5 comments about A Year in the South: 1865: The True Story of Four Ordinary People Who Lived Through the Most Tumultuous Twelve Months in American History.

1. Stephen Ash does an outstanding job of telling the story of four people living during The Civil War, and how their lives drastically changed as a result of the war. A Year in the South tells the story of four different people living in the South, season by season throughout 1865. Ash brings the reader inside the lives of these four people and explicitly details every problem, every setback and even every accomplishment that occurs within their lives which allows the reader to feel remorse for Cornelia and cheerful for Louis. This book is an amazing recreation of The Civil War era whether you read the entire book, or just each season from a single person's life.



2. Wonderful way to tie several story lines into each other while revealing true stories from the Civil War. I'd recommend this for anyone interested in the history of this period.



3. I highly recommend this book. The stories are captivating. I didn't want it to end. As the review states, this book is about the lives of 4 ordinary people who lived through the Civil War. You will get caught up in the people and their lives. It's almost as if you know them personally. Great book!



4. Would you like some real insight into the lives of your ancestors during a portion of the Civil War? Do you wish you could take a time machine trip back to 1865 and feel what it was like for ordinary people, without Hollywood glamour, without layers of historical filters?
   
   Read this book, wherein author Stephen Ash recounts how the last year of the War Between the States affected the lives of four very different, very ordinary people. One is a widow struggling daily with crushing poverty. Another is a young man developing into a preacher. One is a former Confederate soldier trying to establish a new life and avoid the chaos around him and the fourth a slave whose inner desire for liberty cannot be extinguished. The travails and emotions of these people are easily recognizable to us today. In some measure you can vicariously experience this momentous period in our history through them. Their stories are individually compelling and wrenching for different reasons but you will not be able to escape caring for them.
   
   Ash follows each person through 1865, the year that saw the end of the war and the end of slavery. They each saw the year from very different vantage points but separately and together their stories reveal the typical. Ash avoids being broad, which would be vague and unsatisfactory to the reader. Further, he makes no judgements and allows these individuals to simply be who they are. What results is less the glossy, two dimensional portrait that one often finds when reading biographies of famous people and more the familial.
   
   I found the book captivating and I highly recommend it.



5. This book is a very, very good read. I am normally a very slow reader, but I finished this book in about two weeks. I read it before I went to bed, I read it at work, I read it in my spare time. I just couldn't get enough of it. The book follows four people in the South--one a slave, then a freedman; one a widow and refugee; one a former Confederate soldier who is moving towards the priesthood; and one a preacher who has lots of idle time--in differing locations. Their experiences tell the tale of the experiences of many Southerners at this time in history. As the author states in the foreword, though, this book does not attempt to claim that the experience of these four people can tell the tale of the entire South in 1865, but it gives us an understanding of what the experience was like for some people. The book is also interesting because most books of this nature stop with the end of the Confederacy, but this book deals with the whole year, so we get the reaction to the slaves being freed, Yankees occupying the South, the quest for jobs, and more. Overall, the book is well written and extremely interesting.

2 comments about Remembering Korea 1950: A Boy Soldier'S Story.

1. I really liked hearing about the Korean War from a Korean's perspective. I just thought it was too short. It is worth reading though. If you want to buy this book, I would buy it used and save some money.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this moving story of a boy removed suddenly and without ceremony from high school and thrown at an all-to-early age into combat and all variety of other circumstances of war.

   While we in the USA have a tendancy to dwell on the impact to the USA and our soldiers, here is a local perspective. Ironically, in addition to seeing Korea through the eyes of this young soldier, we see the UN troops from his perspective and so get an additional point of reference on ourselves.

   In addition to being a great, fresh perspective, what happens to Private Shin is incredible. It is a laugh, cry and be moved type of adventure that compells you to read it in one sitting.

5 comments about The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945.

1. Polish filmaker Roman Polanski who was born and raised in Poland by Catholic parents, was there to see what it was really like, unlike many others who were never there, but make ignorent anti-Polish judgements. It's funny how those who were actually there, like Wladislaw, tell a completely different story that the Hollywood/Media tells. Wladyslaw told the truth. Read the book, and see the movie. Get this book and movie to your schools and libraries - Please. This story has healing qualities that brings people together, and not apart.



