5 comments about A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman.

1. I had the opportunity to read this book. From the moment of the first word to the very last word, the book draws you in to read more. The graphic descriptions can take you to the other side of the world and stand next to the author on his travels. You know what it was like be black during the "Jim Crow" days on the trains in the south. Granted that my 25 years never saw the ugly side of America, his visual imagery is just so vivid that I seriously think they should dump "Scarlett Letter" and place this book on the reading lists of High School Students.



2. Charles Dryden's book forces people to see the trials and tribulations encountered by black servicemen and women during WWII. I was shocked to read about the different encounters with 'Jim Crow' that Dryden and his peers waded through during their service years. A must for anybody curious about WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen or about the fight for civil rights in America.



3. I meet Col. Dryden when he gave a talk about his experiences and his book. I then read the book a felt a tremendous respect for the author and all the Tuskeegee Airmen. Col. Dryden tells his personal story in a way that made me feel as though I was there with him the whole time. The challanges of blacks in America in his story left a powerful impact on me, the courage the author displayed is an insperation. A-Train is very well written and reads easily. It is an powerful story that left me feeling inadequate and ashamed to be white. I had the oportunity to meet Col. Dryden again and sought him out just to shake his hand again, knowing him from his book, it was hard to hide my emotions.



4. Every young African American boy should read this book. It is an inspiration.



5. I initially bought this book expecting it to be similar to the other slew of WWII books out there ( The ME-109 dove at me out of the sun with guns blazing...). Instead I got an honest account of a man who wanted to fly for his country and be treated with the same respect as any other pilot. Dryden's memories and descriptions of his voyage through training to be a pilot as well as the segregated and de-segregated Air Force are interesting and honest. Dryden't narrative is not the heart-pounding, can't-put-the-book down type but rather the story of a man who, faced with tremendous adversity from his own society and country, persevered. There is no bitterness in Dryden's story, and I put the book down tremendously impressed by his belief in himself, in his religion and his friend. It's a good book

5 comments about Born on the Fourth of July.

1. Ron Kovic gives an interesting perspective into the ideas and sentiments of the 1960s. Kovic's traumatic experiences and harsh lessons help to illustrate both sides of the decade: that of the "patriot," and that of the protestor. The 1960s were a changing time in American history, and fueling these fires were the fears of Communism, war, and ultimately the shifting identity of the "enemy" as the power of the change. These factors are present in Kovic's account of civilian life both before and after his time in Vietnam.
   
   The Cold War had significant effects on Americans throughout the 1960s, and it permeated through most aspects of society. This paranoia is a byproduct of the 1950s, and Kovic's childhood illustrates how deeply the roots of this fear reached. The arms race and the space race both filled the head of young Kovic as he and his friend "made contingency plans for the cold war and built fallout shelters out of milk cartons" (Kovic 56). The atmosphere even struck emotional chords when he discusses the Soviet's launch of the Sputnik satellite and Kovic weeps in his room because, "we were losing the space race, and America wasn't first anymore" (Kovic 59). The Communist shadow enveloped the nation, and as a child Kovic felt that "the communists were all over the place back then" and he even became convinced that one of his teachers was a Communist agent (Kovic 60). This is further reflected in his finding a hero in the lead role of "I Led Three Lives," a television show about an American double agent infiltrating the Communist lines (Kovic 59). These influences ultimately lead to Kovic's decision to enter military service, believing that he may become like John Wayne to fight for the American way.
   
   This changed for many who returned from the war, however. Kovic and thousands like him who returned home severely wounded and disfigured found themselves tucked away from the public eye, and feeling ignored when in plain sight. Kovic spent months in a low-quality veteran's hospital laying in his own urine and excrement as a result of malicious neglect. When the public saw him he felt as though he represented an indecent reminder of the brutality of their cause (perhaps because John Wayne never came home in a wheel chair), but all the while he saw himself as its defining product. He was even told by one television show producer that the presence of his condition on their show would not be "tasteful," adding "people have seen it on the six o'clock news and their tired of it" (Kovic 148). Kovic felt used as though "he had never been anything but a thing to them, a thing to put a uniform on and train to kill, a young thing to run through the meat-grinder" (Kovic 166). America ignored his sacrifices, and he soon became determined to enter the protesting circuit, forcing people look at him so that they can "be reminded of what they'd done when they'd sent [his] generation off to war" (Kovic 150).
   
   Slowly the face of the enemy began to change. The brotherhood he once found in the Marines he now found with hippies, the same people he had vowed would "pay" for protesting the war back in Vietnam (Kovic 134). For Kovic and protestors like him, President Nixon and the government had become prime targets of their dissatisfaction. He told Roger Mudd in one spontaneous interview that, "I gave America my all and the leaders of this government threw me and others away to rot in their V.A. hospitals" (Kovic 180). He felt that the war was "the biggest lie and hypocrisy of all" and that all the money spent on the war "should be spent on healing and helping the wounded" (Kovic 178).
   
