3 comments about The Secret Eye: The Journal of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, 1848-1889 (Gender & American Culture).

1. A Secret Eye was a huge disappointment. The characters were not as developed and colorful as one might expect. The diary/journal form became ho-hum after the first few entries. The dragging subjects and subject matter made the 470 pages difficult to wade through. Augusta has always been my home and I did enjoy some of the local history. I am certain a more interesting story could have been told about my hometown.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! How often does one get to read someone else's diary? (Set during the Civil War, no less.) The author was a well educated, intelligent woman for her time and she is an excellent writer. So many aspects of this diary are completely fascinating. Her pampered southern lifestyle, her views on slavery (she calls herself a liberal re: slavery and yet, she is such a racist.), her feelings on male superiority and her longing to do more with her talents. The entries during the war and after are the most interesting... but DON'T read the introductory notes written by the editor...unless you want to spoil the ending! I wanted the diary to unfold one day at a time without knowing what was coming just as it did for Gertrude. After reading the diary I went back and read the editorial notes which add insight into the author's life. This is a story of a very strong woman enduring unbelievable hardships. If you enjoy history at all you will love reading this diary!



3. I totally diagree w/ the review above because apparently the reader did not understand that this diary is not a novel.
   
   It is true however that the diary does not reveal too much of Ella herself. This is not surprising to me since she states that she is not going to open up to her diary and tell her innomost feelings. Unfortunately!
   However, after she gets married, has children and is much more matured she does reveal a great deal about her life, feelings etc.
   One can only thank that someone took the trouble to record personal information during the antebellum time and afterwards for the readers of the 21st century to read. Thank you.

2 comments about MANNOCK: The Life and Death of Major Edward Mannock VC, DSO, MC, RAF.

1. The 'King of the Air Fighters,' Edward Corringham 'Mick' Mannock, was killed in action on 26 July 1918. In the intervening years various articles and biographies have appeared, many of which have muddied the historical waters regarding Britain's WWI ace of aces. Now, at last, we have a definitive account of the life and times of this extraordinary fighter pilot and combat leader, courtesy of two top-notch authors, Norman Franks and Andy Saunders.
   
   MANNOCK is a wonderfully-researched and engagingly-written book. Though a fairly slim volume - 192 pages - it packs more factual information on him than most of the other Mannock biographies combined. Not only does MANNOCK create a vivid portrait of the great fighter ace, it also sets the record straight regarding many of the myths that have arisen since 1918.
   
   For example: Mannock downed 73 aircraft. False: He never claimed anywhere near 70. Taffy Jones, who flew with him and wrote a biography of Mick, put his score at 73 to displace Billy Bishop, who Jones hated, as top British ace. (Bishop claimed 72*).
   Item: Mannock was blind in one eye. False: Mannock had slight vision problems in one eye but he wasn't blind.
   Item: Mannock hated Germans with a passion. Exaggerated: Mannock often used anti-German tirades and "sizzle, sizzle, wonk" gallows humor to install in his pilots the killer instinct and to buck up his own failing morale.
   Item: Mannock was suffering from combat fatigue in mid-1917 and should have been sent on leave rather than being made CO of 85 Squadron. True: Though Mannock successfully hid his nervous fatigue from the medico and some 74 Squadron pilots, he was clearly in need of rest. Being a patriot he refused to ask for such leave and did his duty.
   Item: Mannock's body was never found. False: The authors make a convincing case for where Mannock's body is buried and why the mix-up occurred.
   
   Along with many vivid, first-hand reminiscences of Mannock the man and the warrior, the Franks/Saunders books features over 70 evocative photographs of Mick, his squadronmates, their aircraft, squadron life scenes and their German opponents and the aircraft they flew. Several maps are also included.
   
   In short, MANNOCK is aviation history at its best. It deserves six stars and then some! Highly recommended.
   
   *******
   *Since the authors credit Mannock with 61 victories, readers might assume Billy Bishop then becomes top dog since he claimed 72. However the veracity of Bishop's claims has been widely questioned, many aviation historians now discounting almost all his kills. See THE MAKING OF BILLY BISHOP for details.



2. I have a fairly extensive library of WW1 aviation references, including several biographical references on Edward 'Mick' Mannock. I was unsure that this volume would be worth purchasing, fearing that nothing new and informative would be included. I am delighted to say that my fears were groundless.
   
