5 comments about The Jungle is Neutral: A Soldier's Two-Year Escape from the Japanese Army.

1. As a former Marine officer who spent 30 months in the jungles of Vietnam, I found the title a bit misleading. The books focused in excrutiating detail on the trials and tribulations of the author and his team living, and moving in the jungles of Indonesia while avoiding the Japanese. Perhaps my expectations were set incorrectly when the book was recommended as an excellent "lessons learned" by a former French Foreign Legion officer who recounted the lessons and skills described in the book as useful to him while in Indochina. Except for a few instances where the author describs some land navigation techniques and some campcraft, I found the book to be long and extremely detailed desciption of life in the jungle during WWII with very few take-away lessons for contemporary COIN personnel who wish to develop their jungle skills.



2. This is an action-packed yet highly detailed account of jungle guerrilla warfare. In simple yet descriptive language, Mr. Chapman provides for us the details we need to understand just how challenging such warfare is for the guerrilla as well as the counter-insurgency forces. In the process we see why the jungle so often favors the small and light guerrilla force that can sustain itself only through support from the indigenous people in the jungle. Mr. Chapman demonstrates once again as Col John Boyd used to say, "Machines do not fight wars, people do. And they use their minds."
   
   A detailed inside account of guerrilla warfare offering a deeper understanding of the key components to their being effective. A must read for anyone interested in unconventional warfare and the history of guerrilla warfare in southeast Asia.



3. Other reviews here are quite accurate. This is a quick, very interesting read about a British major who "willingly" remained in Japanese occupied Malaysia for 3 and 1/2 years -- despite being hunted by men, animals, and disease. This book is something along the lines of Lawrence of Arabia meets Heart of Darkness or Dispatches. The first 100 pages of this book will leave any guerrilla warfare junkie drooling. Having read various accounts of guerrilla warfare from Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and Pacific Islands -- this is a cut above. The best information this book provides is amazing detail about nighttime raiding and guerrilla camp organization. Che Guevara's diaries seem incoherent and lacking in comparison. The author is an amazing individual -- look him up on Wikipedia, he's written another dozen adventure books. However, the majority of this book is semi-tedious accounts of day-to-day life is the miserable jungle, being sick, diet, etc.
   
   If you're interesting in WWII, Malaysia, guerrilla warfare, or adventure stories along the lines of Shackleton -- this is a must read.



4. This book could have been an excellent five star book had it kept up the action at the pace from page 1 to page 100. Those pages should be given to every western military college and used as a briefing on insurgent warfare. In a two week period the author of this book and two fellow soldiers blew up eight Japanese locomotive trains, numerous trucks, and miles of rail road tracks. This commando team killed well over 500 Japanese Army soldiers and - perhaps - were much more effective against the IJA than the weak and ill led Allied armies that surrendered to Japan in early 1942. The trouble with this book is he author becomes a training instructor for the communists and other non-regular soldiers fighting the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army). So, the book becomes more involved with the day-to-day running of camp life from about page 130 until page 330. So, from mid 1942 until early 1945 this excellent soldier tells about training insurgents, living in a camp, putting up with illness, and there is lots of writing on eating.
   
   So, yes, I read this book. Is it worth it? Yes, he gives good leadership advise on conducting small unit leadership in a jungle type enviorment. The centralized location and ramdom attacks on enemy targets allows a very small group of soldiers to do massive damage to IJA operations. The bits on camp life and cooking get a little long. I'm not making this part up; on every three pages he will give a long description on a meal.
   
   Past page 330 the book gets wildly interesting again. Liberator bombers are used as long range supply drop transports and they are seen operating all over the SE Asia area. The author makes contact and starts living the normal life of a soldier. He admits that he missed the main parts of the war. While he initially helped hinder IJA in 1942 and trained insurgents in late '42 to early '45 it was the other allied soldiers who fought and won from Burma to Stalingrad. The author admits that he sort of wishes that he had been part of that action.
   
   But this is a fair war book and I'll give it a nice 3 star rating. It give insight into jungle operations and how to conduct insurgent actions.
   
   I hope you enjoy this good book.



5. I had read a review on the "The Jungle is Neutral" over 30 years ago and finally found the opportunity to purchase and read the book. Book is written mostly as a chronicle of what happened to the author in what is now Malaysia during the Japanese occupation of WWII. It is an interesting read of that trying time and the author's nerve and tenacity (as well as a lot of luck) needed to survive in the "wild." Book is well-written but is often too interested in minutiae. Still, I enjoyed the read and the information conveyed.
   
   Tom

5 comments about Grenadiers: The Story Of Waffen SS General Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer (Stackpole Military History).

1. I read this book within 3 days and found it an exceptional view from the other side of the hedgerow! If you are interested in the personal aspects of elite soldiers and the tough decisions that have to be made on the spot - this is the book for you. I gave it 4 stars because it lacked MAPS! I don't know about other readers but I read the text and maps side by side. Enjoy.



2. This Stackpole reprint/translation of Waffen SS General Kurt Meyer's memoirs can only be classified as incredible. Any serious student of WWII cannot be considered well read without having gone through this book. As some of the less favorable reviews state, Meyer gives a rose-colored view of his service, but if you accept up front the limitations of this work, it is otherwise an incredible account of hard fighting in virtually every major front of the war. For military history buffs, the book combines the best aspects of Baron Marbot's and General Lettow von Vorbeck's memoirs.
   
   For those who are reading this review who don't know who Kurt Meyer was, he was a Waffen SS officer who started the war in Poland as a company commander, fought in France and Greece, took command of the LSSAH recon battalion at the commencement of Barbarossa, was heavily involved in the fighting around Kharkov several years later, and was ultimately transfered to the 12th SS Panzer Division (the Hitler Youth), first as a regimental commander, then as the division commander when Fritz Witt was killed during a naval barrage. This book is divided into four main sections. The first covers Meyer's service prior to Barbarossa, the second his role in Russia, the third his time with the 12th SS PD fighting (primarily) the Canadians, and the fourth he recounts his trial for war crimes, his time on death row, and his subsequent emprisonment and release.
   