2. This book is an incredible story of survival. I have seen the movie also. I would recommend both!



3. One of those amazing stories that makes you realize just how much the human spirit can take, and still survive. And just how inhumane we humans can be towards each other. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put this down.



4. Szpilman reveals the tragedy of Jewish life in Warsaw under the German occupation from 1939-1946. Szpilman's autobiographical work was first published in postwar Poland in 1946 but then quickly removed from circulation by Polish authorities. An accomplished pianist before the war, Szpilman played for Polish Radio during the siege of Warsaw and later within the Jewish ghetto to provide food for his parents and siblings. With the systematic liquidation of Jewish life in Warsaw and separation from his family, Szpilman's life took a series of surprising twists. As the reader views life in the ghetto through the eyes of a survivor, his escape from the ghetto before the Jewish up-rising and his ultimate survival consistently depended upon a timely combination of luck and sympathetic acquaintances B including a German army officer.
   
   Included with Szpilman's memoirs are excerpts from Captain Wilm Hosenfeld's diaries and Wolf Biermann's own brief commentary. Hosenfeld's equating of National Socialism with Stalinist Communist and Biermann's emphasis on Szpilman's willingness to break with his past detracts from the overall quality of this work. Nevertheless, this work is well written and will retain the reader's attention to the end.



5. I could not put down this book, and read it in two sittings. Wladyslaw Szpilman, the famed pianist and composer, describes his harrowing account of life under Nazi terror. As a Polish Jew, Szpilman was considered by the Nazis to be entirely subhuman, and it is a miracle he survived the persistent and random acts of violence that surrounded him. He was nearly sent to a death camp along with his five family members, and somehow was pulled off the Birkenau-bound train to a grim prospect of survival. The images in this book are harrowing, such as the depiction of the shattered skulls of little girls, victims of the Nazis' "preferred" method of killing children by picking them up by their legs and swinging them into a brick wall. Imagine the horror....Szpilman's account is so matter-of-fact at times that you wonder how he survived. The fact that he did is a testament of human endurance, but also the ways of fate. There were occasions when he survived simply by the luck of the draw in a Godless universe.

5 comments about Fortunate Son: The Healing of a Vietnam Vet.

1. This beautiful, honest biography is one of the most revealing explorations of recent history ever written. All the accolades are more than deserved. Heartbreakingly American depiction of idealism, courage, loyalty, consequences. Unforgettable.



2. An over-simplistic view to me is the only view anyone lacking the sensitivity to absorb this book correctly can have. Judging this person is irrelevant to the whole point of reading the book, it's not a textbook, of course there is more to the story, and of course anyone can be offended by anything. But, if your looking for a story of a young man who cheated death more then once during the Nam conflict, you will be hard press to find a better book. This is the most powerful book I have have ever read and you can choose to believe it or not, but these are the only type of books I read.



3. The name of General "Chesty" Puller brings a proud smile to the lips of every Marine. He is part of the pantheon of "the few and the proud." His son, Lewis Puller, Jr., has written a memoir that tells the story of growing up in the shadow of a legendary father, becoming a Marine officer in his own right, losing his legs in an explosion while serving in Vietnam, and struggling to build a life for himself in the aftermath. This thoughtful and thought-provoking book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
   
   Lewis Puller, Jr. demonstrates a great deal of transparency in recounting his pilgrimage from the son of a war hero to a wounded warrior looking for his rightful place in the world. The New York Times called this book: "A haunting tribute to the names on the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial . . . An important contribution to the personal literature of war."
   
   The fact that much of Puller's personal journey took place during the same time the nation was struggling with building the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial adds a special poignancy to this memoir. Several of my friends who have served recently in Iraq and Afghanistan commended this book to me as one that had helped them in their own process of reconciling their experiences in war with their return to the United States.
   
   This is a story of great loss and of commensurate courage and determination. I think you will find it inspiring and well worth reading.