   This book is less biographical than most others, focusing instead on the service career of Mick Mannock. In particular, it brings Mannock's victory total more in line with current research, rather than inflating this aspect of his career for the authors' personal agendas.
   
   Lest it be thought that the biographical elements of this book have been given short shrift, there are a number of fascinating insights into Mannock the man which more comprehensive biographical works have omitted.
   
   The book concludes with an orderly analysis of the controversy over the location of Mannock's gravesite, and a review of the citations covering his several decorations.
   
   All in all, this book includes something for both veteran researchers, and those just discovering the world of aviation in the Great War. Not only that, but it reads well.

No comments about Kentuckians in Gray: Confederate Generals and Field Officers of the Bluegrass State (None).

5 comments about First Seal.

1. This book is incredible. This seal is one of a kind and anyone who does not like this book probably needs to find a different genre to read, b.c it is one of the best out there. Truly a great book to read.



2. Having met Mr. Boehm on a personal level, he is one of the United States greatest heros.



3. Great book, insight into what it took to build the teams and how stupid the bureaucrats and politically minded military officers can be (not a surprise to any veteran).
   
   A must read for those who follow the Navy SEALS exploits through the years.
   
   It is also one source, all such memoirs are best understood in the context of one of many views and opinions.from the dozens of SEAL memoirs I have read, Boehm is revered by real SEAL warriors.
   
   The negative review of this book is obviously someone who served with him but was a bean counter not a warrior.



4. A very interesting story. If you have read Rogue Warrior by Marcinko, then you should follow-up with this book. It provides insight into the mindset, at least in the early days, of the SEAL teams.
   
   Boehm was rough around the edges, to put it mildly, but was still able to get his ideas accepted. The military, as ususal, resisted the changes as they still do today.
   
   Another common element with today, is the resistance from those who have difficulty distinguishing friend from foe; "...do-gooders back in the States sent the fertilizer, along with outboard engines and other supplies to the "poor peasants" of Vietnam. The outboards became "shrimp tails" pushing sampans delivering VC supplies in the Delta. The bags of fertilizer containing sodium nitrate and sodium potassium were turned into explosives."(p. 249)
   
   Boehm was a "rogue" warrior. Amazing man, but clearly one who operated outside the norms of the military. The best parts of this book, in my opinion, were those about the Cuban missile crisis and Boehm's excursion into Cuba. Daring stuff.



5. I'v e read a good number of books by special forces soldiers and officers and have always been fascinated by them. So when I found there was a biography by the man who created the SEALs I had to find a copy. I was not disappointed at all as we were treated to a bit more than the typical special forces biography, mostly because everything Boehm did has since been declassified.
   
   Boehm starts off recounting the action that he saw in World War II onboard a destroyer manning one of the guns. He did a very good job in detailing this as well as how he gradually moved towards he future by beginning to train in diving. A memorable scene was after his ship sunk he was stranded with a shipmate and was attempting to swim to a far off island. His encounter with the shark was detailed and memorable, striking fear into the reader at just the thought of what happened.
   
   After that we move along to his entrance to UDT and are treated to a decent accounting of what a man went through in order to become a part of the UDT teams of the navy. Hell Week was a great account that I always love to read about.
   
   Finally we moved to his creation of the Navy SEALs and the ordeals that he had to go through in order to make it all happen. We don't see to much action from Boehm as a SEAL, simply because he was getting up there in age and pissed too many people off, so he was removed from office almost immediately after the SEALs began to take shape. But that did not mean he went to waste, and instead pushed him into Vietnam as an advisor set to train sea warriors out of the Vietnamese.
   
   Boehm had a very eventful life, one that certainly had enough going on to be an interesting read. Some of it might have seemed a bit made up, just from the sheer audacity or outlandish outcome, but I wouldn't put it past Boehm in doing all that he said he did, such as taking revenge on a black tipped shark. His writing is an in your face writing, holding nothing back. Blunt and to the point without mincing words. Sometimes I wish more autobiographies were written this way.
   
   I would definitely recommend this book to all interested in Special Forces, and more specifically the Navy SEALs. This bio is akin to the one Marcinko wrote in style and manner, so if you enjoyed his than you would certainly enjoy this one as well. A definite recommend.
   
   5 stars.

3 comments about In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS.

1. I was born and raised in Germany. Even though my parents were born after the war and both my grandfathers were dead by the time I started asking questions I can still relate very well to the unease when it comes to talking about WWII.
   