   This book is not a broad overview of any segment of the war. Meyer's goal is to recount his role and recollections in the various campaigns with which he fought. Throughout the book he presents the reader with a can-do, never quite attitude fired by duty. There are many remarkable insights into many major players on the German side as well as events. For example, he denounces the men who tried to assassinate Hitler as terrorists. He also has lots of interesting insights into the campaign in Russia as well as the tactical and strategic failings in Normandy. The human side of Panzer Meyer comes through in the final section as he relates his emotions at (from his viewpoint) being unjustly condemned and concern for his family.
   
   There are definitely some serious limitations to this work as legitimate history. I certainly wouldn't take Meyer's word at face value on virtually any point he discusses (he is certainly writing to justify both his and his comrades actions during the war), and he carefully omits discussion about several unpleasant realities of the war. In particular, I think his claim that the Waffen SS stands apart from the SD and Allgemeine SS to be simply ludicrous. He may or may not have personally been involved in some of the unspeakable crimes committed by the SS, but his sweeping claim that the Waffen SS represents only the best in German soldiers and that the great crimes were committed only by the other organs of the SS to be easily refutable. His rosy colored descriptions of the treatment of Soviet POWs also smacks as totally unbelievable given what the fate of most of these prisoners was if they were captured by the SS. There is also no discussion whatsoever of the general political support given to the Nazi regime by the SS of all stripes.
   
   Limitations aside though, this is a great book. Anyone with any interest in the ETO will enjoy this book. It is compelling and easy to read, I couldn't put it down.



3. Grenadiers is (mostly) the combat autobiography of Kurt 'Panzer' Meyer, one of Nazi Germany's most highly decorated soldiers. The book begins on the first day of World War II, and continues through Meyer's capture in France in 1944, his war crimes trial, his decade of imprisonment, and through his release.
   
   Up until the point of his capture, the story focuses on the mostly small unit actions Meyer commanded in Poland, France, Yugoslavia, Greece, Russia, and then again in France through the Normandy invasion, battles for Caen and the Falaise Gap. One learns about his personal life (wife and four small children, with a fifth born after his capture) and pre-war life only through asides and glancing comments; Meyer hammers relentlessly on detailed combat operations, what he saw, why he acted, and what the results were on the front. As a front-line commander he saw plenty. Meyer earned the reverence of his troops, the respect of his superiors and enemies, and the hatred of his eventual captors through dogged aggression, competence, charisma, a little luck, and a great deal of personal bravery. If one enjoys reading a sometimes hour-by-hour account of small unit exploits over 300 pages, this is a great book to read by someone who has a legitimate right to claim he saw it all.
   
   Some of these reviews suggest that Meyer's book is not expecially well written. Well, no, he's not Hemingway; he's a soldier. Nonetheless I thought Meyer made the points he wanted to make very well; his themes are respect for his men, love of country, the bonding between officers and men through shared sacrifice, the value of community (very much including family). He also demonstrates a fair knowledge of military history and culture, a feeling of sharing the military tradition with previous generations. I think that getting this clearly and unambiguously through the story of the war is not so easy. Meyer's writing is much more readable than that of a number of academics on the same subjects.
   
   More interesting, because somewhat more rare, is Meyer's retelling the story of his war crimes trial and subsequent death sentence, commuted to life, finally commuted to 14 years (10 years after good time). Meyer's respect for all of his opponents (well maybe not the French) includes the Canadians he fought at Caen; but his disdain for armchair soldiers and politicians who took over the trials after the fighting was over is also clear. He resents being put on trial at all, based on 'evidence' (clearly fabricated in this case) of refusal to take prisoners, or of having shot Canadian prisoners (done before he was commander, and of which he could not even have been aware), especially when he has seen personally the same crimes perpetrated both in Russia and by the western allies to German victims. He strongly contests the Allied fiction that only beasts fought for the Germans, and only angels on the side of the Allies. His resentment towards this kind of victor's justice, and his gratitude towards those who at great effort and expense worked to his eventual release, shows him at his most emotional (not much).
   
   To Meyer's credit, for the short time he lived after his release (Meyer died on his 51st birthday) he worked not to gripe about the past, but to push for a better (peaceful) future. It would have been interesting to see how he would have done had he lived as long as Rudel or Skorzeny (or Degrelle).
   
   Finally, there is additional material by Hubert Meyer (Divisional Chief of Staff of 12-SS PzDiv HJ), covering not only a brief summary of the story of HitlerJugend Division till the end of the war, but of much greater interest, more background on Panzermeyer's past, and his personality, motivations, and what made him the leader he was. Hubert Meyer does not write as well as Kurt Meyer, but this material is well worth reading in terms of illuminating just what made Panzermeyer tick. Add this to other sources on the subject, and compare to Kurt Meyer's descriptions of what took place; it is hard not to come away impressed by at least the military qualities of the man. Now, the politics, that is something else entirely.
   
   An excellent book for your military history bookshelf.



4. Like a lot of you reading this, I have read innumerable books about the Second World War, most of them from the German perspective. The majority of these were testaments by former army officers or, in the latter instances, Party-government bigwigs. GRENADIERS was the first work I had ever bought penned by a former SS man, in this case Kurt "Panzer" Meyer. I was very interested to see what an ex-member of two notorious Waffen-SS divisions, the "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" and the "Hitlerjugend", would have to say...not merely about his combat experiences but about Hitler, National Socialism, and the war in general.
   
   GRENADIERS exists on several levels simultaneously: a pure combat memior by a man who saw a hell of a lot of it, a treatise on the relationship of the Waffen-SS to its putative parent body, the Gestamt or "Total" SS, a spirited defense of the Waffen-SS against the "libels" leveled against it by the victorious Allies and by the postwar German government, and a memior of Meyer's trial for war crimes, his imprisonment (originally a death sentence) and his eventual release. On all these levels it succeeds...so much so that it permenently changed my view of the Waffen-SS. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
   
   As a combat memior, the book is highly entertaining. It begins in media res, with Meyer's antitank unit rumbling into Poland in September 1939, and continues at a steady clip through the campaigns in France (1940) the Balkans (1941), Russia (1941 - 1943) and finally Normandy (1944), during which time he served with many legendary Waffen-SS frontfighters, including Fritz Witt, Max Wünsche, Michael Wittmann, Gerd Bremer, Theodor Wisch, and Sepp Dietrich. Meyer, who finished his career as the acting commander of the 12th SS Panzer Division, offers almost no biographical information about himself, and seldom "flashes back" to his peacetime existence. For the most part he is simply recounting tales of battle at the head of an elite recon unit as it was transferred from one hotspot to another all over Europe. Because Meyer's troops were motorized, riding on motorcycles, amphibious wagons, armored cars or assault guns, his accounts tend to be like his style of fighting: straight-ahead, breathless and fast-paced (not for nothing was his original nickname "Schneller" Meyer). He's an exciting narrator, if not a very skilled one, and he manages to convey a lot about his personality and philosophy of war without lecturing the reader. His accounts of the Russian and '44 French campaigns are particularly interesting to students of those theaters; he often speaks of the physical and psychological burdens placed on the German soldier by Russia's brutal climate and vast spaces, and of similar strains imposed in the West by the Allies overwhelming superiority of material. He writes without bitterness, and with a strong sense of respect to his own troops and to their opponents, be they Poles, Russians, Canadians (the French don't compare too well).
   
