1 comments about The G Stands for Guts.

1. This book relates what transpired during WWII. The story is riveting and you want to keep reading to see the outcome of each dangerous situation.
   You feel the author is personally relating the events and I felt compassion for his safety. I recommend it excellent reading for all pilots who may have similiar challenges.

3 comments about Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar (P.S.).

1. For anyone who loves 'Master and Commander' or 'Hornblower' with their tales of heroism on the high seas, this is a must buy. Unlike other naval history books, this one delves into the psychological makeup of the men who became heroes at Trafalgar. Revealing the strange, heady mixture of millennial, end of the world violence, love, humanity and duty, this book is full of the authentic voices of the time and reads like an adventure. If only all history was this enticing!
   
   Review by Alex Beecroft, author of Captain's Surrender



2. Real human history is not only stranger than fiction. It can also be made to read better than fiction. Writers of real history surround their readers with a sense of how people thought and acted in the era they write about, and how different that can be from modern ways of thinking. Real historians make history exciting. Adam Nicolson is a real historian. "Seize the Fire" is exciting and genuine history.



3. Seize this book! It is fascinating and so well written. It is not just a description of the battle. The reader learns so much about the history and culture of England, France and Spain and also about the psychology of men who go to battle. Nicolson is an excellent writer!

4 comments about Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident.

1. When I ordered this paper back I thought it would a used copy of this book. When it arrived it was a brand new book. So now I have a very nice copy for my Library. Amazon was a pleasure to do business with.



2. This book is certainly a must have for the Cold War, Military Aviation and Spy afficionados out there! While the authors did their best to make the most of what little details Powers did/could provide them - especially about the actual missions he flew for the CIA - they failed to do justice to the historical significance of the event. Powers' actual flights and missions in the U-2 are not discussed in great detail (they never even mention the plane's actual altitude, there are no details about the U-2 except for some hearsay info on its imagined structural integrity (or lack thereof), and they assigned less than a page to discuss the other "special missions"), and there are very few details about the mission the book was actually written about. What you will nevertheless be able to read in detail about are his time spent in Russian prisons, the KGB interrogations, or his kind Latvian roomate Zigurd in Vladimir prison. The final section of the book is spent on the well-justified trashing of the CIA (afterall they gave him the shaft the same way NASA did to the Apollo 13 crew), and Powers provides some great insights into the personal dealings of the Agency. Reading it today, Powers' observations were way ahead of their time! You'll appreciate Powers Jr's epilogue that puts the entire book in perspective. Overall it is a great book, the only first-hand account of the U-2 incident you'll ever have, and as a matter of fact, I'll go and read it again!



3. The Flt of the U-2 is a most inspiring book. I sat on the edge of my seat while reading it and finished it in one sitting wishing there was more to read, but happy that the Russians got their "just day in court" and finally Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for Rudolph Abel. Such a high flying plane, to be shot out of the skies, is unreal to me - what went wrong? No matter what Powers' wrote, we will never know the complete truth, will we? Thank God he came home safe, as he *almost* gave his life for his country. A well done book and may he rest in peace as his son recounts his father's service to his country. God Bless. Trish Schiesser, whose brother SSGT Phil Noland served in the USAFSecurity Service during the time Powers took off and went missing in Russia.
   A fine, well written book. I am glad it is out again.



4. Enjoyed it immensely. A hard to put down, revealing look at this historical, military, political event of the 1960's. Covering some of Power's CIA training, U2 overflights, downing & capture, Russian trial(farse), imprisonment, possible Oswald & other defectors connection to the U2 shoot down, repatriation through a trade of a pro Russian, US held spy and some of Power's life afterwards.

2 comments about Where the Ashes Are: The Odyssey of a Vietnamese Family.

1. I listened to Nguyen Qui Duc's long running radio show "Pacific Time" for its 7 year run and was heart broken during its close. Researching more about the host of this show, I realized he wrote a series of poems, stories, and hosted several literary events. I immediately scoured the web to find a copy of this book and managed to get an autographed one through Amazon.
   
   Having grown up in America with a very traditional family while living in a Westernized environment, I often felt the tug between the two worlds. Although I do retain a lot of the traditional side of things, it was always difficult for me to relate to the old stories that my parents always told.
   
   Although I still have very different views from my parents and grandparents, Duc's ability to articulate much of what I have felt my whole life but never yet able to express and has made my journey to find myself easier.