   Where I grew up we had a neighbour whom I only knew as a mild mannered older guy, who loved us kids, would give us sweets and let us play in the big old trees in his garden. At one point I discovered that he was a member of the SS in WWII and had fought somewhere in Russia. He had no family. When he was in his eighties, he started opening up to a few people in the neighbourhood, among them my family. He would talk about the war, his comrades and generally the hard life they lived. He would always start crying. He would never mention fighting, killing civilians and all the other things he most likely saw and did. We all knew about those things, but we also felt sorry for the old guy and nobody pressed questions. He was a neighbour, not close family after all.
   
   Timm's book perfectly captures the conflict of the - very normal - desire to love and admire a brother (father, uncle, grandfather, neighbour) while at the same time knowing that that person must have consciously participated in something unspeakably atrocious.
   
   Obviously there is no easy solution and that conflict is one that generations of Germans had to deal with after the war. It is impossible to excuse what happened, but it is equally impossible to condemn all these people around you who all might have participated to various degrees, and be it just by keeping silent.



2. This is less an account of Uwe Timm's brother's life and death in the SS -- though it is that -- than it is a reflection on memory and history, specifically on what they mean in postwar Germany. Timm's brother's diary, kept against regulations ("it ought not to exist," Timm writes), is brief and ambiguous. And in those ambiguities lie the greatest turmoil and conflict, with no real answers. What did the brother mean when he referred to a "big louse hunt"? Clearly, he was involved in criminal activities ("plenty of loot!"), and clearly, he was coarsened by the war ("fodder for my MG"). But was he involved in atrocities? Did he murder civilians? Those are the questions that Timm can't answer with any certainty. They point to the doubt and guilt of an entire people, a people who still struggle to come to terms with the war. Sixty years: still no answers, still no resolution.



3. This book is by far not about, as the title suggests life in his brothers shadow,as much as it is about life in his fathers shadow, or the shadow of a defeated Germany!
   Herr Timm seems to be searching for his personal share of Germanys collective guilt. The writings of his brother might at most contribute 1 full page to this book! Herr Timm seems to be full of self-pity calling himself over and over again "the afterthought" where I would think his father instead planned him to be his brothers replacement. My father grew up in this same Germany and I have good insight into his thinking. I would suggest because of Herr Timms fathers position he knew a war would happen, and most likely consume his oldest son, that is what brought Uwe into being, not some accident or afterthought.Also his insistance that the 3rd. SS was an elite unit that the camp guards were drawn from is also a factual error. The 3rd SS began as the "Totenkopfverbande" they were the camp guards before the war! After the Polish and French campaigns they were re-organised into the Totenkopf division. The original members and leaders of the organisation Todt were all involved in the German camp system, not as Herr Timm suggests "elite soldiers from which guards were drawn" but rather camp guards that were formed into a front-line fighting unit!Herr Timm also wants to take small obscure entries in his brothers diaries and contort them into some evil or sinister act! A louse hunt is a louse hunt plain and simple, fodder for my MG is just an expression of the daily exposure to the horrors of front-line service. Herr Timm is searching so hard, it seems also hoping to find some act of brutality or inhumanity that he might link to his brother as to justify the feeling he has inside of himself! This book is a waste of time if you are seeking 1st hand accounts of the war, but if you want to read of the guilt placed on the German people and the effects of defeat on a family and country, it might be of some helpful insight.

5 comments about Reaching Past the Wire: A Nurse at Abu Ghraib.

1. Great reading. You really have to admire her. News coverage what a bunch of BS.



2. Lt. Col. Germain in her memoirs spoke of great values that are easily lost in the battle field. She cared for her Iraqi patients and treated them with respect and dignity. She lived by a strict code of conduct when humiliation and torture of prisoners was taking place so close by. She made us all proud Americans by demonstrating our true values to those who disagree with us and certainly won their hearts and minds.



3. Lt. Col. (Ret.) Germain said about this book that she hoped "to put a human face on war, showing that it affects us all, no matter what side we are on." She also helps families of returning soldiers to understand some of their loved ones' re-entry issues. The story of Germain's Abu Ghraib experience is important reading, and Lounsbury has done a masterful job of professionally writing the narrative.



