1 comments about Have Gun Will Travel.

1. After buying this book in a cooky crime book store in Melbourne, I found myself unable to do anything but read it for the following few days. 'Karel' tells an amzaing, simply-written tale about his time in Surinam during the mid-80's where he lead an army destined to break the back of the country's dictatorial government. If you like a good, factual action story that is engaging and fast moving, then I highly recommend this. The only downfall is that it wasn't long enough!

5 comments about The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher.

1. This book is not only a thorough exploration of a remarkable man, but a marvelous tour through 19th century America.
   
   Recently, I asked two people in their 30's if they had ever heard of Henry Ward Beecher. They had not. They did recognize the name of his sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe. How time erases celebrity! H.W. Beecher was deeply involved in the major issues of his times, was credited by both Lincoln and Robert E. Lee with determining the outcome of the Civil War and became involved in a legal case over adultery that easily equals the O.J. Simpson spectacle in our own time. Yet, he is almost entirely forgotten - I would not have been able to properly identify him before reading this book.
   
   Henry, the son of a Calvinist preacher, Lyman Beecher, ended up repudiating Calvinism and bridged the time between the fire and brimstone school of preaching and the modern era of American Christianity that he initiated, in which God is equated with love and forgiveness. An emotional man enraptured by the effect of adoring audiences, Henry Ward Beecher lived to address the multitudes. The other duties of a minister paled by comparison; he never cared to be a pastor visiting his flock and listening to their troubles. Rather, he enjoyed mingling with the public at large from the elite of Manhattan to the workers toiling on the docks, Christians and pagans alike. With his long hair, open collar and idea that nobody was sinless or could be, he made a distinct impression wherever he went.
   
   Working his way up through churches near Cincinnati and in Indianapolis, Beecher ultimately had a church in Brooklyn, NY built specifically for him in 1859 (Plymouth Church that still stands today) and from there he ruled the roost until his death, consistently pulling in packed audiences.
   
   A member of a large and famous family and husband to a prolific (literally) wife who viewed herself as a martyr, his chilly marriage resulted in long periods of separation in which his open and understanding manner could lead to complications with the opposite sex. The last quarter of the book is filled with the details of the Beecher - Tilton affair that led to a trial that filled the newspapers of America; well over 100 stories on the matter appeared in the New York Times alone.
   
   This book is enjoyable on many levels, from an investigation of the psychology of Beecher and those closest to him, through an analysis of the religious and political movements of the time, to the issue of how the preservation of what a man represents can be more important to the public than the actual personal actions of that man. In other words, if you are an icon, much will be forgiven before those who treasure the icon will allow it to crumble.
   
   Beecher could lead on the issues, such as the right of women to vote, but he more often took the pulse of his public and moved in the direction to which they pointed. Contradiction was part of the man, as it is with all of us, but Beecher never looked back and never tried to maintain that he was always right as so many do. His conversation with individuals was uninhibited and open-hearted and the emotional transport he achieved in his sermons could lead him to say things he later found hard to defend. Perhaps this was a large part of his attraction; he expressed the emotional freedom for which his straight-laced listeners longed, even if they would never dare to say so.
   
   Read this book and you will understand why Henry Ward Beecher deserved his fame. No less a critic of humanity than Mark Twain claimed Beecher was a Gulliver among Lilliputians. Every chapter will leave you eager to find out what happens next!?



2. Applegate's biography on Henry Ward Beecher is very readable, but too short. Some things are covered very well, and others almost ignored by comparison.
   
   You learn alot about his relationship with his father and siblings, but very little about his wife and children. His thoughts and actions regarding slavery are well fleshed out, but I wish word one had been said about his opinions regarding other controversies of the time. What did Beecher make of Mormonism, for example? Applegate doesn't have much to say about Beecher's theology either, after he breaks with his father - at least not enough to satisfy me. She prefers to pay attention to the intrigues and finances of his congregation (which, by all means, is worth while).
   
   In other words: I was left wanting more.