4. The book, a true account of a dissalussioned idealist - a trouble soul. A
   lead in to my sad tale of woe. My fellow Americans/Vietnam veterans, do
   not be fooled by the administration's rehtoric; read McNamara's "The Fog
   of War" and please don't forget the book "A Bright Shining Lie"! If you
   truly believe the lies of the "CHICKEN HAWKS", then I've got a bridge in
   Utopia I'll sell you. You are listening to people who never served a day in their misrable lives in war and when most of them had their chance to fight for our country, during the Vietnam war,they chose to "Cut and Run"
   (Guard duty and college deferments). There is only one way to end this
   fisco in the middle east; reinstate the DRAFT with NO LOOP-HOLES! Every-
   body goes when the 6x6 (military truck) rolls up (ages from 18 to 50),
   city/state/federal legislators, the whole nine yards. I'm speaking truth
   to power here today, people. Because when death becomes a shared sacri-
   fice, people's whole prospective changes; it's different when everybody's butt is on the line. Believe me, I know because I served three tours in
   "Nam (all voluntary) not in surrounding countryside (Thailand, Philippines, etc), but in country. I too believed in the government's
   lies (Gulf of Tonkin incident) at the time, but after a lot of years since then, I've had time to reflect and my reflections are not pleasant.
   So, if the country really wants to stop this current mistake, follow my
   advice, THE DRAFT!



5. It is difficult to not be moved by the horrific series of incidents related by Puller here. As pointed out by other reviewers, the self-portrait he renders is of a person so unappealing that the reader must conclude that what he has written with an eye first to honest description, as well as he can render it.
   That said, this book is not really worth reading as a book. The writing is stultifying flat and, for whatever reasons, the only thing Puller does here is whine, in an equally grating voice and with an equal intensity about whatever happens: the mortifying loss of his legs and much of both hands is treated with exactly the same weight as minor slights that occur in his run for office. Furthermore, a very great deal of the book is devoted to pointing out the obvious: for example, Puller insists on notifying the reader that his son learns to talk while his father (owing to a stroke) is losing the capability for speech. Should an editor have cut out this and the many similar needless explanations, the writing would have far greater impact than it does.
   Should the story of Fuller have any lessons for us, those lessons will surely be better learned by reading a (much, much shorter) article about him rather than this tedious book.

5 comments about When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession.

1. I just finished this book yesterday. I have found that there is already 50+ 5 star reviews of this book, but I could not refrain from writing one myself.
   
   This book was simply amazing. I could hardly put it down. It is definetly NOT a history of the Civil War, from a military standpoint. It IS a history of the War from a political standpoint. The major arguement is whether secession is legal or not under Constitutional law. That is a question best left to the book. Though the author does make a pretty strong arguement in favor of secession being legal. Using historical precedents that predate the war, as well as the thoughts on the subject concerning the Founders.
   
   I will that I was impressed by all the new information about Lincoln that I had not known. The more I read about Lincoln, the REAL Lincoln, the less I like about him. This book also deals with the subject of Reconstruction. It is informative, and has sparked my interest in learning more about the period immediately following the war.
   
   I give this book a well-earned 5 stars!



2. This is book seems to me like a manifesto on why the KKK was justified in terrorizing black people. Everyone who knows anything about Lincoln knows that he wasn't a racist but, he also was willing to do whatever had to be done to perserve the union. No President before or since has had to deal with such an issue. The man live through and extremely tough time period, politically and personally. I found this book offensive and demeaning to a historically great president. Our some of Charles Adams arguments true? Yes. But, to make such claims as the freed blacks brought on their harsh treatment after the Civil War is absurd. Racist and people who still believe the South will rise again, for whatever reason, will like this book.



3. As a historian, I have learned that the heart of any great work in history lies in the ample and accurate use of primary sources, and primary sources are the great strength of this work. While countless tomes have debated the perceived moral sides of the Civil War and the motivations of the various actors, this work goes back and investigates the motives of the primary players in this time from their own words and writings. This gives the work an excellent realism and accuracy.
   
   The author, Charles Adams, has earned a reputation as one of the leading economic historians in the field, particularly in the area of taxes. He utilizes this background to investigate the American Civil War, and comes to some very striking conclusions, many that defy the politically-correct history of today. His thesis postulates that the Civil War had its primary cause not in slavery or state's rights, but rather in cold, hard economic concerns.
   