   In the crippled embodiment of Kovic and other protesters many Americans found another enemy. Kovic met with great opposition and was even violently beaten for speaking out against the war. On many occasions he was even called a "commie" and a "traitor" (Kovic 150, 155, 184), signifying that in their eyes he had become as demonic as those they had praised him for fighting. America was dividing against itself, as it would become time for the veterans, hippies, politicians, and war supporters to take turns wearing the horns. The cannons of American hatred turned from the "evil" Communists around to the domestic enemy within. The 1960s were a decade of replaced anger and hostility, and in many ways a breakdown of American confidence and a redefining of what it meant to be a patriot, and what it meant to be a traitor. Kovic's experiences allowed him to fill both shoes simultaneously. His lesson is one all Americans should be required to read and learn.



2. While Ronnie Kovic was fighting in Vietnam I was in college playing football and baseball on scholarship. All expenses paid. People told me that I was extraordinary while Ronnie was suffering in a squalid Veterans hospital. And while he was being spit on at the Republican National convention I was learning to believe that I deserved an exceptional life and that I was better than guys like him who had somehow believed the lies our government told about how the communists were going to take over the world unless young men stopped them the way our fathers and uncles had stopped the Nazis and the lunatic Japanese.
   I was too cool to believe any of that, and guys like Ronnie were unenlightened. I felt sorry for them.
   I have become an old man now and these days I am trying for all I am worth to be a good father to my son who is Ronnie's age. When he began telling me that he was thinking about joining the Marines, I began reading to him from Ron's book. Reading to him at night while he lay in his bed as I had when he was a small boy. I wanted him to know that if he went to war in Iraq and was wounded horribly there, his government and his country would not care about him. I wanted him to know that the same people who were in power in America and who sent Ron off to war, were in power once again. The same pathetic collection of clowns and liars eager to have wars so long as they and their children don't have to fight them. Cowards, really. I told my son that he would be fighting for a commander in cheif and a vice president and a secretary of state who are cowards. I told my son that the same conservative republicans who spit on Ron Kovic after he gave his body for America were in power once again and that he could expect them to spit upon him when he came home from war if he opposed them. Ron Kovic's magnificent book persuaded my son not to fight for his country in Iraq. I am forever in the author's debt.



3. Ron Kovic is one of society's worst nightmares: the unquestioning youth who believed every war movie, signed up for the Marines on his 18th birthday, fully committed to combat and sacrifice...only to turn his shattered back on those same indoctrinated values, speaking out against them with rage and bitterness as he saw himself, post-injury, shoved into a corner like an embarassing mutant.
   
   Kovic's memoir is inelegant, repetitive, self-centered; it is, simply put, not well-written. (The stream-of-consciousness recreation of Marine boot camp on Parris Island is especially clumsy.) Still I would recommend it to any young person, as I would recommend a trip to an open blast furnace, so that the same young person could see life as it sometimes horribly is, to know what war actually does to those who fight on the front. Kovic does not pretend to be writing great literature, but he is presenting the raw case of his life.
   
   The original memoir is also a good antidote (I believe) to its lurid movie adaptation by Oliver Stone. For reasons I do not understand, the movie completely omits the pivotal moment, at a rally just after the Kent State shootings, when Kovic decided to stop simply feeling sorry for himself, and to use his status as a badly crippled Vietnam vet to protest the War. This is the core of the man's story, and still deserves to be read.



4. Ron Kovic is a Marine whose life was blasted and changed forever by the paralyzing wound he received in Vietnam. Confined permanently to a wheelchair, without mobility or feeling below his chest, Kovic successfully turned his enormous inner rage to a public purpose in opposing the continuation of the Vietnam War and telling his story to a new generation of impressionable kids likely to think that war is cool.
   
   Kids, whatever else it is, war ain't cool. Believe Ron Kovic.
   
   But this a book review, not a personal tribute to a man who channeled his victimhood into political activism. In book form, Kovic's rage makes for a tedious, repetitive read. All Kovic wanted to do was to serve his country, fight communism, and be "like John Wayne" (who, unknown to young Kovic, never served in the military in any capacity). And look what happened. Yet despite the terrible personal cost the war laid on him and so many others, the Washington politicians waging the war paid no attention. They believed the national interest as they undrestood it took precedence over personal disasters like Ron Kovic's. One of the problems with Born on the Fourth of July is that the author can hardly believe that, or that Marines are expendable. But what else should a young Marine expect?
   
   Older readers may prefer the late Lewis B. Puller, Jr's autobiography, Fortunate Son. Puller's father was "Chesty" Puller, a legendary Commandant of the Corps, and young Puller wound up a quadriplegic after just a few days in country. Like Ron Kovic he came to oppose the war. I found his book to be a more satisfying reading experience than Born on the Fourth of July.



5. Massapequa, New York may well be the most unabashedly patriotic town in America. Like Ron Kovic (who I knew in passing) I grew up there, played in "Sally's Woods" got my hair cut at Sparky the Barber's, and participated in the endless red, white and blue parades that seemed to define our town. A safe, stable bedroom community on Long Island's South Shore, it spawned boys like Kovic who absorbed the tales of "the greatest generation" and took up their fathers' banners when they went to Vietnam.
   
   BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is Kovic's unpolished, sincere, aggressive and searingly sad remembrance of his Vietnam experience. Kovic was gravely wounded on the first day of the Tet Offensive. Returning home as a paraplegic, Kovic tells us of the hideous treatment he received at the hands of the Veterans Administration, a bureaucracy so rotten that it neglected and abused the very men and women it was supposed to aid.
   
   The sheer contempt with which Kovic was treated turned this All-American young man into a cynic, turning him against the war, and forcing him to confront an uncomfortable paradox: millions were being spent on war machines while America's wounded soldiers had to live with filth and rats in their hospital rooms.
   
   The experience drove Kovic to become a public speaker for Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Interestingly, Kovic never mentions John Kerry, a founder of that organization, but he does recount how VVAW was infiltrated by Nixon operatives and almost derailed.
   
   Kovic also tells us---in various flashbacks---about his psychological journey as a paraplegic, about his loneliness, his depression, his pain and misery, and his frustration at being unable to walk. He writes frankly and cathartically of coping with the loss of his sex life. He recounts how the well-meaning but unknowing people of Massapequa made him feel, like their Yankee Doodle poster child come home, a not altogether pleasant role.
   
   And he writes of his challenge to America. Having shouted down Richard Nixon's 1972 nomination acceptance speech, he demands of America self-examination and a reordering of priorities. That very self-examination is the essence of greatness. Should we expect less?
   
   BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY is an important book, and one which needs to be remembered in these days of disillusionment.

5 comments about The Great Escape.

1. The Real Deal! No "Steve Mcqueen" character, but everyone a true hero.The Great Escape



2. It's a shame the publisher decided to put a picture on the cover of Steve McQueen wrapped up in the barbed wire at the end of his big motorcycle escape attempt. Because, you see, that never happened in the TRUE story of the Great Escape contained in this book. The movie (while good) took serious dramatic license, while Brickhill's book presents the facts. And they are quite inspiring and thrilling enough without the addition of fictional elements such as McQueen's stunt riding.
   I first read this book while in elementary school, and was hooked to the extent that I've read it many times since over the decades. A truly outstanding story.



3. If you want to know how to make something out of nothing, this is the book for you. I've been reading and re-reading this book since early childhood and that's how I learned to make a needed item out of just what was at hand. McGyver had NUTHIN' on these guys.
   
   MRS. Dee Schauer
   Texas



4. I love the movie the Great Escape and I loved reading the book it was based on. The movie did an excellant job of following the book but reading the book gave me so much more of an understanding of what these men went through and the courage they had. To truely understand the courage these men had and what they went through, you have to read the book.



5. This is the (true) story of the efforts of a multinational group of POWs to escape during WW2, and led to what is one of my favourite films.
   
   I anticipated the book to be a bit of a let down after seeing the movie, but it really wasn't. They emphasize quite different aspects, and some parts of the movie were clearly made up with entertainment value in mind (people jumping motorcycles over fences for instance!). I can't blame the movie makers of course, because the compelling essence of this story is the daily slog of tunnelling set against the backdrop of the mind-numbing drudgery of incarceration. No movie could be long enough to get this point across, but the book allows one to build up a better picture of what captivity was like, particularly because it provides such incredible details. I was really struck by the ingenious ways the prisoners found to fake German uniforms and official passes, improvise tools, and build radios and other vital pieces of equipment. The book provides sufficient descriptions to allow you to get an impression of the main characters and camp layout, though I personally would have enjoyed a few photographs of the people involved (good and bad), though I realise these wouldn't have been easy to obtain.
   
   The author has a relatively dry style typical of a historian rather than a dramatist, and at times relates key events remarkably passionately. The book ratchets up the tension without having to try too hard however, and I could sense the tension that existed whenever the guards entered the barracks to check for tunnels. The depression that accompanies every uncovered tunnel jumps out of the page, as does the resolve to keep trying to escape without ever accepting captivity.
   
   I was also pleased that the author described the events some time after the final escape, so that I could see how thoroughly the Allied authorities pursued the main protagonists, and what was their evetual fate.
   
   This book was a fine testament to the memory of the brave men who didn't wilt despite literally years of incarceration in conditions that can best be desribed as spartan. If they had all died without anyone knowing their story the world would be a poorer place.

5 comments about With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln.

1. Will anyone dare to write an accurate assessment of the 16th President or are the myths that surround him just to strong to penetrate? I await a writer willing to discuss the wholesale destruction of property in the South that left thousands of civilians to starve, destruction sanctioned by Lincoln. I await a discussion on the hostage taking and the indiscriminate killing of Southern civilians. I await a thorough discussion of the Dahlgren Raid and its implications, I await a real assessment of the Lincoln/Seward relationship, and I await a real judgement on Lincoln's lack of religious belief. This book, like all the others ignores anything that might be the slightest cotroversial and that might dent the aura surrounding Abraham Lincoln.
   Alan Lowe. BA. Manchester Metropolitan University.