3. A remarkable read for its insight into the America of the 1850s and 1860s and into the America of the 2000s. The only real difference is that the Evangelists of 1850-60 are now tele-evangelists, still raising money, still getting involved in politics, and still dabbling in sins of the flesh to one degree or another. The more things change, the more they remaint the same.
   
   A thoroughly fascinating read for the information it imparts about that time and the similarities to the times in which we live.
   
   Helps the reader understand in new and different ways some of the causes of the Civil War and puts those reasons in in very human terms. Politics and Religion were entangled then, as now....
   
   Henry Ward Beecher would be as much at home now, just as rich, just as popular and probably just as promiscious as he was in his day. By understanding his day, we have a better, cleaner understanding of this day.
   
   In other words, Men of God can accomplish good, sometimes great things without being perfect people.



4. This book was really great. You feel like you are alive at the time of Beecher. You watch as he emerges from his father's formidable shadow to become the most popular American preacher of his day.
   
   But in the process, you will also see Beecher jettison virtually every doctrine of Christinaity save the doctrine of love for God and for others. Unfortunately, it appears that Henry took the "love for others" part a bit too literally, as he was a very flirtatious and apparently adulterous man.
   
   It is amazing to see how he skirts out of trouble time and again. He somehow has his wife convinced that he is a man of high virtue, and he is also able to convince a number of his mistresses that their affairs with him are higher forms of love, even religious love.
   
   And yet in spite of his peccadilloes, Henry Ward Beecher was an indispuably great orator, a man who had his congregation eating out of his hand. Henry loved to preach about the pressing issues of his day, although one could accuse him of waffling on issues when the boat was rocked. He was at first neutral on the slavery issue, then he was a cautious abolitionist, then he even came to the point of advocating violence if necessary.
   
   Perhaps his most shining moment was in 1863 while preaching in England. His stirring speeches about America convinced the British not to lend their support to the South, and this may have helped Lincoln to preserve the Union.
   
   You will learn not only about Beecher's relationships with women (his wife Eunice, Elizabeth Thornton, Edna Proctor, Chloe Beach), but you will also get to know the New York newspaperman Henry Bowen, who convinced Henry to come to New York. You will also meet the complex Theodore Tilton, who goes from being a star struck Beecher fan to being a jealous husband who wants to see Beecher fall from grace.
   
   Debby Applegate writes in a stirring style, and you will want to drop everything else and keep reading. You learn a lot about history along the way.
   
   The only complaint I have is that Applegate slams Calvinism way too much. She treats it as if it is a terrible system of belief and that it makes happy people dour. She seems to think that Lyman Beecher (Henry's father) was a much better man than his theological system would allow.
   
   I am not a Calvinist, but I respect Calvinism as a viable and reasonable expression of Christian faith. The book would have been just as great without the anti-Calvinist bias.



5. I am an author, a Christian, and a Calvinist. I love good history. However, after the deep prejudice against, and misunderstanding of Calvinism portrayed in the first two chapters, I almost put the book down.
   
   Despite these reservations, I am glad I persevered. Applegate writes in an engaging, entertaining style. I finished with fresh incite into the political machinations of early 19th century America, especialy New York, New England, and the history of the early abolitionist movement.
   
   I also concluded down deeply disturbed and distressed by the subject of the book, Henry Ward Beecher. Applegate repeatedly stresses two attributes of Beecher's moral character. The first was his lust for fame and popularity. The second is his continual compromise of conscience to obtain that popularity. These compromises ruined his life and the lives of many associated with him. She closes by comparing him to Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton, all good comparisons, and in my opinion, all deeply distressing hypocrites like Beecher.
   
   I finished the book with mixed feelings of revulsion and empathy for Beecher. He was a first class hypocrite. He continually preached love, but abused and used his wife, his congregation, his business associates and the women with whom he comitted adultery. He pretended to be one thing, but in reality was the exact opposite. Was he weak? Yes, like all of us he was weak. But was he sincere? It doesn't appear that he was. A sincere man seeks help. He wants to change. He humbles himself and exposes his weakness. Beecher did none of these Instead, continually and habitually covered up the damning evidence that pointed to his sins. That is not the definition of a good person.
   