   Meyer makes some very interesting points about the average Waffen-SS man in his outfit. He notes that they were very young (19 years old on average for privates), that 62% of them had been in technical or skilled trades before the war, and that very few of them had actually been members of the Allgemeine (General) SS before the war began. "These young men," he insists. "Fought for Germany and certainly did not die for a political party." Their motivations for joining the Waffen-SS were made from simpler stuff: it had the most attractive uniforms, its exploits were ballyhooed in the German press and it was regarded universally as an elite unit...all powerful motivators to young men looking for glory.
   
   Meyer, who was captured in 1944 and tried for war crimes immediately after the war, recounts his trial with some bitterness, and not merely because he was, as were most German POWs of any standing, badly mistreated in captivity. Having taken great pains to show that he fought chivalrously at all times, he regarded the trial as a humiliation and a disgrace, the moreso because most of the evidence against him was based on heresay, perjury and ex post facto jurisprudence. Having his sentence commuted from death to life imprisonment was, in fact, worse than death for him, since he was incarcerated not in a POW camp or even a place like Spandau Prison but in an ordinary Canadian hooscow - with rapists, arsonists and murderers as cellmates. The agonizing struggle to obtain his release, waged in part by the Canadian press (which righteously pointed out that Canada had violated its own laws in convicting Meyer), and his life as a spokesman for HIAG in West Germany (the Waffen-SS veterans' association, dedicated to securing military benefits for Waffen-SS veterans) close out the book on a more or less uplifting note...though the reader may find himself exhausted emotionally by the time the last page is read. Meyer's journey is truly a punishing one.
   
   It is a defense of the Waffen-SS, however, that the book is most intriguing. Meyer points out - repeatedly - that the Waffen-SS had relatively little to do with its parent body, and was merely a military organization in a slightly different uniform. The picture painted by history - of a band of murderous racial fanatics, screaming "Sieg Heil!" as they shot prisoners in the neck, is (Meyer insists) nonsense. Doubtless there were men of this type in Waffen-SS units, but as Meyer points out, nearly all of his opponents routinely shot prisoners in cold blood, bombed defenseless towns and used civilians as human shields - including, he adds pointedly, the Western Allies, who have tended throughout history to portray themselves as knights in shining armor.
   
   The book isn't perfect. Meyer touches on the murders committed by his men in Normandy only in terms of explaining, after the fact, how he was disgusted by them and ordered an investigation into their commission; he tells the reader nothing about his life before the war or why he ended up in the SS in the first place (he was transferred from a Police unit, the German Police becoming part of the SS in 1936) and his style of writing is amateurish, though not without talent. None of this, however, was a significant detraction from GRENADIERS, which in the final analysis is not so much a memior but a tribute to the 900,000 men who, whatever their motivations or war records, were collectively dubbed "criminals" in 1945...and have spent, along with their families, dealing with the fallout of this sweeping judgement. But as Meyer is quick to point out, the ultimate verdict on a soldier comes from his opponent, and as one Canadian soldier exclaimed: "The SS were a bad bunch of bastards, but were they ever soldiers!"



5. Kurt Meyer was one of the most revered, controversial military figures to come out of World War 2. He was the very epitome of the Waffen-SS officer; youthful, dynamic, fearless and ruthless. He was a member of the SS from the pre-war era till his capture in 1944. His memoirs one would hope would have shed light on the reasons he joined the SS and maybe provide his version as to what really happened at the Abbey Ardenne and the Canadian prisoners. At least some attempt at explaining why a generation of men would join an organization like the Waffen-SS. "Grenadiers" provides no such explanation. It is just a short "military" memoir which does little to explain the motivations and justifications of one of the SS' most famous personalities. It is valuable as a source of the SS in combat but as a memoir it is extremely disappointing. I felt under whelmed after reading this so-called "classic." Meyer ultimately does a disservice to the "grenadiers" he seeks to vindicate. Rather than proving that he and his men were not criminals but patriotic idealists you're provided with just another war book.

5 comments about Alexander the Great: Son of the Gods.

1. This book was a five hour read for me, and that was perfect. I learned a good deal about Alexander the Great, but was never bored or bogged down in the minutia. The authors possess a great talent for summarizing without feeling like you're missing out on the details.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. Easy to read and go thru without all the dryness of a lot of history books. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is first getting into this subject.



3. Two classical scholars have collaborated, using the resources of the Getty Museum of Los Angeles, to provide in a short compass a stunning presentation of the present state of knowledge of the life and times of the greatest general in the history of the world.
   
   Full-color illustrations, with informative identifications, accompany every page. The treatment of sources is short but exemplary: the reader is informed to what extent sources disagree and who wrote them. Most impressively the archeological work of the last few decades is incorporated into the traditional story seamlessly and with great authority.
   
   It is unfortunate that the maps are by no means adequate to convey the meaning of the text: places, provinces, battlefields are mentioned and described but absent from the rudimentary maps.
   
   The reference value of this beautiful work of art is enough to justify its purchase.



4. This is a fantastic book and certain gives a valuable insite into Alexander the Great and Ancient Greece. You can tell from the level of detail within the book that the authors have tried to give the read as much information about Alexander and his life as one of the worlds greatest conquers.

   A must read!!