2. This book generated controversy among Lincoln scholars. The general reading public, however, will probably enjoy both the book's prose and its story. Regardless of whether there is much, or anything, new in the volume, its account of Lincoln is told with flair. Points that disturbed some Lincoln scholars will probably not be noticed by general readers. I read the book before I knew about the dispute, and found the volume enchanting.



3. Consider the great biographies of Lincoln: Nicolay and Hay,[10 volumes] his secretaries, Carl Sandburg's Abraham Licoln [6 volumes], Benjamin's single volume and all those that preceed and follow this, you must conclude this is the best single volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, indeeed the best general biography of the President and the man. The closest rival is Carwardine's Lincoln which deals in depth in one aspect of his life. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE IS THE BEST INTRODUCTION TO THAT COMPLEX MAN AND HIS TIME AND ACHEIVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO DATE.



4. Professor Oates in my opinion did an outstanding job in the biography he did on Lincoln. While it is not as verbose as Donald's, it was well written and to be honest I could not set the book down. For anyone who does not have the time to read a larger volumn on Lincoln I suggest Oates. If you have time then I suggest you read both and also read "Team of Rivals. They are all outstanding volumns. This biography though is articulate, a good length and at times you can see the great passions in Lincoln the boy from Kentucky, the youth in Illnois and the 16 President of the United States. I give it a 5 stars a must read for any history student and I think a must for every American.



5. In this work, Oates succeeds in illuminating the political and personal life of Abraham Lincoln. For readers interested in the psychological and social nature of the man, this may not be the best selection. However, Oates does an excellent job portraying how Lincoln worked his fingers to the bone while developing his standing as a lawyer and politician. His description of Lincoln as a rough and tumble political longshot made 16th President of the United States in the election of 1861 is vivid and memorable. Much information is also included on how Lincoln and his administration struggled with the issue that would become his legacy: slavery in America. That said, Oates neglects to discuss in any great detail the economic influence of the nation's cotton industry on the political and social conditions of the era.

5 comments about The One that Got Away: My SAS Mission behind Enemy Lines.

1. Great book, real life action hero's. A must buy for anyone interested in SF community and what brave men will do for Country and Brotherhood.



2. This was a fairly good book, but I expected more from this true story. The author makes some of his SAS counterparts seem like cowards and certainly not professional soldiers. This might have been his view of the truth but it seems a little out of the norm.
   
   Overall good read.



3. This book is great mainly due to the dangerous background of the mission. Ryan survived for about ten days in a hostile environment while he had to deal with coldness, exhaustion, injuries and starvation. Therefore it is an account of an incredible surviving. Respect for Ryan. His book is a must-read !



4. Not the tale of an inhumanly capable and faultless warrior and all the more compelling for that. Very interesting and informative, a more realistic treatment of events that the McNabb book, or at least more believable.



5. Imagine driving two hundred miles, a long boring journey no doubt. Seems like ages...
   
   Imagine walking it with no food, little water, and freezing temperatures that had already cost the lives of two of the SAS patrol troopers. That's what Ryan did when he journeyed to the Syrian border when the infamous Bravo Two Zero mission fell apart due to bad luck, poor intelligence, and below zero temperatures.
   
   The famous - or infamous - Bravo Two Zero mission was about eight SAS troops that where sent behind enemy lines during the first gulf war. They were compromised early on, and with a fire fight early on, and no communication from headquarters, the men had to evade and escape. Four of the men were captured and tortured in an Iraqi sess-pit of a gaol. Three of the men died, one shot in combat and two died from hypothermia. Only one escaped. "The One That Got Away" is his story...
   
   Ryan had to endure a terrific journey on foot of 200 miles to get to the Syrian border. Along the way, he drills (kills) a few Iraqi soldiers, or guards. He even breaks one's neck, told in squirm-inducing detail:
   
   "When the second man saw me, his eyes widened in terror and he instantly began to run. But somehow, with a surge of adrenalin, I flew after him, jumped on him and brought him down with my legs locked round his hips. I got one arm round his neck in a judo hold and stretched his chin up. There was a muffled crack, and he died instantaneously."
   
   Ryan's spirit comes from a very deep well, and with his SAS training, he pushes on even when he is on the verge of complete exhaustion (towards the end, he starts hallucinating).
   
   Andy NcNab's "Bravo Two Zero" book is about McNab's torture at the hands of his Iraqi captives. Ryan's story is also about brutal pain, but his is self-inflicted as he desperately seeks to escape capture (he loses all his toe nails due to the 200 mile hike, he is on the verge of getting frost bite, he drinks radioactive water, and to finish off bad luck, he nearly gets lynched when he finally gets to Syria).
   
   Ryan comes across as a methodical man. He plays by the book (he doesn't journey during the day - an SAS no-no). His methodical thinking about getting things right sometimes makes the other members of the SAS patrol seem incompetent. That seems a tad unfair (though as the author, and with the slight fact that he was actually there, he may have a right to say what he wants). I think the real incompetence in the Bravo Two Zero mission was the lack of intelligence from the top brass and not the men on the ground (why should you have the cold terrain as the enemy as well as the Iraqis when it needn't be? Shouldn't Intelligence know that the temperatures in Iraqi can drop really low?)
   