   Did he do some good? Yes. He was a key figure in the abolitionist movement. But, in other respects he was much like the men exposed in Paul Johnson's insightful book, "Intellectuals." He was a man who loved the world in general, but was incapable of loving those closest to himself.
   
   Despite these facts, the author was unwilling to call Beecher what he really was, "a wolf in sheeps clothing." She concludes, "His painful awareness of his own weakness and his ongoing battle to overcome them were the wellspring of his great and lasting contribution to American life: the all forgiving Gospel of Love. As Beecher would have said, without sin there can be no saving grace."
   
   It appears that Applegate, like Beecher, is in love with love, but not real virtue. True loves serves, expends itself, humbles itself, and dies that other might live. But Applegate's conclusion spins evil, refusing to come to grips with it or condemn it. Yes God is love, but He is also justice. The two cannot be separated.
   
   This is not the definition of a good man. I expected Applegate to draw this clear conclusion. I was disappointed.
   
   In short, Applegate writes well. I am thankful for her research, and the volumes of excellent information on Beecher and his times. I am deeply disturbed by her conclusions. They express the same loss of moral compass as the man she writes about, Henry Ward Beecher

5 comments about The Threadbare Buzzard: A Marine Fighter Pilot in WWII.

1. I loved reading this book. So much so that I had to meet Mr. Tomlinson in person.
   The book is written in a way that makes it pleasant to read. Mr. Tomlinson says what he thinks and this what I want to read when I read a book about a WWII fighter pilot, not some over-studied analysis of a situation written by someone who was not even born at the time the events took place. The Threadbare Buzzard has opinions...so what? This makes this book all the more interesting to read.
   This is truly one of the few autobiographies I read that I will read again in the near future. Thank you for writing it, Mr Tomlinson, and thank you for your service to our country.



2. Let me start by saying that although I did not particularly enjoy this book, it is clear to me that Mr Tomlinson does have an interesting story to tell about a very interesting time in american, military and aviation history.
   
   Maybe this book would have been much better with heavy editing and a co-author, but I don't think this would have suited the self-styled "Oracle of Poverty Flats" as he refers to himself at many points throughout the book. Maybe then I wouldn't have to suffer through everyone being called a jolly chap......by someone from Montana.
   
   The book itself was a frustrating read due to Mr Tomlinson's convoluted narrative style bereft of any dialogue, which disconnects the reader from the evants taking place. This and his near refusal to use anyone's name was confounding to me. He would use up an entire paragraph or two dancing around someone's identity so that he would not use their name. Then to make matters worse when that person popped up again in the book they were refered to as "the brother of the pilot who shot down Yamamoto", "the Harvard Man", "the other Harvard Man" (not Kidding) or "The Bostonian". This makes for truly enthralling reading and when one of these infuriatingly nameless people gets killed, the feeling is "so what?" His relative's review seen here on Amazon states "he remembers everthing...", well everything except people's names. Everyone that is, except Gregory Boyington, which brings me to my next point....
   
   Man does he have axes to grind! With the Navy, with the Army, with the government, with the US citizens (Corsairs cost a staggering sum of money per air hour.........a magnificent flying club funded by the taxpayers, who had it coming anyway." page 256), but most of all with Gregory Boyington of Black Sheep Squadron fame. I don't know what Boyington did to Mr Tomlinson but it must have been something really greivous or maybe this is sour grapes from someone who got tired of fielding questions about the FAMOUS pilots of VMF-214, whom he never flew with. The ones who actually shot down a few enemy planes and were written up in the press for it, which seemed to infuriate Mr Tomlinson. Look, I know that Boyington was a flawed person and that a few of his aerial victories may have been a little suspicious, this is well documented in "Black Sheep One", by Bruce Gamble. Even if Boyington "only" shot down 20 or so planes between VMF-214 and the Flying Tigers and drank himself into a little trouble, I see no valid reason for the petty personal attacks in this book by a man who by his own admission drank alot and got into a little trouble himself. I have read every book about VMF-214 that I have been able to find (which doesn't make me an expert by any means), exchanged emails and spoken on the phone with men who actually flew with Boyington and although I have heard stories never before published, I have never heard some of the accusations he makes. The irony is, if it weren't for the Black Sheep, chances are he would never have been invited to write a book in the first place. Mr Tomlinson only succeeds in making himself look bad. The publisher certainly isn't shying away from the connection, using Boyington's name on the dustjacket.
   