5. Alexander was, first and foremost, a soldier's soldier. No armchair general, he; he led from the front, and this during an age of warfare when being "in front" was hazardous in the extreme. He was, of course, a brilliant strategist and tactician, but he never forgot his soldiers who carried the fight to his enemy. When they were on campaign, he shared their lot -- food, quarters, hardships, and all -- entirely. And, for this, they gave him their undying loyalty. Discipline, courage, fortitude, vision -- these, and many more -- are the characteristics that made Alexander III truly great.

   This book captures the sense of Alexander, his relationships and his achievements extremely well. Never ponderous, it nevertheless completely describes his singular achievements. This is also a very "visual" reading experience. The illustrations, maps and photographs complement the reading and enhance the reader's understanding very well.

   This is a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.

5 comments about Etched in Purple: One Soldier's War in Europe.

1. This book is one of the hidden treasures in World War Two personal histories. It is clearly one of the best I've reviewed over the last few years. It is an outstanding read and one I wish I'd read sooner.
   
   The author starts this book on Omaha Beach where the author lands among the first wave of Infantry men to fight in Normandy. His division is the famous 29th Infantry Division. While he serves as an unarmed medic, it is clear his heart is with the infantry. This book details his heroic efforts over the next year as he fights in some of the biggest battles fought in World War Two. Eventually, he becomes a full infantryman.
   
   Interestingly, enough, he never mentions his division by name, and seldom mentions the names of his fellow soldiers. In many ways, this book reminds me of Audie Murphy's To Hell and Back. He tells you very little about where he comes from, his training, and how or why he was involved in the war. He leaves it a war narrative cobbled together from his personal notes.
   
   The book is detailed enough that one can watch the books progress with a map and divisional history of the 29th. However, it never bogs down the way an overly written book tends slow down. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down and was almost late to work because I found myself glued to the last few pages!
   
   Frank Irgang is a real warrior. He doesn't sugar coat his story. This book details close combat from the perspective of a man who did it. He fought with a rifle and his hands. He describes weapons transitions in combat, bayonets and more. It is one of the few books I've ever read that describes brutal hand-to-hand combat with and without weapons. He even had US artillery called in on his position.
   
   This is an amazing book considering only 3,000 were originally published and this book is just now seeing a return to print. I really think it's a major contribution to the history of the 29th Infantry Division's History as well as history in general. I really wish I'd learned about this book long before I made my trip to Normandy in 2004.



2. Any collection strong in World War II memoir needs ETCHED IN PURPLE: ONE SOLDIER'S WAR IN EUROPE, first published in 1949 and offering the author's personal record of his experiences as a combat infantryman during the war. It's a candid, sometimes brutal survey of first-hand experience and is a rediscovered classic and is a 'must' for any serious military library.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. This book is a raw look at life as an infantryman in WWII. Well-written, honest and poignant, this painful recounting of one soldier's experience will stay with you forever.
   Don't hesitate to order this book!



4. In a thrilling, and disturbing, biographical narrative, Irgang reveals the personal hell of hand to hand and squad-level combat in World War II from the Normandy beaches, through the Battle of the Bulge and into the heart of Germany. This is not a broad strategic work, profiling salients and counterattacks, but a step-by-step, ravine-to-ravine account of one soldier's fight to stay alive, and to make any rational sense of the hell played out every day in front of him. Parts resemble the last scenes in "Saving Private Ryan," but this gripping book is much more grounded in reality. What's most interesting is that the book was first published in 1949, when few recently discharged veterans had the stomach and inclination to relive the war. Now, the book has been reprinted in 2008, amid efforts by World War II veterans to keep their stories alive, so the world will have a greater appreciation of the sacrifices they made, and an understanding of the moral judgments that were forced to be made in an instant. There's fascinating detail: such as the order to tape dog tags together that was issued before the invasion, so their clinking sound would not alert enemy soldiers; a morbid description of how German soldiers' bodies decayed differently than Americans; and how uniforms of those landing at Normandy were treated with an anti-gassing repellent. In one digression, Irgang while in Paris is caught up in a raid on Army deserters who were engaged in the black market; and he finds through a newspaper clipping while in combat that his State-side sweetheart was married to a man with a deferment. In an almost unbelieveable coincidence, a clipping from home informs him that three of his good friends died in Normandy. While in an Army field hospital near the landing beaches, he come across the graves of two of them, found in a hastily built military graveyard in Ste. Mere Eglise. For those of us raised on films such as "The Longest Day," "The Bridge at Remagen," "Battle of the Bulge," and "Saving Private Ryan," which provide the geographic context and broad-brush overview, "Etched in Purple" presents the real story of ground fighting by The Greatest Generation. The book is sparse on geography and dates, but time and place are not part of a soldier's mission. It's hurry up and wait, or take that next village or town. There's much bonding here between soldiers -- bonds that in many cases are cut short by artillery attacks, snipers' bullets and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.



5. Suppose that one of the men in the Band of Brothers had also been a top-caliber writer with a keen eye for detail, and a man who wasn't afraid to tell his story without glossing over the grey moral and ethical middle areas all men face in combat, and you will only begin to understand the greatness of this book. As a WWII writer, I've read literally hundreds of memoirs, but none hit me so viscerally as Frank Irgang's powerful 'Etched in Purple'.
   
   Originally published in 1949, only a few years after the war, this book has been given new life by the nation's largest military publisher, Potomac Books, and is being touted as 'The Rediscovered Classic Memoir of World War II'. And that it is.
   
   Mr. Irgang landed on D-Day with the famous 29th Infantry (think Bedford Boys), and the memoir begins as the men load up into their ships for the trip across the English Channel before that momentous day in June of 1944. Originally a medic, Irgang's unit took such heavy casualties that he soon found himself a rifleman and sniper. He witnessed the heaviest fighting in Europe in one campaign after another, and the book tells his story in spare, lean prose. Irgang's writer's eye for detail draws out the intensity of each scene as the reader experiences men fighting for their lives, watching comrades die, dealing with the killing of the enemy and the suffering of the civilians unfortunate enough to get in their path. Along the way, Irgang is wounded, evacuated, treated, and sent back to the front. He tells of watching a Black soldier slowly bleeding to death because the white southern doctor doesn't want to treat the man until Irgang protests. He tells of watching a German woman pouring a kettle of boiling water onto the face of a wounded American soldier, and his instant reaction of shooting her. He tells of watching his friends die, not only from enemy fire, but by malfunctioning hand grenades and stray friendly fire. Jotted down as they happened, each scene has an immediacy that allows the reader to feel they are sitting right next to the young soldier.
   