   Even if you not a fan of Special Forces you will find this book riveting. People who like endurance will also love this book - for example if you are one of them loons who think climbing Everest in a pair of flip-flops is a great day out, then this book is also for you.
   
   Seriously, I would recommend reading this, especially now when the second Gulf war is still simmering. It gives you a realistic journey on combat that you rarely get with the media. I also recommend McNab's "Bravo Two Zero" as it gives an account of his capture and torture.

5 comments about Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's War Story (North Texas Military Biography and Memoir).

1. I recently purchased a book entitled Rattler One-Seven written by Chuck Gross. Once I started to read this unbelievable account of this helicopter pilots involvment in the VietNam war I could not put it down. What these young pilots went through to insert and extract and suport rescue missions to bring back our ground troops during this confrontation is almost more than a mind can absorb. Chuck Gross was a young warrant officer (19 yrs old) from Minnesota. His in depth writing will take you to a time in history that many of us have forgotten. The daily fear of lossing ones own life, being caputured and the stories of friends and comrades who did not make it home is riveting to say the least. His writing is so in depth I gurantee you will ride that Huey with him and his crew, and you will share the tears, heartache and jubilation just as he did during his year of service. If you remember anything about Nam and the protests regarding this war you owe it to yourself to read this pilots account of what hell must really be like, and applaud these brave young men for doing the job that they were told to do. Whether you agreed with the war or not is not the issue, but what these soldiers did at our governments request of them. I hope you can reflect as I did when you read Chuck Gross's account. You will hold a special place in your memory for all of these brave men. Bill Turck, St Cloud MN



2. You have seen it in the movies, now read actual accounts of flying UH-1 Huey helicopters in and out of hot landing zones.
   
   Author Chuck Gross details his 1200 hours of combat as a young aviator during the Vietnam war. He details the way it really was from the propective of being on the front lines during tense operations. Rattler One-Seven is a collection of his notes and memories written in an exciting format, which captured my emotion to read more.
   
   He shares with his readers his thoughts and emotions as he carried out risky operations, putting his talents ahead of his emotion to complete the mission at hand. It is clear to me that Chuck was a fine aviator with high moral standards. This book tells the real life experiences in the eyes of a 19 year old Vietnam combat helicopter pilot. The challenges this pilot experienced which formed his skills and moral values into who he is today.
   
   You will read chronological events as they were experienced; being a Newbie, busting your cherry, Special Operations including Lam Son 719, what it is like to be shot down, coming home and more..... Read it. As I read it I felt the combat as if I was there in the action.
   
   A must read for all to experience a time in history.



3. I have just finished reading Rattler One-Seven for the second time. Mr. Gross does such a great job of capturing the true essence of what it must have been like to fly choppers in Vietnam. Instead of glorifing combat like so many Vietnam books do, he gives you his honest opinions of what he experienced through the eyes of a nineteen year old. His narrative writing style makes you feel as if your sitting there in person listening to him. This is one of my favorite books.



4. Of all the books I have read about Vietnam this has to be rated at the bottom of the list. Obviously written by an amateur, the story was drab and uninteresting. He should have had some professional help in writing this book.



5. As a former Vietnam helicopter pilot, I lived a similar life in "Nam" so I know the story was factual and well written. The author was single minded in getting home alive and keeping those flying with him as safe as he could make it for them. I enjoyed his professionalism in flying and striving to be the best in a bad situation. The combat assualts were great and I was "in the cockpit with him" as he described the action. Good reading for vet and non-vet alike as to what it was like to be in a true airmobile war.

5 comments about Geronimo: His Own Story: The Autobiography of a Great Patriot Warrior.

1. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO REMEMBER THAT ALL THE COMMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO GERONIMO'S "DIPLOMACY" AND LACK OF ANIMUS TOWARDS WHITE PEOPLE EXPRESSED IN THE BOOK AND BY REVIEWERS HAD MORE TO DO WITH THE WORDS A MAN WHO EXPECTED TO BE ASSASINATED AT ANY MOMENT BY HIS CAPTORS. AS SUCH, HIS ANTIPATHY FOR THE WHITE MAN IS ATTENUATED BY A MAN LOOKING DEATH IN THE FACE FROM A CULTURAL TRADITION THAT ONE'S LAST MOMENTS SHOULD BE FREE OF HOSTITLITY.



2. This was a good book, but it said it was in a "like new" condition and it showed up with half the cover missing. But that's alright. Who needs covers, right?