   Personally, I feel that if you want to read about Marine aviation during WWII, read "Ace!", by Bruce Porter, if it's Boyington you are interested in, read the excellent and even handed "Black Sheep One", by Bruce Gamble or if you want to read a poignant memoir, read "Lost Black Sheep", by Robert Reed, all of these are excellent books on this subject matter.



3. I found the book to be disappointing. Entirely excessive on the sarcasm and political drum beating to make it an enjoyable read.



4. I had great difficulty finishing this book. Tomlinson has a serious jealousy problem with some of the top allied fighter groups of WW2;e.g. Eagle Sqd., Flying Tigers, and Boyington's Black Sheet Sqd. He frequently makes statements that are contradicted by offical records. His constant snide remarks about Navy and Army pilots was very tiring. Also his writing skills left much to be desired; for example his constant use of silly cliches were very boring. I bought the book expecting to read about USMC Corsair flyers in the Pacific but read very little of actual combat. Of my extensive WW2 fighter pilot library this book is by far, the poorest.



5. I enjoyed this tale of a young mans adventures in trying to get into the war and his exploits while there.

No comments about Un largo camino/ A Long Way Gone: Memorias De Un Nino Soldado/ Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

2 comments about SURROUNDED BY HEROES: Six Campaigns with Divisional Headquarters, 82d Airborne, 1942 - 1945.

1. This is an exciting book! It captured my attention and drew me in from the first page. It presents a very personal view of war. The author describes his feelings at every turn - what it was like to get a letter from home, to lose a friend in battle, or to learn that a son was born in your absence. "Surrounded By Heroes" gave me a clear picture of what it was like to be on the battlefield and off, the terror of war, the frustration of Army bureaucracy, the boredom of waiting and not knowing what was coming next. On top of all this I learned what all the Army jargon and acronyms mean - from AAF (Army Airfield) to SNAFU (Situation Normal: All F****** Up) to USO (United Service Organizations).
   
   It's a good book. read it.



2. "Surrounded by Heroes" is an articulate, thoughtfully written remembrance of the WW II effort, observed from the vantage point of a sort of "everyman." It is a perfect companion for the PBS series, "War" (produced by Ken Burns), citing a number of the battles, locations and "players" who toiled and sometimes died in that arena. I happened to read it just before the series appeared, and found it afforded a more personal experience than if I had viewed the series alone.

No comments about Garibaldi: Hero of Italian Unification.

1 comments about The Sky Suspended: A Fighter Pilot's Story.

1. The Sky Suspended: A Fighter Pilot's Story is the remarkable and memorable autobiography of Jim Bailey, who in the summer of 1939 while a 19-year old student at Oxford University felt strongly that war between England and Germany was inevitable. That was when he signed up to become a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force. Baily flew British fighter planes in aerial combat missions that ranged from the Battle of Britain, through the action at Gibraltar, and the Anzio beach-heads, to the landing in the South of France. One of the true heroes for which Winston Churchill was to acknowledge with his famous declaration that never had "so many owed so much to so few", The Sky Suspended is the true life story of heroism, survival against the odds, and a remembering of so many that did not make it through -- but to whom so much is owed to that generation of young men by all of the generations that follow. This special large printed edition of The Sky Suspended is a great read, and a welcome addition to the growing library of World War II memoirs and biographies.

3 comments about Grace Hopper: Admiral Of The Cyber Sea (Library of Naval Biography).