   In the end, the book tells a reader exactly what war was like, stripped bare in all of its brutality, ambiguity, and heartbreak. But it also shows the loving bond of men fighting and dying side by side in some of the most brutal fighting of the European war. You don't just read this book, you experience it. It will move you to tears at times.
   
   I cannot recommend it highly enough. A must-read for anyone interested in the infantryman's experiences from D-Day through the Bulge and into Germany.

5 comments about Brave Men.

1. What can I say about Ernie Pyle? One of the most well-known correspondents in WWII, he wrote with an empathy for the common infantryman that transcended his simple, eloquent prose. "Brave Men" is a collection of the articles he wrote while covering the war in Sicily, Italy, England, and France. Exceedingly modest, Pyle always downplayed his role while extolling the infantry fighting on the front lines, his beloved "dogfaces." Pyle may not have thought that he was doing anything of importance, yet his articles served to bring the war home to an American public that was being fed a somewhat sugar coated version of the war by the government; in turn, the GI's loved Pyle as one of their own. He immortalized as many of them as he could in his articles, stating the names of the many men with whom he had contact, and often their full home address for good measure. He shared many of their hardships on the front lines, and now, more than 60 years later, his articles offer an insight into WWII for today's readers that is as poignant now as it was then. He makes the reader feel as if we know these men personally-they are our fathers, grandfathers, brothers, neighbors, friends. Impossible to put down, this book is the enduring legacy of a great man whose life ended much too soon (after surviving the European theater, he traveled to the Pacific at the request of the Navy, where a Japanese sniper took his life on the tiny island of Ie Shima, just off the coast of Okinawa); I would recommend this book to everyone I know with an interest in WWII.



2. I read many of these stories when I was an infantryman in the ETO during WWII. I just wanted to re-read them again to satisfy the feeling of respect I have always had for Ernie Pyle and what he did for the American soldier during that conflict. It was good to smell the smells and hear the sounds while in a safe environment.
   It is an excellent 'Chronicle' that takes one back to a time of long ago.



3. I have read this book several years ago and was touched by his writing and empathy toward the GI's. I saw a biography about him on the tube and found out how the war torn the man apart inside. That and the burden of his wifes dive into madness and all I can say is there was a man! Rest easy Ernie you did good!



4. Ernie Pyle was truly the soldier's reporter. I have the original wartime copy of "Brave Men," and it's a work of genius. Pyle knows how soldiers feel, Army, Navy, Army Air Corps, from Privates to Sergeants to Lieutenants to Generals, Pyle brings their stories to life with a simple sort of clarity that nonetheless retains every ounce of power that original stories had. Many reporters told the stories of World War II, grand theaters, massive battles, staff meetings, generals, leaders, strategies. Ernie talks about privates, sergeants, lieutenants, the adrenaline highs and sheer terror of close combat or being surrounded by flak, the miseries of mud and rain and the joys of the girl at home and that package of fried chicken that some thoughtful mother sent. All the little things that make soldiers soldiers, and men as well.
   
   Pyle was nothing less than a genius, and his death on Ie Shima resulting from a Japanese sniper's bullet was a loss to journalism. But then, I'm at Indiana University Bloomington, within spitting distance of the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism, so I guess I'm biased. =D



5. I'm a french reader and I discovered Ernie Pyle through an excerpt of Brave Men published in a french newspaper.
   Obviously, this man was a great reporter! I was looking for Brave Men in a French edition but it seems to be impossible to find it, what a pity !.
   I was very happy to find it on Amazon.com.
   I think that this book is far above all the films or novels you could read on this subject. With Ernie Pyle style, you can catch the real feelings and the fears and the heroism of this men who were caught in this Maelstrom.

5 comments about When Thunder Rolled.

1. A good book from a pilot who made two tours in Vietnam. Initial fears. Courage. The unconsciousness. The youth involved in this conflict viewed from the sky. Not bad at all.



2. For some time now I've had a fascination with the F-105 Thunderchief and the men who went Downtown during the Vietnam war. To further my knowledge on the aircraft and the men who flew her I picked up When Thunder Rolled.
   
   Overview
   When Thunder Rolled is a pilots view of the F-105 and the missions he flew during the Vietnam War. In this book our Fighter Pilot (I mean this a complement to Mr. Rasimus. I believe it would be a greater honor to call him a Fighter Pilot than by his retired rank, read the book if you want to understand why) gives us a view of the F-105 from training thru his time in Thailand flying missions in North Vietnam.
   
   The Good
   Wow! What a book. Mr. Rasimus pulls no punches. In all of the books I've read dealing with a persons own experiences in war I've found very few that are as candid about being scared. Mr. Rasimus tells us about how his initial debate is if he should fly combat mission or not and then flies a couple. I have to think that the fear Mr. Rasimus talks about is more common than many other books would have you believe.
   
   I also loved how Mr. Rasimus mentions the maintenance men who took care of the Thud he borrowed (sorry, everyone knows that a fighter is owned by the crew chief, pilots just borrow it). This is something kind of rare and nice to see.
   
   The description of the environment is great. Referencing stealing hubcaps for what it took to be a fighter pilot over there was sheer genius! Between the use of vernaculars and a simple honest approach, one is able to visualize and feel something of what he was experiencing. I also loved the way Mr. Rasimus takes us thru the base and the missions. From premission briefings thru the return. Interestingly there isn't a lot of focus on the post mission time at the Club.
   
   The Bad
   The only one I can readily think of is that the book ended. I loved the story telling. It flows so nicely. The real shame is that we know that our fighter pilot went on to fly F-4's in the Linebacker timeframe. I'd have loved it if this would have been brought together to hear the differences in the aircraft and how the war was fought.
   
   Rating Wise
   5 Stars! This is the best personal account I've read from an aviator. A solid read and is a must read by anyone interested in knowing about F-105's, the Vietnam airwar, or about a pilots view of combat.



3. This is the best book along with Jack Broughten's "Thud Ridge" that I have read concerning the Air War in the North, especially as it relates to F105's.If I were to write a book on this subject, this is what I would have written.



4. Whilst putting you very much in the cockpit Mr Rasimus has at the same time managed to produce a thoughtful, insightful, and instructive book that gives an excellent view of the experiences, feelings and thoughts of what it meant to be a fighter pilot in the early years of the Vietnam war. Highly recommended.