2. The author, having grown up in an uppler-class family with aristocratic scholarly roots in the central region, thus gives another perspecitve to the Vietnam experience. His father, Nguyen Vän -Dãi (pen name Hoàng Liên), was a high-ranking civil servant who oversaw the central region from his office in Danang. During the Tet Offensive of 1968 in Hue, where the family had come to visit the author's grandparents, the father was taken away by the communists. Transferred from one prison camp to another for twelve years, he was finally released and reunited with his wife who had stayed behind in Vietnam to care for their mentally-ill daughter, who eventually died. The author, who had left VN in 75 at seventeen, was reunited with his parents in 1984. In 1989, the author returned to Vietnam on a radio assignment, and only in the last chapter before the epilogue does he tell of his visit. The book is more about the story of his family from 1968 onward than a personal memoir. The writing is direct, not sentimental, rough at times, but always expressive of compassion for Vietnam and its people. His love for the land of his birth allows him to be objective against the opposing political viewpoints that are expressed ironically all in the name of "loving the country." Though he is grateful to be live in the land of opportunity, he maintains a wariness of the excessiveness, cold routine, and "green-lawn" conformity of American society. In the epilogue he writes: "I know that my notions of my homeland are romanticized. But I am also aware of the difficulties I would face if I were to return to live and work in Vietnam. And yet, how could I not yearn for the open and gracious ways of the Vietnamese, from city folks to villagers, who smile and share with me everything from food to time and wisdom? How could I not be drawn to a people whose foremost quality is their ability to sustain unceasing hardship and loss, all the while retaining hope and faith and dignity? How could I not be drawn to a people whose dark-humored cynicism can also easily blossom into radiant innocent? How could I not be drawn to a people who can easily laugh in the midst of their own misery? I miss it all so deeply, and I want it all back, yet I know that going home and staying there is nearly impossible." He closes with, "Perhaps I will come to accept life in America. In the end, it is imperfect, and it will always remain so, for to me it is not home. But it will be the place where my parents have found a home, and the place where my parents were given back to me. As for Vietnam--perhaps I should be content that it may one day be the home of my children. It may be they who, in the future, will welcome me back there. And they will know, they will know, to bring my ashes home." This last wish of his is probably futile, but I can share in his feelings about his predicament: always longing for Vietnam yet knowing one can never live there but always feeling that the US is not one's true home. One exists in a floating exile-like state, not self-imposed or politically-imposed, but imposed by the circumstance.

5 comments about JUMP: INTO THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: The War Memories of Dwayne Burns Communications Sergeant-508th P.I.R..

1. After the world wide attention for the 101st this is a welcome addition to airborne warfare in WWII



2. This is a very well written book b y a man who was there. Telling the personal story of Leland Burns' travels thru F Co of the 508PIR, Jump Into the Valley of the Shadow is a fine read. Factual and well thought out, it goes thru the gritty days of fighting that only a man who has lived thru it can tell you. But it also goes over the softer, more human side of his time overseas in an in-depth and honest way.
   From his personal accounts of his courtship with his wife, to his time in England with both new and old friends, the book is made better by the fact that these are all REAL people that actually existed (and in many cases are still living) that makes this a truly special book to have.



3. This book starts out with the author staring out the open door of a C-47 on the night of June 5, 1944 and realizing that it was now too late to join the motor pool or become a cook. Like a lot of other youngsters, when he was drafted into the Army he decided that he wanted to be with America's best, and that was the paratroopers.
   
   I was glad to see this boook. There has been a lot written about the 101st in recent years and their defense at Bastogne including 'Band of Brothers,' the movie 'Battleground' and a bunch more. Much less well known is the action of the 82nd to hold the north shoulder and prevent the Germans from having more roads to use for their advance. Burns was there. He doesn't tell the big picture - there are a lot of books on the Battle of the Bulge. He tells his story from the bottom side. It looked different from a foxhole.
   
   The book is told in the form of a bunch of little stories, not a day by day diary. This makes it much more interesting, and I recommend it highly.