3. If you understand that Geronimo ( correctly pronounced "Herr-ON-EE-Mo") was a prisoner of war who expected to be shot or hung at any time while he was dictating this autobiography, it is well worth reading. To get the REAL STORY behind Geronimo's motivations for providing Barrett with what he did, read the excellent book "Indeh, An Apache Odyssey" by Eve Ball. Indeh, along with his autobiography, allows Geronimo to become a real person in many respects - especially in terms of being qualified as a highly intelligent, astute, exceptionally "powerful" individual and probably the most outstanding warrior/leader the Apaches ever had bar none.
   This said, I urge the reader to reject any and all works done by Politically Correct Story Telling cranks such as Dan L. Thrapp, Edwin Sweeney, and ilk. Read this autobiography of Geronimo's along with Ball's "Indeh" and THEN read my reviews of Thrapp's preposterous drivel and nonsense and Sweeney's garbage on various Apache leaders. You'll then have a real idea of the difference between historically valuable information and mere fantasy-filled, sky-pie jibberish churned out by love-sick buffoons who neither lived at the time of the people they write about or have any intention of offering their readers ACCURATE information on anything.
   These days there is far too much insane and inacurate literature available on the American Indian of yesteryear, but this book and Ball's "Indeh" certainly deserve to be considered as far above and beyond the fiction-as-fact PC rubbish which comprises a trecherous information swamp that anyone interested in Frontier history must wade through to get to the truth and facts.
   If you want some truth about Apaches from Apaches, avoid books by Thrapp, Sweeney, Roberts, and ilk like the plague. Purchase this book and Ball's "Indeh". You won't be sorry you did.



4. Geronimo: His Own Story is an endlessly fascinating autobiography that belongs in the pantheon of other great American works of autobiography and memoir. This book should take its place alonside other great works of personal non-fiction such as The Autobiography of Malcom X, A Moveable Feast, The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and (arguably the best of the bunch) The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. This is a strong statement, but after reading this short autobiography it's at least an idea that should be entertained. I found things in this book that I was not expecting, and it ended up being a far more complex and intriguing portrait of Geronimo than I had previously entertained. The most fascinating side of Geronimo that comes across in these two-hundred pages is not Geronimo the warrior but Geronimo the diplomat.
   
   S. M. Barrett's introduction tells us that after Geronimo finished what he wanted to say he would not take questions or add anything more, but merely stated "`Write what I have spoken.'" These are the actions of a man who has a very specific purpose he is pursuing. After reading Geronimo's story I believe his purpose in publishing his tale was to accomplish in peace what he was unable to in war--he wanted to deliver his people back to Arizona.
   
   Geronimo dedicates his story to Theodore Roosevelt, because, in his words, he "knows I speak the truth;...he is fair minded and will cause my people to receive justice in the future; and because he is chief of a great people." Even before his story has started Geronimo strikes a cordial tone. Not only are Geronimo's words flowing with accolades, but they are also giving Roosevelt something to live up to. By stating that Roosevelt is "fair minded and will cause my people to receive justice in the future" he is almost challenging Roosevelt to live up to this description.
   
   Much of the fighting in Geronimo occurs between the Apache's and the Mexicans. Geronimo doesn't try and hide his feelings about the Mexicans, stating not only that he as "no love for the Mexicans," but also that if he was younger, "and followed the warpath," he would "lead into Old Mexico." In fact, his battles with the Mexicans take up a slight majority of the book. He does not make any similarly broad statements when speaking about Americans. Whenever Geronimo criticizes American policy he makes certain that he focuses his criticism on the officer in charge rather than American policy as a whole. Geronimo realizes that merely lashing out at an unfair, but time honored, practice of breaking U.S. treaties would alienate his audience and hurt his cause.
   
   The rhetorical technique Geronimo uses in telling his story is rather matter of fact. This is in stark contrast to some of the more melodramatic works that were popular around the turn of the century. Certainly this highlights a difference in two cultures, but it is also indicative of how Geronimo goes about trying to achieve his goal. Instead of histrionically telling his story he presents it in what seems to be an objective and reasonable voice. When Geronimo gave himself up to the U.S. Army one of the conditions was that his band of Apaches would be sent to Florida with the rest of their families. When the U.S. breaks this condition Geronimo flatly states that this "treatment was in direct violation of our treaty made at Skeleton Canon." He lets the action speak for itself. If he railed against the injustice committed then he would have turned off a mostly white audience. After all, it was their government who was responsible for breaking the treaty.
   
   I won't make this into a thesis (although I probably could). Geronimo: His Own Story is a wonderful portrait of one of American History's most courageous heroes. In the book I was surprised to find out just as much about Geronimo the diplomat as I did about Geronimo the warrior. I'll end this with Geronimo's words: "There is no climate or soil which, to my mind, is equal to that of Arizona. We could have plenty of good cultivating land, plenty of grass, plenty of timber and plenty of minerals in that land which the Almighty created for the Apaches. It is my land, my home, my fathers' land, to which I now ask to be allowed to return. I want to spend my last days there, and be buried among those mountains. If this could be I might die in peace, feeling that my people , placed in their native homes, would increase in numbers, rather than diminish as at present, and that our name would not become extinct."



5. "Geronimo: His Own Story" has been revised and edited, with an introduction and notes, by Frederick Turner. This book is the autobiography of the legendary Apache warrior, as told to S. M. Barrett. The copyright page notes that the main text was originally published as "Geronimo's Story of His Life" in 1906.
   