5. What a great book! I agree that this is the best of the F-105 books about combat during Rolling Thunder. Such detail! Ras explains everything so well and puts it in words that non-pilots can understand. He even takes you on R&R to a Bangkok niteclub to get a "massage" ;-) The difference between a fighter-pilot and a pilot of fighters is explained. I was at Takhli, the other F-105 base in Thailand, and I remember the Wild Weasel/Iron Hand "F" models. The initial group was sent in and shot down. Then another batch was sent in and shot down. I believe there were five or six airplanes in each group. During that initial period, the crewmembers of F-105F (Weasels)were virtually assured of death or capture. What a slaughter.
   I loved the noise of that beautiful bird when afterburner with water injection kicked in. Not to mention the noise when a pilot returned after his 100th mission and went "supersonic" right on the deck. Awesome!!!! Also described in the book was the practice of burning off fuel with the speed brakes open and the afterburner on. I saw this on another 100 mission bird going low and slow with the "finger" extended in a pass just above the runway. This book brings back memories of that. In the meantime, back in the "world" (US)Hippies were coming on the scene. It was a shock to me and many others returning. And, by the way, so much for the "domino theory" - Thailand is still there.

5 comments about Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command.

1. As a former Navy service member I looked forward to reading this book. I wanted to see what someone else's experiences in command were, particularly on an new destroyer. The book was a real disappointment. I'm not sure how this officer made it to flag rank, he must have more chops than are exhibited in this book. He relates the significant accomplishments of the ship (which were certainly significant) but the tone of the book is rather off putting. The man is self-deprecating to a fault. He seems to have great second thoughts about his ability to command and whether he will be successful. Generally, all the officers and sailors in his book are "outstanding" in all ways, there are few descriptions of incompetent officers and with the exception of descriptions of incompetent enlisted men...everyone is seemingly perfect for the most part. About halfway through the book I just wanted to finish it and be done with it. I usually hand off books to friends, this one went to Goodwill.



2. This is a first-rate book. I am delighted I read it. I found it to be touching, informative, funny, and readable.
   
   It also confirms, once again, what I think of those in the American military----they are very good people, and dedicated professionals.
   
   It is not surprising to note that Admiral Stavridis is an avid reader. It shows in his selection of books, and in his writing. If you don't read, you can't write well, and he writes well. I respect the way he is in touch with history, and literature. I also respect the way he is in touch with reality---he cares about those under his command, and he takes every bit of his job seriously.
   
   I was interested in the Admiral's observations about the Middle East, and the problems America has there.
   The book was written before 9/11, and some of the observations caught my attention. He noted that Iran is the real problem in the region, which is hardly a surprise. He also wrote that it might be useful to turn Iraq into a democracy as a challenge to Iran. I gather this idea was around a long time before George W. Bush adopted it.
   
   I do not know if its right or wrong. The "surge" seems to be effective, after all, and it might just work out.
   it would be interesting to know what Admiral Stavridis thinks about it now.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in naval history, naval warfare, and history in general. It is well worth reading.



3. Adm. Stavridis takes the reader aboard the destroyer Barry with a day to day briefing.
   
   He shares his hopes, many fears , and his personal life. He is able to convey the constant pressure from the sea, his superiors,and the members of his crew, during his command.
   
   After reading Adm. Stavridis'diary, one has a new appreciation of the dedication of our service men and women for the defense of the United States.



4. Everyone needs a hero in life, Jim is one of mine. He is more than just a great writer, demonstrative leader, caring father, and compassionate husband; he is a great human being. This book brought back many wonderful memories from a special time in my life and I appreciate the author's candor. Semper Fi Jim Stavridis!
   Stan Brown (former CSMM/CMC in BARRY)



5. You...will...love...this...book. But only if you want to know of honesty, humility, humor, the courage of everyday acts of service by others, and the peaks and valleys of leadership. Not to mention wonderful writing, anecdotes, and insights by a distinguished military commander writing as a young officer, a decade and a half before pinning on the four-stars of an admiral.
   If you want a great book about the wanderings of a homesick warrior with duties he must discharge before being reunited with his family, Homer's "Odyssey" is pretty tough to beat. If you are looking for a primer on leadership, Stephen Covey's "7 Habits..." is the blockbuster choice of millions. For inspirational stories of ships and men and the sea, Jack London, Patrick O'Brien and a few others invented and nurtured a timeless genre. For a personal catalog of humility and insignificance against the greatness of life and a higher power, "The Confessions of St. Augustine" are available.
   And then there is "Destroyer Captain," which has a tincture of these works and more, is entirely accessible, and a terrific read. Painfully well-written, poignant, and complete, this book opens a window onto a world that hums along with quiet, powerful, efficient ordinariness everyday across the globe: the U.S. Navy defending the empire of liberty.
   Jim Stavridis, one of our nation's most senior military officers, has published the journals he kept while a first-time captain at sea in the mid-1990s. Stavridis is a friend of many years, and someone I know to be of great good humor and a fine leader. Even so, there is nothing like the well written word for true insight. Stavridis gives brutally raw honesty as he describes his expectations, his fears, his longing for home and hearth while thousands of miles away, and the timeless bonds that develop among the crew of a ship at sea.
   Stavridis paints with equal skill in bold brush strokes and pointillist precision as he colors the everyday routine at sea, and the non-stop demands on the captain. As he puts it -- and the book is infused with the obviousness of it -- "for no one is the term service more applicable than the commanding officer who is doing his job." Stavridis describes in wonderful detail -- and with an easy but extraordinarily fine style -- the 24/7 nature of what it means to be a captain of a weapon-packed man of war, with a crew whose average age is probably about 22 years old, and the captain himself in his thirties. He describes what it is like to sit in judgment of others at "captain's mast," the navy's unique system of self-discipline that reaches back to ancient times. Forget what you may think you know of the all-powerful captain at sea; here's the real deal as Stavridis describes a mast at which he restricted to the ship a young petty officer who had been thrown in jail for a shoreside brawl: "As the captain's mast concluded, I walked out, feeling diminished myself. Judgment is the hardest of human tasks..."
   But this is no "woe is me for the burdens of command" cri de coeur. The book fairly tingles with the sheer pleasure Stavridis takes in being "the captain." He knows he is a lucky man, having been entrusted with the most advanced warship ever built, a crew of 350 men he clearly loves, and ordered by his country to ply "the magic monotony of existence between sky and water," as Stavridis quotes Conrad. An avid reader, Stavridis writes of his early decision to sit in his elevated chair on the bridge of the ship while at sea, generally observing the daily routines but benignly ignoring them as he reads -- not from important dispatches or operational manuals, but "a good novel." Why? "I think it's important to show the younger folk that (a) reading matters and, more important, that (b) it is a good deal being the captain. If I can't communicate the joy of command to my wardroom, why would any of them want to stick around? It sure isn't for the pay!"
   Captain Bligh, step aside. You have been relieved as proto-typical literary commander at sea. READ THIS BOOK and know about duty, honor, country...and seasickness, liberty call, carving turkeys for a Thanksgiving dinner of 350, and lots lots more.