4. OK! This is one man's story about the "Oh Eight" the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (P.I.R.), 2nd Bn, Fox Co. Mr Burns jumped into France, Operation Neptune (D-Day) and Market-Garden (Holland) two jump stars earned the hard way. There are a lot of "soldiers stories" in the book, being with your buddies, goofing off, military life, as well as the stories about combat. Books like these put a human face on anonymous mens faces of black and white photos taken 60+ years ago. It shows they were pretty much the same as most young men, full of life and hopes and dreams, except their lives were forged in the fires of the Depression. It is a good read and a page turner, there are "flashback" type parts of the book, that may disagree with some readers. But I was most humbled and impressed by his story and the stories of other men I have met, ironically from Easy Co. 508th PIR, Mr Burns' sister Co to his own Fox Co. I am glad some of these men have told their story, because too many never have or got the chance to live long enough to. Thier story is told by rows of silent crosses in France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and a thousand other lonely places where American boys fought and died. Read this book if you want to know the story of one man's journey through a pivotal time in human history.



5. I highly recommend this book. Dwayne Burns brings to life his memories from elite training as a paratrooper to his feelings and emotions of actually going into combat. Along the way, he shares his personal life stories and how all of this shaped the person he was to became. The incredible bond that paratroopers have which started in their training and lasts to this day is very inspiring. Reading this book reinforced my genuine thanks to these men that "Jumped Into the Valley of the Shadow" along with the rest of the "Greatest Generation" that helped bring peace back to this world in the uncertain time of WWII.

2 comments about Quest For Survival.

1. Very enjoyable, amazing life. A good read if you want to be inspired.



2. A True inspiration to anyone wanting to suceed in life. This is a gripping story of one man's life, and his quest to just survive. He had the same bad luck as the ordinary guy, yet he managed to pull through time an time again. The book is filled with story after story that we can all relate to, while at the same time giving you the unique peek "inside of history" in the making.

3 comments about Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative Accounts Of The Minnesota Indian War Of 1863.

1. A number of years ago, I was privileged to take an Internet class on the Dakota War of 1862 that was being taught by none other than Mr. Gary CLayton Anderson. After the course was over he took us to all the battle sites, trading posts, and places where treaties were signed. The good professor had a very great knack for evoking the visuals. That is a tendency that has carried over into his books. To write this book he has spent literally hundreds of hours combing through manuscripts, museum archives, and musty old books and newspapers in order to find first hand accounts of Minnesota's only Indian War. The results are absolutely stunning. The Dakota warriors and tribal chiefs who waged war on the whites come across not as peaceful children of nature or even as blood thirsty savages, but as men of flesh and blood. Although there are heroes and villains in this book, there are times when it is very difficult to tell them appart. At the same time as Chief Little Crow countenanced bloody massacres of women and children he secretly ordered his foster brother to save as many of them as he could. In addition, there were very few "hostile" Indians who didn't have some white people or Americanised Indians they desired to protect. Most of the people in this book seemed only interested in protecting their families and friends. One of the most sympathetic figures proves to be a Dakota "half breed" known as Joseph Coursolle or Hinhankaga, depending on which language you spoke. To Coursolle, after his daughters were taken prisoner by "hostiles," getting them back became his obsession, one understandable to any parent. The most fascinating thing about this book was that there were Indians who favored the whites and whites who favored the Indians. Coursolle, whose mother was Dakota, would go on to become a Corporal in the US Army, serving as a scout and a sniper against the men who had stolen his family. And among the "hostiles" hanged at Mankato was a white man who had been adopted into the Dakota Nation. In closing, this book reveals what happened in all it's complexities and brutal truth. History, no matter how hard one may try to change it to fit one's own politics, is so complex that even the characters you come to know intimately can still surprise you. No matter how hard some people may try, it cannot be pushed into a box. I am very much surpised that noone has tried optioning this book for TV or a movie. It would make a very powerful tale.



2. Historians discovered many years ago that oral history is a vibrant cornucopia of information. Even better, integrating oral history into traditional modes of inquiry opened up more chances for earning a Ph.D., or getting that career making book contract. In the case of "Through Dakota Eyes: Narrative Accounts of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862," oral history is the only game in town. Every selection in the book is an oral story from Indians or mixed-blood Indians about the disastrous uprising that killed hundreds of soldiers, settlers, and Indians. One of the editors of "Through Dakota Eyes" is none other than Gary Clayton Anderson, the premier scholar on Dakota history. As usual, Anderson goes above and beyond the call of duty in researching the narratives, providing background color on the people involved (and also providing information about what happened to these people after the uprising, something I greatly appreciated).