   He shows that the North used its supremacy in Congress in push through massive tariffs to fund the government, and that these tariffs fell much harder on the export-dependent South than upon the insular north. In fact, the total revenue from the "Compromise" Tariffs on the 1830s and 40s amounted to $107.5 million, of which $90 million came from the South. Despite by this, the majority of the revenue was spent on projects far from the South.
   
   According to Adams, this disparity finally pushed the South to seek its own independence. Supporting this conclusion is the fact that the South enacted extremely low tariffs throughout the war, whereas the north enacted the Morrill Tariff of 1861, which enacted tariffs of as much as 50 percent on some goods.
   
   Adams also chronicles the oft-overlooked excesses of the Lincoln Administration, and compares them to the actions of Julius Caesar. While this initially made me quite skeptical, his plentiful, primary source-based examples overcame my qualms. Using the letters and reports of the times, he tells how Lincoln suspended habeus corpus, trod roughshod over the Constitution, jailed thousands of U.S. citizens who dared disagree with him and even wrote a warrant for the arrest of the Chief Justice of the United States.
   
   Adams also ably uses the viewpoints of British and other Europeans to describe different contemporary views on the struggle. These provide excellent outside insight.
   
   On the whole, readers will find the book a superb and scholarly analysis, providing fresh insights into the motivations and causes of the defining war in American history.



4. This book was superb. I would write a short description and/or critique; however, much of what I have to say has been covered in earlier reviews. Every student in the south should be required to read this book. Our ancestors were not traitors. We held the true government of the founding fathers on our backs in every battle.



5. Southrons, hear your country call you!
   Up, lest worse than death befall you!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   Lo! All the beacon-fires are lighted,
   Let all hearts be now united!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   
   Advance the flag of Dixie
   Hurrah! Hurrah!
   For Dixie's land we take our stand,
   And live or die for Dixie!
   To Arms! To Arms!
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   To Arms! To Arms
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   
   Hear the Northern thunders mutter!
   Northern flags in South winds flutter!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   Send them back your fierce defiance!
   Stamp upon the accursed alliance!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   
   Advance the flag of Dixie
   Hurrah! Hurrah!
   For Dixie's land we take our stand,
   And live or die for Dixie!
   To Arms! To Arms!
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   To Arms! To Arms
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   
   Fear no danger! Shun no labor!
   Lift up rifle, pike and saber!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   Shoulder pressing close to shoulder,
   Let the odds make each heart bolder!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   
   Advance the flag of Dixie
   Hurrah! Hurrah!
   For Dixie's land we take our stand,
   And live or die for Dixie!
   To Arms! To Arms!
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   To Arms! To Arms
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   
   Swear upon our country's altar
   Never to submit or to falter,
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   Till the spoilers are defeated,
   Till the Lord's work is completed!
   To arms ! To arms! To arms, in Dixie!
   
   Advance the flag of Dixie
   Hurrah! Hurrah!
   For Dixie's land we take our stand,
   And live or die for Dixie!
   To Arms! To Arms!
   And conquer peace for Dixie
   To Arms! To Arms
   And conquer peace for Dixie

5 comments about Hannibal: A history of the art of war among the Carthaginians and Romans down to the Battle of Pydna, 168 B.C., with a detailed account of the Second Punic War.

1. This is the most subjective book there is on Hannibal, or the Second Punic War. Dodge ignores historical evidence, and injects his own beliefs and feelings. I used it as a reference for tactical analysis on the Battle of Zama, but was forced to dismiss and omit much of Dodge's material in favor of more reliable sources.



2. I am a high school student that has taken an interest into history and I had heard great things about this book so I decided to pick it up. When I started to read it I was amazed. This book has a detailed account of the Second Punic War to the most smallest detail. It starts with just a quick overview of the Roman, Carthaginian armies in how the camps, armor, troops were like. It tells about the first Punic War and then Hamilcar Barca's expedition to Spain to raise an army against Rome and taking his son Hannibal with him. The entire book is just a great read because of the details that are given and Dodge does not leave anything out. If you want to get a book on Hannibal that gives a great account of his campaign then this is for you and you will also get more because of the explaination of the developing Roman tactics because of Hannibal. All in all this is one of my favorite books.