   The revised edition includes the 1906 preface by Barrett; a 33 page introduction by Turner; a "Note on the Text," which describes the genesis of the book; a map, "Apache Country, 1865-1886"; a bibliography; and a generous collection of photographs showing both Geronimo at various stages in his life, and other people of his times. Barrett's introduction tells how the text was delivered orally by Geronimo, and how translator Asa Daklugie helped Barrett turn it into book form. Indeed, in his introduction Turner notes that Geronimo's story is "a preliterate and essentially a prewhite narrative." Altogether the text and supplemental features are about 200 pages long.
   
   Geronimo's fascinating story begins with an Apache creation myth. He discusses his early life, his family, his battles against the Mexicans, his conflict with United States forces, and his life as a prisoner-of-war under U.S. military control. I was especially interested by his descriptions of the military tactics he used. Geronimo also discusses Apache life: religion, hunting, cultural taboos, etc. The book includes some really remarkable accounts, such as Geronimo's visit to the St. Louis World's Fair. The text is quite poignant when Geronimo reflects upon his hope for the survival of his people and their culture.
   
   I would recommend this book to all who are interested in Native American studies, 19th century American history, military autobiography, and the relationship between oral and written literature. But above all, this book is an encounter with an extraordinary human being whose voice remains passionate and compelling after all these decades.

No comments about Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom.

5 comments about Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.

1. Jarhead by Anthony Swofford, is the memoir of a former U.S. Marine sniper during the first Gulf War in 1991. It's a very intelligent and humorous look at military life for a new generation. Swofford was stationed in Saudi Arabia, at the northern most area right behind Kuwait for more than six months before the short-lived combat started. This was called "Operation Desert Shield", as to shield the massive oil wells of Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi Republic Guard. As you know, the actual combat, "Operation Desert Storm" started in January and was over in late February.



2. Text Review: Jarhead
   Reviewer: Jessica
   
   This historical fiction novel, Jarhead by Anthony Swofford, is in part historically accurate but also embellished in the detail for story sake. The recollection of the events of the war in the story, when the main character Anthony told them, mentioned Saddam Hussein's overrun of Kuwait and their oil, mentioned the massive international deployment to the Arabian Peninsula and the air raid against Iraq. Anthony chronologically reiterated these historical events, but at the same time detailed aspects of his life. Jarhead is more of the story about Anthony in the war as a soldier than about the war itself.
   
   This novel is written from the perspective of a marine. From start to finish the reader follows Anthony on his journey through boot camp to the frontline and back home. As a reader we connect with his emotions and understand the emotional and physical pressure subdued to these men that sign over their lives to fight for US safety. By having this perspective the historical event of the Gulf War is brought down to a level that is more understandable to the mass public. The public can connect with the chain of events through Anthony's character. The only down fall is that there is a biased on how to view the war. To Anthony he was very apprehensive about going to war a felt he was obligated to enlist; through a historians perspective we are only given the facts and not personal feelings.
   
   A historical fiction novel gives a reader a very basic understanding of history. Unlike that of a text book, in novels the focus is on the characters and their reactions and their emotion struggles. Usually these types of novels are about specific moments in history and cover very brief time frames and specific events. Jarhead is one of those novels; we obtain the basic idea of the gulf war and its reasoning behind it, but mainly are focused on Anthony's life and his adventure through the desert. The reader will connect with the situation and understand more what a marine feels and thinks as they walk through the harsh desert, withstand the brutally cold nights and push through the open fire dodging bullets. If the reader does not know about the war prior to reading this novel the most they will be educated on is what and when the war happened. Historically the events are accurate but not a main focus.
   
   This book is highly acclaimed and gratefully appreciated. The connection with Anthony develops throughout the story and the reader grows to love and care for this marine. I would recommend this book to those who have been through what Anthony has and to those who want to further understand the life of a marine. On a scale of 1-5, I would rate this book a 3 for the detail and the emotional bond built while reading.



3. Boring, laced with profanity, raunchiness, whiny, so I find it difficult to relate to this author. He seems like a cry baby to me, and not very intelligent. The book is written to make it seem more than it is, which isn't very much at all. And the constant attempt to make everything poetic is very annoying and an obvious filler technique. This book just sucks! The worst personal perspective war book I think exist. I have no idea how this became a movie, but then there are plenty of stupid movies made all the time.



4. personally, i like the fact he admits to not enjoying the corp, he told the truth, instead of writing a book about how much he was toughest guy in the world and he loved everyday of the corp, he admitted to fear and hate.he curses non stop in the book, but it is written by a marine. he's a real man, he told the truth. he dident wright this book for praise, he wrote it cause he loves to wright.