   For nearly a century after the uprising, articles and books concerning the 1862 war only used white narratives as sources of information. There is definitely nothing wrong with relying on these narratives; they are invaluable sources of information on the uprising. The white narratives also reveal the tragic dimensions of the conflict, showing how innocent men, women, and children died (or persevered) in especially brutal ways. With the addition of these Indian narratives, however, historians can now go inside the camps and meeting places of the Dakotas intimately involved in the conflict.

   The narratives are lumped into distinct categories dealing with different stages of the uprising. Each category then provides a succinct description of that particular phase of the war. With each narrative, the editors provide a small capsule of information on the person telling the story, allowing the reader to understand that person's place in the overall scheme of things. It is recommended to read the endnotes for each narrative, as they provide excellent information on each narrative. Excellent maps and pictures of many of the people involved also help the reader to understand the accounts.

   Some of the narratives are more helpful than others. A few are difficult to understand due to poor grammar or contradictory information. Several of the narratives appeared in newspaper articles or as testimony in a case against the government in 1901, and there is a possibility that someone altered or changed them as they saw fit. That does not mean there are not any "WOW!" moments found here. In Cecelia Campbell Stay's account of the attack on the Redwood Agency (also known as the Lower Agency, where the killing began in earnest on August 18th), Cecelia describes seeing the sunlight flashing on the bayonets of Captain Marsh's patrol as they headed to their doom at the ferry crossing. Another narrative, now widely used in accounts of the uprising, comes from Wowinape, the son of Little Crow (the leader of the warring Dakota). Battle narratives allow the reader to feel as though they are at Fort Ridgely, New Ulm, or Birch Coulee as the cannons roar and the bullets fly.

   As the editors point out, many of the mixed-blood Indian narratives identify a central tension of the conflict, namely the division between Indians who adopted white modes of civilization (the farmer Indians) and those who stayed true to traditional Indian values (the blanket Indians). Many of the mixed-blood Indians worked closely with whites; they feared the war parties of the traditionals just as much as whites did. As the war began to wind down, it was the mixed-bloods along with some full-blooded Indians who confronted the warring Indians, forcing these hostile forces to turn over their white captives in an effort to make peace with the military forces sweeping into the area.

   This is an absolutely essential book for anyone interested in the Minnesota 1862 uprising. Actually, anyone writing a paper on this conflict without using this book as a source could find themselves in hot water. Since the editors graciously organized the narratives in chronological order, there is no reason someone unfamiliar with the conflict and its principal figures would have any difficulty understanding the book. Gary Anderson and Alan Woolworth have made an important contribution to Indian scholarship with this impressive tome.




3. This book has some wonderful narratives from the very people who were caught up in the middle of the uprising in Minnesota in 1862. The author does a good job of explaining how the book is laid out. You definitely need to read the intro to understand this. While I was reading the book, I felt as though I was there in the middle of it with all those involved. I don't excuse what was done, but I have a better understanding of what horrors the indians went through that drove them to this place. I would definitely recommend this book.

No comments about Chief of Staff, Vol. 2: The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, World War II to Korea and Vietnam.

5 comments about George C. Marshall: The Rubrics of Leadership.

1. A great book for business leaders who want to apply the successful aspects of military leadership.



2. As a now retired business and appointed governmental execitive (and a former junior officer in the U. S. Army)I believe the Rubrics of Leadership to be one of the finest, best books on the subject of leadership of the many I have read over my career. The historical perspective in which the book reflects the life of General Marshall guides the reader through his learning evolution as moves into leadership positions with greater and greater responsibilities in the military, as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. The rubrics at the end of each chapter provide the reader with well writen leadership "rubrics" refective of the main points in the historical naritive. A good read and lessons that will enhance anyones leadership skills.
   
   I have donated copies to local college ROTC PMS and to my two sons who are senior leaders in their business affiliations.



3. Well written but tends to jump around Marshall's career to illustrate points rather than build chronologically.



4. Originally I picked this book up to assign to my ROTC students in my military history courses. However, the writing is so choppy and there are almost no transitions from one topic to the next that if one of my students handed in work like this I would make them an appointment at the writing lab. Anecdotes are left hanging with no conclusion and at times they are forced into the chapters with no apparent connections. This is not entirely the author's fault, his reviewers and editors either failed to point out these shortcomings or over looked them. Either way it makes this book impossible to read and take serious. To be fair I did only read half the book because I just could not force myself to go on.