5 comments about Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II.

1. Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II by Charles B. MacDonald. I highly recommend Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II by Charles B. MacDonald. At just 21 years of age, Captain Charles B. MacDonald first commanded I Company, 3 Battalion 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division from October 1944 to January 1945 and later G Company, 2 Battalion 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division from March to May 1945. This memoir was written in 1947 when recollections were still sharp. It resulted in a very detailed account of what it was like to take command of a line infantry company and lead it into battle. The book gives us template for writing a personal military memoir.
   
   It is by far the finest memoir of any junior officer in World War II. Charles MacDonald does a great job of keeping his focus on his own experiences. He does not speculate or waste my time by giving conjecture on the big picture. We only have first hand information from the events of his personal participation. He sticks to what life was like for a junior officer in command of an infantry company, sleepless, hungry, dirty, stressful, and very dangerous. He takes us from the Siegfried Line in the Ardennes, through the Battle of the Bulge, and to the end of the war in the Czechoslovakia.
   
   This book is a must-read for all army officers who seek to command at company-level and it is informative for military historians as well. It is still required reading at West Point and on the company level officer (second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain) recommended reading list by the U.S. Army today. Upon this book's publication in 1947, Charles B. MacDonald was invited to join the U.S. Army Center of Military History as a civilian historian, the start of a career during which he wrote three of the official histories of World War II in Europe and supervised the preparation of others. The book is simply the best. Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler in June 2006.



2. I loved this book. It depicted the toil and drudgery of the WWII combat infantryman. There are no frills in this story, just the day to day experience of being on the spearhead of the Allied push into Germany. It portrayed the feelings and emotions of the men, in a very accurate light. I'm sure that there are people that will read this book and feel that they haven't been entertained. However, this book is not about entertainment. It is about the reality of the men that fought so unselfishly in the Ardennes Forest, and suffered intense hunger, cold (this was one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Europe), anxiety and fears. It also portrays the humor that existed amoung these brothers in arms. It is a great companion to Mac's other history, "A Time for Trumpets." Great, GREAT book! Thanks Mac!



3. In 1947 Charles MacDonald published Company Commander. It is his story of leadership under fire from the Siegfried Line to Czechoslovakia. In September 1944 Captain MacDonald was given command of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. The lives of nearly two-hundred men were his responsibility; MacDonald was twenty-one years old.
   
   MacDonald received his baptism of fire in a squalid, captured German pill-box part of the captured Siegfried Line his men were ordered to hold. Five days before the massive German attack in the Ardennes, MacDonald's 2nd Division was relieved by the 106th Infantry Division. As a result of the German offensive that began on 16 December 1945, two of the three infantry regiments of the 106th Division would be surrounded and captured.
   
   MacDonald's unit was moved north for an attack into, and through, the Siegfried Line aimed at taking the Roer Dams. The jumping off point for this attack was along the north flank of what was to become "The Bulge." On the evening of 16 December, MacDonald was ordered to quickly deploy with the other companies of 3rd Battalion to hold a vital crossroads "at all costs." Nobody knew it at the time but elements of two German Divisions, the 277th Volksgrenadier and the 12th SS Panzer, were headed for that crossroads.
   
   The 17th would witness concentrated hell in the forest in front of the crossroads. MacDonald's men held off six successive attacks by German infantry. The Germans got closer to the American foxholes with each successive attack. MacDonald's men were getting low on ammunition and had received no artillery support. Except for two M4 Shermans somewhere behind their position, I Company had no anti-tank defenses. At that moment five Tiger Tanks rumbled up the road. The German tanks began to systematically blast the Americans in their foxholes. After approximately thirty minutes of that I Company broke for the rear. The Shermans got two of the German tanks before being destroyed.
   
   MacDonald arrived at the battalion headquarters only knowing where a handful of his men were. As he states he was disgusted with himself feeling he had failed to hold the crossroads and by allowing many of his men to be killed or captured. He wondered if he would be court-martialed and if it would not have been better to have been killed in the battle. The first thing his battalion commander said to him was, "nice work, Mac." The 3rd Battalion had held the crossroads under impossible conditions just long enough for the 2nd Division's other regiments to get into position. MacDonald received the Silver Star.
   
   Richard E. Cowan was a machine gunner from M Company assigned to MacDonald's unit during the battle. For staying at his gun and covering the other men in their retreat, Cowan became the subject of both German infantry and tanks. Nevertheless, Cowan held his position and was the last man to pull back. He was killed the next day. For his efforts on 17th December he received the Medal of Honor.
   
   Jose Lopez, another machine gunner who was attached to the neighboring K Company, also received the Medal of Honor for his courage on 17th December. Fortunately, Lopez survived the war and lived to a ripe old age. Reading the award citations gives some indication of the ferocity of the German attack.
   
   A month later leading his company in a counterattack MacDonald was wounded. After two months of recuperating, MacDonald was given command of G Company of the 2nd Battalion of his old regiment. MacDonald led this company from the Rhine to Leipzig and into Czechoslovakia by the war's end.
   
   The book isn't all blood and gore there are moments of humor and dialogue right out of a movie. For example, MacDonald reports the following comments by his troops who had just witnessed a P-47 fighter-bomber attack on German positions:
   
   "Well, their work's done for the day," someone said. "Yeah," a mortarman answered, reaching for a shovel, "they'll go home now and have a short Scotch and a hot bath and shack up with some mademoiselle or some Limey wench. What a life!" "Yeah, and draw a double salary for it," a headquarters man put in. "That's the life for me." Willie Hagan said, "Oh, dry up. You never had it so good."
   