1. Grace Hopper's contributions to computing were very impressive - I knew that before reading this book because I was a COBOL programmer. Nonetheless, "Admiral of the Cyber Sea" provided a very informative and interesting biography of this lady. It was also interesting to learn of the signal achievements of her siblings - reminding me of President Eisenhower, one of many "stars" in his household.
   
   Born in 1906, Grace Hopper graduated from Vassar, and got a PhD in mathematics from Yale in 1933. She married in '43, and divorced 15 years later. During WWII she followed her grandfather (an admiral) and joined the Navy - WAVES division. At that time she wrote programs for the Mark I computer housed in Harvard - focus was on ballistic trajectories, and accomplished at the speed of 3 operations/second. The Mark I was an electro-mechanical giant - 50' long, 8' tall, and 8' deep, with 3 million wire connections and weighing about 5 tons, and only having 72 words of storage.
   
   The term "Bug" came about when the Mark II was stopped by a relay failure - a moth had been trapped inside one of the relays. The moth was fished out, and taped to the computer's log book.
   
   Hopper then went to work on compiler development, having foreseen their potential for drastically reducing programming efforts while reducing "bugs." Retired from the Navy Reserve in 1966 as a Commander.
   
   However, the Navy soon realized it needed Hopper's continue service, and brought her back. She was impatient with bureaucracy - and displayed it with a clock that ran backwards and a Jolly Roger flag on her desk. One might suspect that Hopper would be one wedded to the "big iron" computers of her day - however, she early on saw the potential and value of microcomputers, and for networking minis.
   
   Commodore Hopper received her new rank (equivalent to today's Rear Admiral) in 1983 at a White House ceremony attended by President Reagan. Retirement took place 12/86 on the deck of the U.S.S. Constitution - the Navy's oldest commissioned ship. The very next day civilian Hopper, twice retired from the Navy, reported for full-time work at DEC.
   
   Grace Hopper died in 1992 at the age of 80, having worked and given almost daily speeches cross-country until the prior Summer. Truly an inspirational achiever!



2. I had a chance to hear Grace Hopper speak in 1970's in the early days of my own computer career. She was impressive then, and, after reading this book, I'm even more impressed by her career and her accomplishments, which were underrepresented in the 'computing history' to which I had previously been exposed. Through interviews and delving into untold amount of original source material, Ms. Williams has found MANY fascinating tidbits about Grace and the environment in which she lived and worked. For example, Grace DIDN'T invent the term computer bug. However, the interesting facts are strung together in an oft times confusing narrative - it took me much longer to read than usual. And the index didn't mention her engaging physical representation of a nanosecond. A worthwhile book, nonetheless, for those interested in computing history, and/or women who made a difference in technology.



3. I was at a coctail party at a computer show when this lady in a white Navy uniform came it. It was Grace Hopper. Someone asked her for an autograph. Admirals don't need to carry pens around, so I promptly offered her mine. And after she signed one of her business cards for him, I said that I'd like one also, so she signed another. I still have it.
   
   This all came back to me as soon as I saw this book. I picked it up, I opened it to a page where it talks about her first reporting to Howard Aiken at Harvard to work on the Mark I computer. Aiken handed her a manual and told her to write a program. Almost exactly twenty years after she was given the manual, the Army did exactly the same to me - here's a manual, here's the equasion I want solved.
   
   Even in her advanced years at the time I met her, she was still one very bright lady. This was in the very early days of the PC, and she had a basic understanding that enabled her to predict many of the things that were going to happen while the rest of were stumbling around thinking about word processing.
   
   Grace Hopper was quite a lady, and that's reflected in this book. Between 1934 and 1937 hers was the only Ph.D. in mathematics awarded to a female. It was quite a life that she led, and that too is reflected in this book. Adm. Hopper lived in a time when women didn't need to be educated, they were just going to be housewives, and they certainly weren't going to be Navy Admirals. This book is a story of one remarkable woman, but more than that it's the story of computing and of our changing times.

5 comments about At the Right Hand of Longstreet: Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer.

1. Moxley Sorrel was one of the best staff officers in the Confederate army. He served as one of the key staff officers in the service of Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps. This book, in his own words, is one of the more insightful books by an "insider" from the Civil War.
   