5. Written by retired U.S. Army Reserve LTC and leadership teacher Stewart W. Husted, George C. Marshall: Rubrics of Leadership is not an ordinary biography of World War II legend George C. Marshall; the focus here is specifically upon the factor within him that made him a unique, exceptional, and supremely competent leader. Featuring a foreword by General J.H. Binford Peay, III and a prologue by General Colin Powell, George C. Marshall: Rubrics of Leadership examines Marshall's talent for managing and planning the impossible, how he built a winning team and maintained morale, transformed crisis into success, engaged in conflict resolution and negotiation, devoted his life to selfless service, and much more. An eye-opening portrait of Marshall's strengths and positive qualities, and especially his personal exemplification of the best in human leadership.

2 comments about Color Blind Justice: Albion Tourgee and the Quest for Racial Equality from the Civil War to Plessy v. Ferguson.

1. If you're interested in civil rights history, the Civil War or Reconstruction and you have never heard of Albion Tourgee, Mark Elliott's Color-Blind Justice is a must-read.
   
   Even if you know a lot about this period and Tourgee is a familiar name, this book will tell you much that you don't know and may dispel some myths popularized in other, lesser histories of the period.
   
   The book is deeply researched with lots of new details from the personal letters and papers of Tourgee, who in the post-Civil War period was nationally famous and had the ear of a striking number of important figures, including several U.S. presidents all the way up to Theodore Roosevelt.
   
   Tourgee is a great character. He was born of humble beginnings in northeast Ohio in a Christian family that were early white abolitionists who originally hailed from Massachusetts. He was one of the first wounded in the Civil War, run over by wagon and paralyzed, but remarkably he returned to action before the war's end. These early experiences and influnces shaped a world view that he held tightly to throughout his life in the turbulent post-war political debate.
   
   Deeply idealistic about the opportunity to remake a slavery-free south, Tourgee moves his family to North Carolina, one of the Radical Republican "carpetbaggers." But unlike many others who came from the north, Tourgee did not hope to profit or exploit the south for personal gain. He was inspired by the ideals of the Civil War as a fight for justice. He became a judge and a political leader, helping write much of the new North Carolina constitution. He adopted a mixed race child and hired blacks to work for his businesses.
   
   This attracted the attention of the early Ku Klux Klan, but Tourgee bravely refused to relent in the face of threats. Fascinatingly, he crossed paths with a young Thomas Dixon, even advising the future Klan leader kindly about his writing, only to later see Dixon become a force for evil in the south and a propaganda whiz who clouded public opinion by repeatedly challenging Tourgee's work. The infamous "Birth of a Nation" film that glorified the Klan mocks Tourgee in its early frames.
   
   Tourgee wrote in northern newspapers about the true nature of reconstruction, which had an undeservedly bad reputation in the north. After 16 years in North Carolina, he left discouraged and moved north. A novel based on his experience -- A Fool's Errand -- became a national best seller, dispelling many of the misconceptions about reconstruction, if only for a brief period.
   
   Now famous, Tourgee wrote articles prolifically and became a strong voice for civil rights, even founding a mixed race organization that was the pre-cursor to the NAACP.
   
   But there was little Tourgee could do to stem a political backlash, a national weariness of reconstruction and the problems of the south in the late 19th century. To his great frustration, northerner's largely stood by as the south reinstituted white supremecy through "Jim Crow" laws.
   
   In a final effort to defy this trend, Tourgee led the charge to challenge a Louisana law that forced racial separation on trains in what became the famous "Dred Scott" case. Tourgee was the lead counsel arguing brilliantly before the U.S, Supreme Court that the idea of segregation was an absurd state policy in clear violation of the Constitution.
   
   Dred Scott lost before the Supreme Court in a 7-1 decision that at the time was a devestating setback for civil rights. And a despondent Tourgee left the U.S. to live out his years and die and France. But over time the case became seen as one of the worst high court decisions of all time. Tourgee's arguments became the basis for challenges to segregation that ultimatley would triumph with Brown vs. Board of Education.
   
   There are other biographies of Tourgee. What makes this one unique is the detailed analysis of the evolution of his thinking about race, politics and social issues. Elliott adeptly shows how practical and political considerations sometimes shaped Tourgee's opinions and at other times thwarted him when he stood on principle.
   
   To understand the racial turmoil of the 20th century, and to better know nature of racial tension in America today, Tourgee's story is crucial and Elliott's book is instructive.



2. Albion Tourgee comes alive in this riveting biography, which emphasizes his role in the post Civil War era. It is a must read for any student of U.S. History.