3. Many of the other reviews have done an excellent job of describing this book. Due to this fact, I will only say that there is a ton of information (some times too much - as a casual history fan, I don't need to read about the 5 different roads Hannibal could have taken to get from point A to point B), and the book is generally written in a very readable style. My main point in writing this review is to say the following...
   
   If you plan on reading this book, please commit to reading Scipio Africanus: Greater than Napoleon, by B.H. Liddell Hart, one of the great strategists and military historians of the 20th century (Hart's theories on tank warfare provided part of the foundation for the Blitkrieg in WWII). In this highly readable book Hart explains why he believes Scipio to be the greatest general of all time, even to the point of devoting a chapter to comparing him to Hannibal, Alexander, and Napoleon in a threefold study. In Hart's support of Scipio, he rebuts Dodge directly and effectively when the facts warrant such action.
   
   Dodge does the reader a disservice by downplaying the abilities and qualities of Scipio. I highly suggest anybody interested in either history or strategy read these books by both Dodge and Hart.



4. "From him they learned what strategy can accomplish against force, and this knowledge, improved by them, as they improved everything they touched, has descended, among their other great legacies, to civilized mankind."
   
   According to Dodge the world learned strategy from Hannibal. He sure does make a convincing argument for it, but at a cost of not giving other generals of the Second Punic War their due credit. For some strange reason it was only Scipio that was blessed with good lieutenants.
   
   The most enjoyable part of this volume is the dissection of the wonderful march from Spain to Italy over the Alps, the rest of it very thick with hero worship and unsubstantiated guess-work. Still this is probably the most comprehensive book on the subject, so definitely a must read for anyone interested in ancient military history.



5. I read the back of the dust-jacket and was hooked: "It was an excellent idea to reintroduce Americans to this 104-year-old book, which has never been bettered."
   
   This is the sort of thing I have been looking for but just didn't know it. I have always been curious to learn the day-to-day details of life in the Roman legions. Colonel Dodge satisfied my wish-- providing just the sort of matter of fact, down-to-earth information I hungered for. How did the Legionaires stand in battle? What did their sandals look like? How much were they paid? What were their formations and signals? All accompanied by the author's own illustrations.
   
   
   The author, a decorated veteran of the American Civil War, was the first scholar to actually go and visit all of the battlefields of Hannibal. And of course, any book about Hannibal must equally be about his Roman adversaries.
   
   
   Although the text is over one hundred years old, it is still easy to read. I enjoyed the author's style-- very easy going, with occasional quaint lapses of grammar: For instance, when speaking of the Romans, he writes "Their tactics was simple."
   
   
   At first I thought it was a typo, then I realized he was making a point-- the Legions has only ONE tactic: to always attack. Coming as it does at the end of a well-researched and charmingly presented chapter, I found it to be a delightful and unorthodox conclusion to a convincing argument. I'll leave it to you to discover other such gems on your own!
   
   It's like having one of those old nineteenth century school professors come to life and then discover he is really funny and not at all boring and actually a pretty nice guy. Go ahead and buy this book-- for under twenty dollars it is a real bargain.

1 comments about Fields of Honor: The Pat Tillman Story.

1. Good story to read as fiction.
   
   
   
   Good story.
   

5 comments about The Quiet Hero: The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima.

1. The Quiet Hero: The Untold Medal of Honor Story of George E. Wahlen at the Battle for Iwo Jima, by Gary W. Toyn, is one of those books where important history would be lost if not for the vision of the author. Toyn details the life of a common Utah man who left home at age 18, to enlist in the Navy shortly after the outbreak of World War II. Two years later, George E. Wahlen found himself on a spot of land in the middle of the Pacific, battling the Japanese for control of Iwo Jima.
   