4. This book was so good, I could not put it down. It shows humanity in the face of war.



5. Excellent reading for all. This book was well put together and truly helped me understand what a nurse working on the front line during times of war is exposed to both mentally and physically. Page after page the author, Deanna, shows us what the true definition of what a nurse really is and what all nurses should strive to achieve. If you want to read a book that's impossible to put down till it's finished If your a nurse looking for inspiration. Even if you're not a nurse. Most of all, if you are looking for that, "written from the heart kinda book", this books for you.
   By far the best book I've ever read. 5 stars plus more!!!
   Well done Deanna, well done...

4 comments about Robert E. Lee: Virginian Soldier, American Citizen.

1. Part of the books for young readers put out by this publisher, this is a fairly short and not filled with complexity. Having said that, this is also a very well researched, very well written biography of General Lee. It is profusely illustrated, particularly the Civil War years which generated a lot of photographs.
   
   All in all, this is an excellent short biography. I recommend it for not only young readers (Grades 6 up) but for anyone wanting a fairly quick biography that captures the essese of the mas as well as books several times this one's size.



2. There are a couple of interesting things about the cover of this juvenile biography of Robert E. Lee. First, the complete title of the book is "Robert E. Lee: Virginian Solider, American Citizen," and the sub-title James I. Robertson, Jr. picked set up an ironic juxtaposition. Because Lee considered Virginia to be his country, rather than the United States of America, he turned down President Abraham Lincoln's offer to become the commander of the Union armies, choosing instead to side with Virginia and the Confederate cause. Consequently, Lee's fame as a solider was in part because he decided he was more of a Virginian than he was an American. There is the additional irony that at the end of his life, after the Civil War, when he was no longer a soldier, he was not exactly considered an "American citizen" by the North. The painting of Lee that appears on the cover shows him in the dress uniform of a lieutenant of the engineers in the U.S. Army, when he was in his mid-twenties, several decades before he made his fateful decision. So the cover does take a step or two back from the picture we have of Robert E. Lee as the commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia.
   
   The paradox of Lee is that we consider him to be our greatest military commander even though he was on the losing side of the Civil War. The only other general from the "other" side that I can think of who has anything close to that level of respect would have to be Germany's Erwin Rommell from World War II, whose Afrika Corps had a reputation comparable to that of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. We tend to think of such men as existing independent of the ideologies of the nation's for whom they were fighting. Robertson deals up front with that idea, noting that on the one hand Lee is a beloved general, held in the highest regard to such an extent that he has practically become an American saint, while on the other his name is inextricably linked with the issues of secession and slavery associated with the Southern Confederacy. Robertson's introduction begins by touching on Lee's greatest military triumph at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he defeated a Union army twice his size by dividing his smaller force in two, but most of the focus is on the Lee legend that exists today.
   
   Eight of the ten chapters in this book focus on Lee during the Civil War: (1) The Making of a Soldier covers how the son of "Light Horse Harry" Lee graduated second in his West Point class of 1829, married Mary Anne Randolph Custis, and served with distinction during the Mexican War in what proves to be the chapter's longest section. (2) Nation Versus Country begins with Lee being appointed superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy and his confirmation in the Episcopal faith, and ends with his wife inheriting the Custis estates in Arlington, his role in the capture of John Brown at Harper's Ferry, and his resignation from the U.S. Army on the eve of the Civil War. (3) Rocky Path to Army Command is one of the most interesting chapters because it reminds us that Lee did not start off the war as a commander, but rather as President Jefferson Davis' confidential military adviser. It was not until June 1862 that Lee was place in command of troops, with low expectations exemplified by his nicknames as "Evacuation Lee" and "Granny Lee."
   
   The Lee that history remembers emerges in the next chapters. (4) Brilliance in the Field shows how Lee bested General George B. McClellan, the overly cautious commander of the Union's Army of the Potomac in the Seven Days' Campaign, and his replacement John Pope at the Second Battle of Manassas (a.k.a. Bull Run, but I go with the belief the winning side gets to name the battle). Robertson underscores the importance of General "Stonewall" Jackson to Lee's successes. (5) The Bloodiest Day is about Lee's first invasion of the North and the Battle of Antietem (a.k.a. Sharpsburg), and the slaughter of Union troops at the Battle of Fredericksburg. (6) Loss of an Arm contrasts Lee's greatest military achievement at the Battle of Chancellorsville with the devastating loss of Jackson. (7) Gettysburg explains Lee's desperate gamble in invading the North a second time, focusing on how he came to order Pickett's Charge, his biggest military mistake.
   
