demise while speaking to Lt. Col. Edward "Ned" Hallowell, his second-in-command, while on a steamer on the way to their assignment: "If I could only live a few weeks longer with my wife, and be at home a little while, I might die happy, but it cannot be. I do not believe I will live through our next fight."
   
   Rather unfortunately, Shaw was right. He was killed upon reaching the parapets of Wagner, a bullet through his heart killing him instantly. His body was stripped and thrown into a common grave with his men, and his father asked, when the Union finally took the fort a few months later when it was abandoned by the Confederates, that his body be left there with his men. Shaw's burial spot now lies somewhere under the Atlantic Ocean, the island having eroded significantly in the past 140 years since Shaw's demise and burial there.
   
   This book will give you a great insight into a very conflicted, complicated and yet reluctantly heroic young man who was just coming into his own at the time of his tragic death. I am sure that he would have shunned the limelight had he survived the war to live to old age and would have been content to live life with his beloved Annie, to whom he was married a mere two months before his death. Annie would never remarry and lived the rest of her life as his widow, dying in 1907. The war would doubtless have made Shaw and given him the potential to focus his life and go on to great things had he lived to do so. Having lived so much of his young life with such rebellion against his mother's domineering apron strings and not quite sure what he wanted out of life, the war gave Shaw a brief opportunity to find out what it was he was made of. In so doing, he achieved the one thing he never dreamed of, immortality.
   
   Read this book if you are eager to know the "real" Shaw. Letting him speak for himself is the best way to know this fascinating man who died so tragically young at the peak of his life. Follow it up with "Where Death and Glory Meet", Russell Duncan's excellent biography of Shaw. By the time you finish these two books, you will feel as if you know Shaw quite well. If you want to know a few of his men, read "A Brave Black Regiment" by Capt. Luis Emilio, a regimental history of the 54th, "On the Altar of Freedom" by Cpl. James Henry Gooding, a black soldier in the 54th, and "A Voice of Thunder", the letters of Sgt. George E. Stephens, another black soldier in the 54th. I just hope that more letters and diaries from this regiment surface and are published someday. Doubtless there are more hiding in attics and other unknown places.
   
   This book comes highly recommended for good Civil War reading of a primary source, along with the other books mentioned that are by Shaw's soldiers. Together, they beat any historian's account of this historic regiment. Read them all if you are interested in Civil War or black history.



5. After viewing the movie Glory for many years I came across this book and purchased it immediately. Robert Gould Shaw grew up in an influencial home which had amazing political and social connections with the abolitionist movement. His words preserved from the past through today and gives us insight on what he was thinking about after fighting at Antietam as well as his feelings about his role and service for this nation.
   
   A must for any civil war reenactor or student of the American Civil War.

5 comments about Memoirs of an Infantry Officer.

1. Siegfreid Sassoon's wonderful war memoir is thinly disguised as the story of George Sherston. Based solely on Sassoon's life in the trenches of WWI, it recounts the horror and scale of carnage that occurred. More importantly it shows the emotionally scars that the survivors carried with them as a result of exposure.

   Sherston (Sassoon) was a rather spoiled and pampered young upper class Englishman. The war changed all that. Confronted with death, destruction and idiotic leadership from the High Command you sense the inner turmoil of Sherston.

   Relieved when he is not involved with the fighting he is driven by guilt over the loss of the soldiers in his battalion. Consequently when his platoon is on the line he takes great risks in reconaissance of the German positions.

   The effects of non-stop total war, stupid leadership and the complete contrast between England and the trenches (only a few hundred miles apart) is staggering to Sassoon. Sassoon becomes anti-war and considers becoming an objector, but his obvious connection to his comrades and loyalty to them wins out in the end. He hates the war but won't abandon his comrades in the field.

   This is a great war memoir written by a poet who survived and was changed for life by his experiences in it.




2. Siegfried Sassons' "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer" is a first-hand account of life at the front line during World War 1. This is not a just a historical document or diary however. Sassoon writes via an alter-ego called George. In real life, Sassoon was an infantry officer who fought at the front, but eventually grew suspicious of the reasons for the continuation of World War 1, and as such became a dissenter. This book may be fiction, but it is based on fact and it gives an impressive account of what life must have been like in those trenches, nearly a hundred years ago. Sassoon's incredible ability with words paints a much more vivid picture than any war movie will ever provide.

   George was a middle-class officer who had the luxury of a university education and was an avid reader of classic English literature. He juxtaposes the themes and ideas in this romantic poetry with the realities of life at the front to great effect. Although a tad repetitive in it's ideas (perhaps to get the point across clearly), this book is rewarding and still relevant this whole century later. As one character in the book says, "In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth" .




3. Terrific book that sounded a bit autobiographical. Sassoon, of course, was a war hero on the battle of the Somme, decorated twice for bravery.
   