   Contents:
   Foreword
   Introduction
   Preface
   Chapter 1: D-Day, February 19.1945
   Chapter 2: Birth to Boot Camp
   Chapter 3: Sailor to Marine
   Chapter 4: Training to Training
   Chapter 5: Hawaii is Hell
   Chapter 6: Finding God
   Chapter 7: "Operation Detachment"
   Chapter 8: D-Day, February 19.1945
   Chapter 9: D-Day Afternoon
   Chapter 10: D+1 and D+2: The First Casualty
   Chapter 11: D+3: This Lousy, Stinking Island
   Chapter 12: D+4: A Shift in Momentum
   Chapter 13: D+5 and D+6: The Calm Before The Storm
   Chapter 14: D+7 A.M.: The Crucible
   Chapter 15: D+7 P.M: My Job...No More...No Less
   Chapter 16: D+8: Regimental Reserve
   Chapter 17: D+9: Dig and Hold
   Chapter 18: D+10: Taking Hill 362A
   Chapter 19: D+11: Caught From Behind
   Chapter 20: D+12: The Final Act of Heroism
   Chapter 21: Evacuation
   Chapter 22: From Patient to "Pill Pusher"
   Chapter 23: Home and Discharge
   Chapter 24: Post WWII
   Epilogue: From Mettle to Medal
   Appendix A: Two Navy Crosses for a Medal of Honor
   Appendix B: Timeline
   In Memoriam
   Acknowledgements
   Helpful Terms
   Notes and Sources
   Photograph/Image Credits
   Index
   
   For his actions during the Battle for Iwo Jima, Pharmacist's Mate Second Class, George E. Wahlen was awarded the Medal of Honor. His rank, Pharmacist's Mate, is misleading to civilians as he was a corpsman from the Navy assigned to a Marine Battalion. He provided first aid to wounded Marines. But since he was attached to the Marines, he had to not only learn first aid and how to dress wounds, he was also required to go through the same training as any other Marine. It was during this training that Wahlen had self doubts as he was a Navy man, just a corpsman, and was worried that if he found himself under fire, that he would let down the Marines that he was supposed to help. Due to his actions on Iwo Jima, Wahlen was awarded the Medal of Honor. He did not wilt under the pressure of battle, gaining the admiration of the Marines that served with him.
   
   Toyn's book takes you through Wahlen's life, including his time on Iwo Jima, through present day. As I read the book, I was struck by the tone. Much like George Wahlen himself, Toyn writes is a very understated way. It isn't until we are presented with the actual text of Medal of Honor commendation that you realize that what you just read was an incredible story of valor, honor, and duty. It is a testament to the foundation that Toyn has built. At one point in the book, after an extremely difficult day on Iwo Jima, Toyn writes of George:
   
   "...[He] was no longer concerned about acting cowardly in the face of battle . . . he figured that what he had accomplished was no more heroic that what anyone else in his unit had done . . . "
   
   It is that attitude that permeates this book; Wahlen just doing his job.
   
   "Hero" is a word that has lost a lot of meaning these days. In the pages of this book, you will learn what that word really means. And it isn't limited to just the story of George Wahlen. The men that he served with also deserve that title, and their stories are in this book, too. This book is a tribute to George Wahlen and the memories of the men that gave the ultimate sacrifice to this nation.



2. What most impressed me about George Wahlen is that it was only many years after the war ended that his wife finally found out about his Medal of Honor. That reminds me of my own parents. I cannot ever remember them bragging about themselves.
   
   George Wahlen is not only a true hero, but a humble one at that. Thus, the title of the book.



3. The book tells the story of a Hospital Corpsman who was thrust into the bloodiest battle in the Pacific. It was well written and really explained the horrors of what a Navy Corpsman has to go through to do his job. To keep as many Marines at as many guns for as long as possible. Armed with only a 45 and his vast ability to operate under extreme fire and his limited medical skills Pharmacist Mate Second Class George E. Wahlen shows us readers in the highest way possible what it means to be a US Navy Corpsman! Warning! Once you pick up this book you won't be able to put it down!



4. George E. Wahlen was born in Utah on August 8, 1924. By February, 1945, George would be many miles from his beloved family and friends. He was stationed on a remote volcanic island in the Western Pacific. In the two weeks that George was on the island, he would distinguish himself many times and earn the respect of his fellow men. The name of the island was Iwo Jima, and George served as a Marine combat medic.
   