5. What a dreary, unnecessarily ugly, gloomy, depressing diatribe. Swofford's Jarhead reminded me at times of Vera Britain's Testament of Youth. Everyone coming into contact with Ms. Britain suffered for the rest of their damned lives, and the same holds true of Tony Swofford.
   It's hard not to feel sorry for the star-crossed, snake-bit Swofford but it saps the life right out of you. HIs father is an over-bearing, alcoholic, disciplinarian deeply scarred by the Vietnam War; his mother indifferent; sister - mentally ill, suicidal and institutionalized; his brother, a delusional, congenital liar who dies of cancer; his girlfriend - unfaithful; best friend - killed in an automobile accident and on and on.
   With such a litany of woe readers might anticipate MR. Swofford endured harrowing combat in Iraq and has written the book to work through those experiences - but Gloomy-Tony never fires a shot. After viewing Iraqi corpses he's shaken to the very marrow of his bones - apparently unaware the Marine Corps is about combat, and combatants often die violent deaths. Not the book to read if down - or up for that matter. Gloomy Tony has just enough education to make him dangerous and his book goes nowhere.
   Depsite placing his rifle to the temple of a fellow Marine, Swofford is genuinely dismayed when no-one asks if he OK after narrowly avoiding a live grenade. I agree the Middle Eastern wars are a travesty, but so is Jarhead.

5 comments about Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot.

1. The story of a man who had it all and risked it all to do what he thought was his duty is one we can all learn from. Stewart had fame, fortune and a bright future in Hollywood. His determined efforts to fly in combat, even after being initially rejected by the Air Force, are inspiring. Reading this book makes you appreciate Jimmy Stewart the actor even more.



2. Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot is a great book. It gives insight on not only Jimmy Stewarts leading abilities but also on what it took to fly and work on these flying offensive weapons of WWII. It is verry interesting and did not want to put it down. The author puts everything in perspective with interviews and accounts. I am a WWII buff and anyone with the same interest should also find this book an excellent addition to your collection. It should be of interest to Jimmy Stewart fans as well as anyone wanting to get an inside look at this dangerous job as bomber pilot and those who rode along in those machines.



3. I was given this book for Christmas (at my urging). I immediately started reading, excited to learn more about a truly wonderful person and war hero. By the time I got to the half way point I wanted to stop reading, only continuing as I was hoping it would redeem itself...It did not.
   
   To me, Mr. Stewart's name was put on the cover simply to sell the book; it is nothing but a clip collection of excerpts from other books, disjointed commentary and other assorted oddness. I believe no research was done for this book, the author simply put his own recollections to paper, (at the authors own admission, they were not close and only served in proximity to each other, not together) to prove this, I spent a mere day online researching his wartime record and had gathered much more interesting and relevant information than the book, and that is too bad, Mr. Stewart was truly a war hero, just like all of the other Joe's in the Eighth, he never ducked his duty (as the other reviewer pointed out, he enlisted before PH).
   
   I cannot recommend this book to anyone, if you want to learn about the air war in Europe pick up any number of excellent books on the subject (I can recommend), if you want to know more about Mr. Stewart, pick up his biography.



4. Jimmy Stewart was one of a handful of major American film stars to see combat in World War II, flying B-24 Liberators with the 8th Air Force in England. Logging 20 missions with the 445th and 453rd Bomb Groups, he won various decorations including a DFC and Croix de Guerre. Given his splendid record, details of his combat career would make for interesting reading. Unfortunately you won't get those details in this book!
   
   First things first. Smith's book is a warm tribute to a fine human being and patriot. He relates a number of stories that show Stewart to be a considerate, self-effacing, fair-minded and skillful pilot, aircraft commander and unit commander. The many photographs of Stewart, various aircrews, aircraft, commanders, etc. are a nice touch.
   
   What you don't get is details on most of the 20 combat missions Stewart flew. The book is entitled JIMMY STEWART BOMBER PILOT so "where's the beef?" Smith describes two or three missions and alludes to several others and that's it! The mission summaries and individual crew reports for all missions flown by the 445th and 453rd Bomb Groups are available at Maxwell AFB and can be purchased by the general public. Why Smith didn't utilize those documents to flesh out the Stewart combat story is a puzzler.
   
   Along with that failing, the book is way too padded with material, some of it on postwar developments, that add nothing to the 'Jimmy Stewart at war' story. All that padding often makes Stewart a bit player in a book devoted to him!
   
   In short, Jimmy Stewart deserved better. Reading this book, you can't help but admire and like the guy. He was a class act. At the same time you wonder exactly what happened on all those missions but you never get "the rest of the story!"
   
   An optional purchase.



5. In reading the other reviews of this book, I found something very interesting: both the positive and negative are basically correct. This book is a near love letter to Stewart, but it also really fails to describe his military experiences. Stewart was the Pat Tillman of another era. He enlisted--enlisted--in the U.S. Army before--I repeat--before Pear Harbor. This after he was an Oscar winning movie star. The book is good at building up and describing Stewart's early career in Hollywood and his initial training. You get a good feel for his leadership ability. Then, the author fails to deliver. There is nothing about the missions Stewart flew. The book reads like a series of articles from unit alumni newsletters. It strikes me that Smith used this book as a post-retirment mechanism to renew old friendships from the war, and while everyone seems to agree that Stewart was an amazing man of integrity and character, they fail to provide any meaningful evidence to support their position.