   The next two chapters play out the end of the war, as Lee once again becomes the "King of Spades." (8) Forced on the Defensive looks at how General Ulysses S. Grant forced Lee's army to move backwards to protect Richmond. (9) From Siege to Defeat begins with Lee's entrenchments along the Richmond-Petersburg line and ends with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House when Lee's starving troops were surrounded by several Union armies. (10) National Symbol is the final chapter, which details what Lee did after the Civil War in becoming the president of what was then Washington College and what is now Washington and Lee University, and covers how his death in 1870 brought on national mourning.
   
   This is a solid intermediate biography of Lee for younger readers, which goes to pains to explain the major battles he fought during the Civil War. The book is illustrated with dozens of black and white etchings and photographs from throughout Lee's life. Robertson also wrote a similar biography, "Standing Like a Stone Wall: The Life of General Thomas J. Jackson," which would certainly provide a nice complement to this volume (Robertson also has written an adult biography of Jackson, "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Solider, the Legend").



3. and heard the author speak today at the 200th anniversary of Robert E Lee's birthday. What hero worship? What aggrandizing? Robert E Lee, himself, would have blushed! James I. Robertson is more of a minister than a historian... his religion is Lee, his analysis is flawed. Lee was not raised by Washington, George was dead in his grave 8 years before Robert E. Lee was even born. Lee was a reaction. A reaction to his father, Harry 'Light-Horse' Lee; a fabuluous military man in his own right, with a penchant to trust too much; especially, George Washington, who advised him on property speculations, which ultimately left Harry Lee broke. Harry, like Washington was a Federalist, a believer of a strong central government. Robert was taught to despise his father, by anti-federalists, who couldn't stand the idea of "America," were threatened by it, and were ultimately destroyed... a confederacy of weakness against a Nation of strength. ( See: Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (Paperback) by Charles Royster if you want to read the facts)



4. First saw this book on display in the gift shop at Lee's Arlington home overlooking Washington, DC and decided to get it. The reasons for Americans' enduring interest in and respect/affection for Lee are made clear in this book. It's very informative, well-organized and written and worth a look even for older readers. Some have criticized such flattering portraits as hagiography. But our view of history also reflects our modern selves. People of Lee's nobility, sincerity, self-control, and courage are so increasingly rare in our time today that we scarcely believe they existed.

3 comments about Picture Letters From the Commander in Chief: Letters From Iwo Jima.

1. LTG Tadamichi Kuribayashi, an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, was one of those rare individuals who seem born to become soldiers. Displaying a strong will and unorthodox tactics during the struggle for Iwo Jima in early 1945, he nevertheless was possessed of a rare humility and ingrained honor that made him a highly-respected leader to both his subordinates and enemies.
   
   "Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief" is a very short read. It is simply a collection of LTG Tadamichi Kuribayashi's letters to his family during his time abroad as a young military man and his letters from Iwo Jima island. Reading the actual letters portrayed so movingly in "Letters From Iwo Jima" serves to round out one's understanding of who Kuribayashi was as a man.
   
   There are no insights to his tactics for the Iwo Jima battle and only a small window is opened into his personal views on the Pacific War in one of his last letters from the forsaken island. The rest of them were written and sketched by him for benefit of his wife and children. As his son Taro and later, his infant daughter Takako, were very young when the letters were written oftentimes the subjects were light and focused on Kuribayashi's observations of his time in the United States or anything light-hearted he could report from the dismal island of sulfur that is Iwo Jima.
   
   The letters reveal above all a loving and doting father, who despite enormous distances from his children still cautioned them on discipline. Preparing for the Battle of Iwo Jima, which would cost him his life, he still found time to correct his Tako-chan's grammatical errors in her letters to him and apologized to his wife for not fixing the draft in their kitchen during his last leave. His occasional snipes at his wife for not writing him or for the paucity of packaged herring roe sent to him during his stay in America will elicit a smile from any married man. His love for his wife and children permeate the letters, particularly in his first letter from Iwo Jima, when he instructs his children to grow fast and take care of their mother after his death.
   
   "Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief," if read as an appendix to Kumiko Kakehashi's powerful portrayal of Iwo Jima in "So Sad to Fall in Battle," serves to further deepen an understanding of who Tadamich Kuribayashi was as a man.