   The book reads lyrically and is convey's nicely the daily life of soldiers moving back and forth from the front fighting trenches to the rear area of the battle field. He also does a great job portraying the strangeness and inner conflict of being back in British society (while recovering from illness) with people who know nothing of the war or its cost to the participants.
   
   A Brit's version of "All Quiet ..."



4. Continuing tale of the Cambridge-educated English Officer living the hell of warfare on the Western Front: replete with adoring batman, blustering colonel Blimps, out of control colonials (Australians and Canadians), journeys to England on home leave to meet misinformed civilians. Sasson has a style that waxes between light and lyrical, cynical and dark and starkly realistic. It is reminiscent of Graves but less dark than Blunden.
   
   This is a tale of the human mind (an upper crust mind) that makes the journey from old world to that of the lost generation -- but Sassoon never loses himself. It shows that the mind-set was already there capable of dissecting and throwing away the old world view tradition. With capable honesty Sassoon relates the contradictions in life, army and mind set of the pre-war generation. He still takes advantage of the liesure of the educated class; his batman pours his tea, he still sees the colonials as slightly quaint and backwards (especially the Australians), still finds refuge among his educated Cambridge intellectuals -- this is no tale of class struggle.
   
   This book can read as part of his trilogy lifestyle or on its own. It has many haunting vignettes and is perhaps one of the top 5 WWI memoirs. Highly recommended.



5. While perhaps best known for his poetry written during WWI, Siegfried Sassoon was a very talented wordsmith in general, a trait that is demonstrated in his second semi-fictionalized autobiography, "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer". Sassoon chose to fictionalize his accounts of his life, an odd technique that allows him to distance himself from these experiences as he intimately describes the raw emotion and response behind them. In his three memoirs he is George Sherston, a thinly veiled version of himself, who thinnly veils the real-life characters he encountered during these times.
   
   Readers are automatically flung into Sassoon's war experience, from the disjointed and fantastical training, to the brutal reality of life in the trenches. Sassoon describes these experiences in vivid detail, the sheer misery of trench warfare, the almost callous attitude toward the dead on both sides, and the surreal life led by those back home. Sassoon, nicknamed "Mad Jack" for his stubborness and seemingly sheer lunacy at times, was awfully lucky during his battle campaigns. He was wounded a few times, always sent back home to England to recuperate, and almost happy to return to the war.
   
   However, after one session as an invalid, Sassoon begins to recognize that the war may not be all it's cracked up to be, that those in power are not telling the truth about their war aims, and that he may just be a lowly pawn in a game he doesn't want to play. Towards the end of his narrative, Sassoon tells of his decision to speak out against the war, even if it meant being court martialed. This act, filtered with courage and fear, is achingly portrayed as an act both necessary and questionable: as Sassoon places himself in danger, he questions his true beliefs in the matter. This account ends just as Sassoon enters the hospital in Scotland, avoiding court martial with a diagnosis of shell shock, 'lucky' as usual.
   
   "Memoirs of an Infantry Officer" is a vividly descriptive account of life in the trenches during WWI. Sassoon is a gifted storyteller, who can make even the direst settings come to life. He offers a unique insight into the soldier poets who first questioned whether or not war was such a noble and glorious pursuit and if the sacrifice of lives was worth the price in the end. While a little slow at times, the last quarter of the narrative which details Sassoon's questioning of the war, is a brilliantly written firsthand look at how a too little celebrated writer finally found his voice.

1 comments about Sock It to 'Em, Baby: Forward Air Controller in Vietnam.

1. Excellent! An unvarnished account of precisely what it was like to be a forward air controller in Vietnam. The author pays tribute to, and included a photo of, (the late retired) Lt Col Richard F. Nelson in the book. Richard replaced him and endeavored, unsuccessfully (because Cooper is Australian), to have him receive the American commendations due him. Cooper sent my sister Ruby an autographed copy of the book. Of particular interest is the fact that Richard, a former fighter jet pilot and Air Force military attaché in Tunisia for three years, served in Vietnam (and all over the world, including sitting in Florida in a bomb-equipped jet during the Cuban missile crisis) and was a decorated forward air controller himself -- although he opposed the Vietnam war. He supported the first Iraq war because Hussein was a bully who had invaded Kuwait and had to be stopped. He absolutely opposed the second, which was based on lies and greed, and DETESTED Bush, who didn't even serve long enough to "repay" his jet training. Richard went to Law School in Arkansas, had Bill Clinton for one class, and once said that Clinton was braver than he for his opposition to Vietnam. I asked him once why those in "the military" did not speak out more, and he replied that: "We all thought we were the only ones." He supported Wesley Clark for president, but, then and now, would have supported any Democrat or ANYONE else who opposed the war. Richard also felt strongly that the vets who served NEVER got their due. For the record, I am proud to say that Richard F. Nelson is my brother-in-law. Ricky Lacina (Ms)