   In his younger days, George dreamed of becoming an aircraft mechanic, but his father refused to let him enlist in the Army. So, George volunteered to be drafted. He was sent to California for basic training, where he was trained as a medic. Despite his love of repairing airplanes, he quickly adjusted to his new role as a medic and he became proficient in his new job.
   
   As time passed, George's unit continued to train for combat, and the training became more and more difficult. Eventually, George's unit was sent to the island of Guam to prepare for the invasion of Iwo Jima. George's unit landed on D-Day, which was February 19, 1945. For the next two weeks, George spent his time tending to wounded Marines, all the while ignoring his own safety. He faced numerous Japanese mortar attacks, banzai charges, and infantry raids, but he never ignored the call of a wounded comrade. During one action, while wounded himself, he stayed in the field of fire for over twenty minutes tending to wounded Marines. During this time, he managed to save fourteen men who might otherwise have died. Another time, again while wounded, he crawled on his stomach for over fifty yards to drag a wounded Marine to safety. These selfless acts of bravery quickly earned George the respect of his fellow men. His superiors took note of his actions as well, for on September 14, 1945, George received the Navy Cross and the Gold Star. Then on October 5, 1945, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman.
   
   George didn't retire from the armed forces after receiving his awards. Instead, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. He retired from military service on August 11, 1969. Not many servicemen served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. George E. Wahlen did.
   
   As a fan of World War II history, and especially the battle of Iwo Jima, I was very impressed with this book. I have always enjoyed reading about the lives of militaty personnel, and this book does a remarkable job in describing the heroics of one of the numerous individuals who won the Medal of Honor on Iwo Jima. Author Gary W. Toyn writes with a style that places the reader at the forefront of the battle with George as he's tending to his wounded comrades. The battle is vividly brought to life throughout the pages of the book, and I learned some things about the battle that I previously didn't know.
   
   I recommend this book very highly. This fine biography of George E. Wahlen embellishes the epitaph of Iwo Jima; uncommon valor was a common virtue. George Wahlen upheld the code of the United States Marines to the fullest, and his life serves as an example to future generations of Marines.



5. The Quiet Hero is a down to earth written story about a down to earth good guy. The author has not followed a traditional war story format, in my view at least. It is easy to read.

3 comments about Boys of the Battleship North Carolina.

1. Interesting and pleasant book to read that tells the story of the USS NC through the experiences from certain crewmen.
   
   The author has interviewed numerous former crew stationed throughout the ship and focuses primarily on their personal observations, duties, and lives (personal and onboard). Some crew for example that the book follows are a 5" mount crewmember, a radioman, Kingfisher pilot, bow 20mm gunner, and many more.
   
   Rather than simply tell the more common (and possibly dry reading) "bio" of the ship, the author uses the experiences of the crew to tell the story. For example, because of this, rather than simply stating how many crew were killed or injured at such-and-such occasion, the author put them in a personal perspective where you know their names, duties, and where and what they were doing when they died or were wounded. In each case where a crewman was killed in action, by accident or natural causes the authore tells their stories. The lives of the crew are also followed on liberty in the pacific and in the US - some visting the ladies, bars, others sightseeing, etc.
   
   Throughout the book there are numerous photos of the crewmen that the book relates to, the ship/equipment, and other random interesting images from the battleship's archives (like the purple heart cake made for the USS Kidd after the friendly fire incident.)
   
   In short, the book tells the story of certain crewman and in doing so tells the story of the USS NC.
   
   For a good companion piece that focuses more on the in-depth service history and techincal/machine side of the battleship, check out Ben Blee's "Battleship North Carolina."



2. I have visited the battleship about 10-15 times in my 50+ years of life. This book brings the history of the ship and the young men who served her into a greater perspective.
   
   The book covers in detail the ship from it's inception up to the end of the war. No detail is missed in the lives of the sailors. Especially gripping are the accounts of the ones who were killed in action. The book wraps up with a final chapter with touching details of some of the recent reunions for the surviving crew members.
   
   This is a must read for anyone interested in history, and especially for those with an interest in the naval history of WWII.



3. This is a wonderful book that gives you an insight of what our young men were like and their personal experiences during WWII aboard the USS Battleship North Carolina. I'll have to admit that I cried several times as I read the book; the experiences were powerful and the writer portrayed them with such insight and feeling.