2. The book is a compilation of Kuribayashi's letters home to his children during his military career. It's a very touching glimpse into the heart of a father from another culture who is separated from his children and is trying to have some kind of communication with them. Each letter is illustrated with Kuribayashi's own hand and each provides for the children an illustration of their father's everyday life in a foreign land, taking a stroll, riding in a car, even taking a bath.
   
   Kuribayashi encourages his children to do well and to be good to each other and to listen to their mother. His last letter from Iwo Jima is especially sad as you can tell he expects never to see his family again.



3. This unique book offers an amazing insight into the commander of the Iwo Jima's forces mind and experiences. It adds a great deal to both of Clint Eastwood's films! A definite "must read"!

5 comments about Stonewall: A Biography of General Thomas J. Jackson.

1. I gave the book three stars for the information but the author's opinions make this book less valuable then it otherwise might have been. For instance he claims the fact that Jackson never lamented his decisions meant he never thought he made a mistake. Jackson wasn't the type of person to go around talking about feelings so no one knows if he did or not. Also the author claims he must have an child out of wedlock and cites sources (just the word sources and not actual people) while at the same time discounting others who claimed the rumors were a lie. The author is just a bit too judgmental and quick to believe things without any proof to back them up. The information may be okay but I found it hard to read with so many of the author's opinions being paraded around as facts.



2. This book is a "must read" for everyone looking for a balanced view of Jackson. Farwell's history of Jackson's military exploits and personal shortcomings (as in Florida prior to secession) are well supported by reference to original documents and by the author's personal research.



3. Biography's of great historical figures are frequently given to exaggeration. Farwell set out to give an account of the "real" Stonewall Jackson, rather than an overly ballyhooed legend. In some respects he did that, painting Jackson as an oddball, eccentric, prude, who bordered on insanity. While the book succeeded in painting Jackson as being more human, I felt the overall tone of the book was far too critical and cynical. It seemed every good thing Jackson did was credited to other soldiers or blind luck...while every bad thing Jackson did was blamed upon his ignorance, stubborness, or lack of sleep. In all honesty, I came away from the book wondering if the author had and "ax to grind" against Stonewall Jackson. Overall the book was well written, and would provide a reality check to those who envison Jackson as being super-human. But just as there are numerous puff pieces on Jackson that make him better than he was...I feel this book to be somewhat of a debunking, which makes Jackson look much worse than he was. In reality, he was somewhere in between. He was a good and godly man who had an uncanny ability to lead men in battle. But he was hard to get along with and a little too bull-headed at times. For a much more accurate view, I would suggest "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend" By James I. Robertson



4. Byron Farwell's biography of Stonewall Jackson is a comprehensive account of the life and military career of the famous Confederate general. Once I started reading the biography, I couldn't put it down, mainly because of the author's easy-to-read style (given that battles need to be described in reasonable detail). Useful maps accompany the text and enhance the reader's understanding, although the photographic section is somewhat brief.
   
   In contrast to some reviews here, I thought the author was fair and objective with Jackson: he cites first-hand accounts of Jackson's marches, battles and personality, though I'm not sure of the selectiveness or otherwise of these. If anything, he refrains from discussing and interpreting Jackson's strengths and weaknesses at length, leaving the reader to form his or her opinion. Given Jackson's personality, it would have been interesting to have included a comprehensive modern analysis of Jackson's psychological profile.
   
   I have yet to read other Jackson biographies, so I can't compare them with Farwell's biography, but I certainly don't regret buying this book. It made me appreciate the extreme hardships that Civil War soldiers experienced, and brought home the difficulties of serving under Jackson both as a soldier and as an officer, but at the same time it highlights Jackson's military genius and his 'warmer' side.



5. I must admit it was a "good influence" because it was of course heavily sanitized... and I remember it even finished BEFORE his death... leaving the hero marching with his troops to fight another day!... (pre-Chancellorsville ending). So maxims like YOU WILL ACHIEVE WHATEVER YOU PROPOSE TO YOURSELF... and similar I guess were/are "in the right spirit".
   