   The book provides some brief background, prior to Sorrel joining Longstreet's staff (which, by the way, appears to have been one of the better corps staffs on the Confederate side--east or west or trans-Mississippi).
   
   His career was distinguished and he had a rare opportunity to observe Longstreet and other major Confederate officers. The book portrays Sorrel's views on major battles of the war--from the Peninsula to Seven Pines to the Seven Days to Second Manassas and on to Gettysburg. Then, an examination of the First Corps' movement to the western theatre, where it played a key role at Chickamauga.
   
   Sorrel became a battlefield figure at the Wilderness, as he led a flanking attack on Union General Winfield Scott Hancock. He finished the war as a battlefield commander rather than a staff officer.
   
   What is best about this book, though, is his careful and thoughtful analysis of events and officers. A very nice work indeed.



2. maybe it was because Longstreet wasn't a very talkable sort I don't know but this book does provide some interesting insights and seldom bogs down.



3. VERY GOOD BOOK, I ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH, WROTE VERY WELL



4. This late memoir seems to have been one of the most heavily used sources for scholars of Lee, Longstreet and other generals and the Gettysburg campaign in particular.
   
   As a memoir, it's not very personable, with the author's personal experiences and even his serious injury told in a distant manner, which is not uncommon for works of this kind. It is interesting as an account of Longstreet and others around him, although it shouldn't be taken as absolute gospel; Sorrel's opinion on the Gettysburg campaign in particular seems calculated to deflect any possible criticism from his erstwhile chief.
   
   There are some interesting and unexpected tidbits here -- for one, the role of the spy Harrison, whose very existence has been questioned by some writers. Far from appearing only once on the eve of Gettysburg, he appears in Sorrel's memoir as a regular contact of Longstreet's and one who was still living when the memoir was written. This would seem to strengthen the argument that Harrison's information about Federal activities in the Gettysburg campaign would have been useful to the Confederate command.
   
   It's also interesting (and refreshing) to see how non-teetotal Sorrel's Army of Northern Virginia is -- whiskey everywhere, and even a priceless scene of Longstreet and other officers singing arias while standing on a table.



5. General Gilbert Moxley Sorrell's memoir of the War Between the States is a must-read for any serious student of the War and a fascinating historical account of soldierly life and experiences. Sorrell served in Longstreet's Brigade beginning at Manassas and as his staff officer until his promotion to Brigadier-General in 1864. He paints a vivid picture of camp life and of the political climate of the times that is often overlooked in military accounts. Highly recommend

5 comments about Heroes: U.S. Marine Corps Medal of Honor Winners.

1. You should know that I did not read this book.
   
   I have a problem with the title. A soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine, does not WIN a medal.
   
   It is earned. And, sad to say in the case of the MoH, very often at the cost of one's life.



2. In this inspiring chronicle of the U.S. Marine Corps, Mr. Cerasini gives us a summarized narrative of this most prestigious service's history. The primary focus is on the individuals who have earned the Medal of Honor, but there is much more.
   
   This is an abbrieviated history, and it has to be. To expound upon thorough details of every war, battle, amphibious landing, and emminent personality, ...would be a monumental and encyclopedic undertaking. For the uninitiated, be you a Marine veteran or not, this book will serve you very well as an introduction to Marine Corps history. As a Marine veteran, I endorse this!
   
   As it should, the narrative begins with the Revolutionary War founding of the U.S.M.C. in Philadelphia, under Captain Samuel Nicholas.
   
   The story takes us from the November 10, 1775 founding, to the Seminole wars, the war of 1812, The Mexican war, the Civil War, the Spanish American war, World Wars I & II, Korea, and Veitnam. Many inter-war operations of note are mentioned in varying detail, as well as numerous other notable historical activities and events pertaining to the Marines.
   