5 comments about Warrior: An Autobiography.

1. Well written story of Sharon's life. His military and political experiences fill most of the book, however; ample coverage is given of his family life and personal thoughts.
   
   He has lived an amazing life touched by virtually every historical event in Israel since before it was a country. His story is as much a history lesson on the Middle East and Israel as it is a story of one man.
   
   If you want to better understand Middle Eastern history, politics and life in Israel, I highly recommend this book.



2. Warrior An Autobiography This is one book I can review without having finished reading it. He is one of the great generals of our time even ranking with MacAuthor, Patton, Swartzkoff,Etc. My own personal opinion he is tops. He had to help try to save a country when there was little help from the rest of the world. As a political figure I,ll also stick with him. He may have made some mistakes according to others but no one else did any better. I stay away from politics as most have no idea of what they are talking about any way. I think he had his country at heart either way.



3. I enjoyed this autobiography of one of modern Israel's giants.
   The book was written in great detail on many of the historic battles and decisions that Israel faced. Sharon played a large part in the fledgling country's struggle to survive the onslaught of hatred and terror. Sharon also touched on the personal hardships he faced.
   The only problem with Warrior was that Sharon wrote it so early in his career (1980s) that I was left hungry for more information. I had to go and buy a more recent biography of Sharon to bring myself up to date on Arik's life and career.



4. 
   
   There are many references to Pierre and Bashir Gemayel (leaders of the predominantly Christian-Phalanges Party).
   Most of Lebanon, and the Christian Leaders had been particularly confounded by the rash and dash with which the Israelis' conducted their war against the Palestinian Militias, and Beirut was awash with gossips that the Lebanese Forces - LF - (mainly Christians) would perform, alone, a sweeping military - mop up - operation in support of the Israelis.
   Such was a request Sharon had asked of Bashir during his first and short `look-see' visits to Jounieh - Lebanon (East) but did not evoke clear-cut answer (nor commitment) from Bashir because LF had not been able to give viable practical assistance, least of all to do any `street fighting' in a densely populated Beirut (West).
   If LF entered the important green line (Sea port area) rushing into Hamra Street, civilian losses would have been immense.
   Sharon wanted to infuse his sense of urgency into LF leaders in order to gain time and face the Israeli Cabinet with a fait a compli situation of which the Cabinet had never approved before.
   Sharon left Jounieh under the impression he and Bashir had concluded an agreement -in principle- of `a military operation' to be performed when the proper time called for it and now the next phase was for `joint planning'. Bashir was led to believe that Sharon was highly depending on LF supportive participation.
   Sharon thought Bashir had fully understood him to support a `do it alone' military operation, i.e. that LF would attack independently from the East when the Israelis had tightened the noose on Beirut (West).
   Mismatch in person-to-person communication took on new impetus.
   In the first place, it had never occurred to Bashir to attack West Beirut because he was heading for the Presidency and his `election' was imminent and inevitable.
   Bashir's priorities were 1) Never to put himself in disfavour with the Muslim communities and 2) Should not destroy political bridges with Syria (Hafiz al Asad) that would come after he's elected to the Presidency.
   
   Sharon, a military man to the bones, could see nothing relating to `Lebanese Politics' in the middle of his `war against the PLO - Arafat'; he had found that the Lebanese appreciation of his sweeping moves - having also neutralized the Syrian Army in Lebanon - were meant to ask him to revert to the idea of `independent action in West Beirut. Sharon should begin, and the LF would follow'.
   
   As there are no secrets in Lebanon, pulling the blankets of `no commitments' over their bodies resolutely did not refrain Philip Habib - not yet tired of repeating to Bashir - `at no time give a pretext that would obstruct your election to the Presidency'.
   
   And the `drama' has never ended..............



5. A very good book. It goes into a bit more depth with strategy and such than I could really grasp in a few spots, but on the whole I found it very interesting. Good descriptions of and insight into politics, history, and his accomplishments and ideas. I hadn't known how much he had done outside of the military before reading this book: founding Likud, advancing agriculture in Israel and in Africa, and forging relationships throughout the world for a fledgling Israel. A good book from a most impressive man.