   As I have read other books by the same author... (and thought them very good and absolutely readable... which is always a BIG PLUS...), I decided to buy and read.
   In very few words, the man behind the myth is quite puzzling (probably and partially because of impairing deafness...) but less so if put in context... and that Mr. Farwell does brilliantly!.
   From birth to his death in the field of battle at Chancellorsville (actually he died from the wounds a few days later) his life is extremely well told, highs and downs... and thankfully calling a spade a spade.
   When he performed well he is acknowledged for it, when he was not at his best and did blunder we are told so without palliatives, and this makes him human and IF NOT A SEMI-GOD AT ALL.
   I am truly sorry for "deep at heart" southerners who sometimes swear by Jackson as he was God himself!... and never find any fault in him.
   He really was an outstanding C.S.A. general.
   And his loss probably influenced the war in the short term (I do not think he could have had a determinant influence in the long one...)
   In fact he was extremely lucky in some of his campaigns... but THAT is always a PLUS of successful generals.
   I do not read a lot of biographies (specially if they are penned/embellished by the man/woman themselves) but this one is very good and I can heartily recommend.
   
   ADB
   
   PS: THE GREAT ANGLO BOER WAR by the same author is also a must read.

5 comments about Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II.

1. Ardery's account of his life as a B-24 pilot is excellent. From all the training it took to simply get into the planes, to combat in the skies over the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, Ardery's account is an even-handed account of what a bomber pilot's life was like.

   The chapter about Ploesti is especially fascinating. James Dugan and Carrol Stewart used Ardery as a source for their book on the subject, and the details of Ardery's part in the raid offer some really interesting stuff. Especially intruiging is the background and fate of Medal of Honor winner Lloyd Hughes, who was flying on Ardery's wing when when he perished.

   This book is really good stuff; Steven Ambrose's "Wild Blue" pales in comparison. Ardery doesn't place himself on a hero pedestal, he merely tells of his experiences in a very interesting and easy-to-digest style.




2. The cover of Bomber Pilot displays a photograph of a Liberator skimming the ground on a low level attack on the Ploesti raid. This photograph alone makes you want to reach out to grab Bomber Pilot assured that you will have an exciting read. And you won't be disappointed. Pilot Phil Ardery won a Silver Star, two DFCs, four Air Medals and the French Croix de Guerre with palm. He didn't get those sitting around some Officers' Club.
   
   He flew 24s on missions ranging from icy Norway to baking North Africa. Some Eighth Air Force crews were detached to Libya to join in the fight to drive the Axis from Bengasi, Tripoli and all of the Mediterranean. You'll be able to compare bombing in hot and dusty Libya and lurching through the Norwegian sky trying to find any identifiable landmark.
   
   Ardery flew missions to eastern Mediterranean islands. He says when he was stationed in Bengasi with Ninth Bomber Command there was no Protestant Chaplain and no Jewish one but there was a remarkable Catholic chaplain who was capable of conducting services for Jewish personnel. Ardery, a Protestant, notes that Fr. Beck could conduct a Jewish funeral with perfect form and dignity. He never missed an opportunity to give all possible aid and comfort to the Protestant boys. He never pushed his religion on any of them.
   
   Fr. Beck actually flew on combat missions from time to time . Crews thought it was lucky to have him aboard. One day the Group Commander found out and grounded him. He apparently feared having to explain what the chaplain was doing up in the air if he got wounded, taken prisoner or shot out of the sky.
   
   Read this book. My library got it for me which means most Massachusetts's libraries should be able to get it for you. Ardery, who later became a successful attorney, will take you on raids as far north as Oslo as well as deep into Naziland. He describes the buzz bombing of London, flying over the D-Day beaches, the courage of the British civilians. He dedicates this book to the officers and men of the 564th Bomb Squadron, the 389th Bomb Group and the Second Combat Wing. Do these outfits sound familiar to any of you? Bet they do!



3. Mr. Ardery has written a superb account of an Army Air Corps pilot's experience starting from his days as a "cadet" training at Randolph and Kelly Fields in Texas through his combat experience flying B-24s from North Africa and England. His narrative illustrates that the threat of injury or death was constant for every member of the crew and that either was just as likely to happen whether one was in training, flying through flak, trying to avoid German fighters or avoiding mid-air collisons while flying in tight formation with your squadron mates. Readers will have an excellent idea of what our airmen endured during World War II.



4. Mr. Ardery lays out an excellent recounting of his WWII experience is a frank, open style. I enjoyed this book very much.



5. I had read a hard copy of this book, borrowed from the library, several years ago. The pictorial section was not as complete as the original and I suspect other portions may have been left out also. The reason I purchased this book was to get one of the pictures I saw in the hard copy and it wasn't there.