   The major emphasis is placed on brief accounts of notable Marines of the past, many who should be more well-known than they are today. Read about Marines who achieved valorous actions on the battlefield, most often against numerically superior, heavily fortified opponents. Marines who aggressively went forth, often completely alone, caused considerable destruction to enemy personnel. You will also learn of the many Marines whose leadership and innovation made the Marine Corps what it is today.
   
   Not every personality mentioned within this book is a Medal of Honor recipient, but they are all highly significant in their own manner. Indeed, we must realize, that for every man whose great deeds were recognized, there are scores more who have achieved just as much or greater, ...whose contribution will never be known. Sometimes no one was there to witness their heroic action. Sometimes no one else survived the action. Some of these worthy individuals fought and died alone, single-handedly exacting a massive toll for their own lives. Some of them are still with us...but are too humble to tell us anything.
   
   Semper Fidelis



3. I concur with previous comments that much of the book addresses aspects other than Marine Corps Medal of Honor RECIPIENTS (emphasis added.) In scanning the volume I found little new, other than the surprising revelation that naval aviators flew Bell P-39s. That's the result of incompetent research and editing. Otherwise, a decent primer on the subject.



4. Anyone who is a Marine or is an unwavering supporter will probably love this book. Those who are not quite so predisposed will probably be somewhat underwhelmed.

   In the places where the author focusses on a particular individual and describes what he did, it is an interesting and stirring book that leaves you amazed at the bravery each Marine displays. The victories, tragedies, and horrors of war become clear, and while reading about their deeds, you come to realize just how incredible are these men who earn this medal.

   Unfortunately, the author spends too much time NOT writing about heroes.

   Although there are places where there is a lot of interesting detail about the actions of the medal-winner, all too often the text will have three paragraphs about a battle in general, and then literally have only one or two sentences about what the Marine did. Other places, the author simply lists names, saying something like "Other Marines who gave their lives to save fellow Marines during the battle were..." and reels off 8 or 10 names.

   There is a lot of explanation about various wars and police actions and other activities. Indeed, the book really reads more like a history of the Marine Corps than a compilation of descriptions of the deeds of heroes. Although some of this is interesting and provides a useful context for the Marines' actions, it sometimes seems out of place and all too often wanders off into unwanted political opinions and judgements, or tangential ramblings that are distracting and even at times downright boring.

   For an experienced writer, the author also has some annoying habits that I was amazed to see the editors allow through. The author is in love with the words "butcher" and "slaughter." Nobody is ever killed in this book, they are butchered or slaughtered, sometimes both at the same time.

   After a while, the words lose their shock value and meaning, and actually denigrates the seriousness of the situation. I'll agree that killing all 700 Japanese soldiers attacking your position is a slaughter, and when people are killed in their tents during a surprise attack to the rear of the action it's butchering, but when 50 out of 500 are killed during a day-long battle, "butchering" is hyperbole and annoying.

   I still think it's a good book. It should be required reading for every Marine. Anyone interested in the military or stirring stories of heroism will probably like this book.

   But be forewarned that the writing is uneven at best, the book covers a lot more territory than just telling the stories of heroes, and unfortunately it sadly shortchanges many of these heroes by failing to actually tell their stories.




5. Marc Cerasini has written an excellent history of the Marine Corps through the stories of the brave individuals who earned the Medal of Honor.

   Riveting reading. Stories of heroism, triumph, and tragedy set against the backdrop of our nation's various conflicts. We also learn about the history of the Corps and its traditions. Cerasini did a very thorough, comprehensive job. (Frankly, he does the subject right. Not like the Wallace Medal of Honor book, which covers only about 8 service people over ALL services in our ENTIRE military history--pretty quick and dirty approach.) In THIS book, Cerasini does the subject RIGHT. He covers the HUNDREDS of individuals who were awarded the medal, just in the Marine Corps alone. He covers the details of the conflicts in which they earned the medal and he puts those conflicts in context with our history. One small thing. You are awared the medal, you don't win it--so that title has GOT to be the publisher's wrong-headed choice because the author certainly knows his stuff. Anyway, other than that, if you know a Marine, this is one book or she is going to appreciate and enjoy. Again, a real tribute.