   In passing MacDonald notes that the 3rd Battalion surgeon was Edward T. Matsuoka of Honolulu. Matsuoka received his medical degree in 1941 and was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts during the Battle of the Bulge.
   
   MacDonald was wounded on 17 January 1945. The final volume of the Green Series on the European Theater, The Last Offensive, takes off from around that time and concludes with the war's ending. This volume of the series was written by Charles B. MacDonald who retired as Deputy Chief Historian, U.S. Army in 1979. MacDonald also wrote or co-wrote two other books of the Green Series, The Siegfried Line Campaign and Three Battles: Arnaville, Altuzzo, and Schmidt. He also contributed to Command Decisions.
   
   After retiring, MacDonald wrote A Time for Trumpets (note the title). This, I believe, was his last book. It is the history of the Ardennes Offensive and concentrates on the first two weeks of the struggle. Needless to say, this was a deeply personal work for him:
   
   "I approached the work with a kind of messianic zeal, for I wanted to tell the story to my own satisfaction (the battle had shaped my life, and I have always felt that I left a little something of me in the Ardennes)."
   
   This leads to the question, can someone with such an intense personal involvement write an objective history? I believe he did. It is the best work I've read on the battle (not that I have read them all). Perhaps, MacDonald had a personal need to understand what had happened and therefore, he wrote an honest account because of his personal involvement.
   
   The title of the work is of interest because of the ongoing debate about "Drums and Trumpets" military history that focuses on battles, leaders, weapons and campaigns and the future and direction of the field. This may be what MacDonald had in mind when he penned the closing paragraph of A Time for Trumpets:
   
   "Hitler saw the American soldier as the weak component (the "Italians") of the Western alliance, the product of a society too heterogeneous to field a capable fighting force. Bouck, Crawford, Tsakanikas, Umanoff, Moore, Reid, Descheneaux, O'Brien, Jones, Erlenbusch, Goldstein, McKinley, Mandichak, Spigelman, Garcia, Russamano, Wieszcyk, Nawrocki, Campbell, Barcellona, Leinbaugh. Black men, too, although their color was hardly reflected in their names. The heterogeneity was indeed there, but at many a place - at Krinkelt-Rocherath, at Dom. Butgenbach, in the Losheim Gap, behind the Schnee Eifel, at St. Vith, atop Skyline Drive, at the Parc Hotel, Echternach, Malmedy, Stavelot, Stoumont, Bastogne, Verdenne, Baraque de Fraiture, Hotton, Noville - the American soldier put the lie to Hitler's theory. His was a story to be told to the sound of trumpets."



4. An excellent book about the leadership of an army officer during the
   crucial battles that ended WWII in Europe. As an untested officer thrown
   into the Battle of the Bulge he performed magnificently. His mettle was sorly tested,and his humanity shone through. A very,very good read



5. Charles B. MacDonald wrote what it was like for a 21year old to command two infantry companies in WW2. He took notes along the way (I have a page of his notes that survived). They cover the capture of Hombressen in Germany. I also have the original typewriter on which he typed the manuscript of his book. I have trvelled the route he took in 1944/45 and found his descriptions of the various lovcations to be exceedingly accurate in every detail.
   
   Will Cavanagh

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

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



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



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



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



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

5 comments about The Passing of the Night: My Seven Years as a Prisoner of the North Vietnamese.

1. I read this book and was so moved I wrote Robbie Rinser sometime in the 80s to tell him how moved I was, how much I was impacted by his book. Little did I know, that some months later, I would find him in my office...without going into the details, I was fortunate enough to work alongside him for several years. I got to pick his brain and ask him questions that I had wondered about when I read his book. He told me many details of his capture. One that I found especially inspirational. He was beaten unconscious one night, and awoke the next morning to open one battered eye..his face pressed against a crack in the wall. He said he felt a breath of fresh air through the crack and could see one blade of green, living grass...and that it inspired him. He returned to the floor each morning to look at that blade of grass; It gave him a reason to live, a reason for hope.
   He told me many similar stories..all demonstrating his courage and dedication; and every time, he attributed his survival to two things: Faith in God and belief in his country.
   A great book.



2. Even though this was written 35 years ago, the messages in this little book are extremely valid for today. Risners' thoughts about Family, God and Country need continual reemphasis. This is a great book for young men and women,particularily those serving in our military.I would also recommend it for other Vets who have served out country.



3. Well written book, heart breaking story. This man was a well respected Air Force officer. My husband served under him in Okinawa. We waited for years to see if he was still alive. This is the fourth copy of his book we have bought. People borrow it and "forget" to return it. Would recomend this to any one that reads. We need to find out what goes on in the life of the military family. What a great thing this man did for our freedom.



4. This book was originally written in 1973 and details the violations of the Geneva Convention by the North Vietnamese. Colonel Risner details how he first resisted the North Vietnamese and later signed statements after extreme torture. The North Vietnamese were very cruel to their captured POWs. It is a wonder why we didn't have protesters telling the world of the inhumane practices of the North Vietnamese government.
   
   This is a nice read on how these American patriots resisted the efforts of the North Vietnamese to break their spirit. As Colonel Risner would say, you found God in prison and faith in the American system. It is amazing this man spent 7 and a half years with little food, lots of torture, and still maintained his faith in the American system. This is an inspirational read.



5. I had the privilege and honor of meeting and getting to know General Risner shortly after he was appointed as commander of
   the 832nd Air Division at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, in 1973.
   He was a humble and gracious gentleman of great dignity. I was
   blessed to get to know him personally and to jointly procure a copy of the movie: In The Presence of Mine Enemies, for showing at the base chapel. On the day of my release from active duty I purchased his book and, it being a Saturday, visited him in his office, entering with his permission through his private entrance and he graciously signed the book for me with a personal message for future success. The book is a must read for anyone who considers themself an American, as all Americans should become aware of the sacrifices of people like General Risner in keeping us free. Sadly, I loaned the book to a friend
   and never had it returned. But I will never forget General Risner's story, not the man himself. Knowing him was truly one of the best blessing I have experienced in my 54 years of life.
   You must read this book!