3 comments about First Marine Capture in Vietnam: A Biography of Donald G. Cook.

1. Long before the names and battles of Khe Sanh, Hue City, and Firebase Gloria were seared into America's consciousness, there were Marines and soldiers fighting, dying - and being captured - in Vietnam.
   
   First-time author Donald Price's brings back the terror and heartache of these times. Price's thoroughly-researched biography of Marine Col. Donald Cook blends the story of Cook's wounding and capture in December 1964 through his December 1967 death with interviews from several of the POW's imprisoned with him as well as the equally courageous story of his wife Laurette and her four small children.
   
   An advisor to the South Vietnamese Marines, Capt Cook was the first Marine captured by the Viet Cong. Unlike the American aviators shot down over North Vietnam and interned at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, Marines and soldiers captured in the south were normally locked inside small bamboo cages in small camps throughout the Mekong Delta. As opposed to the systematic and calculated isolated torture of Sen John McCain, Adm Jerimiah Denton, and others, life in the south consisted of slow starvation, disease, and simply trying to survive in an extremely harsh environment.
   
   Author Price - himself a highly decorated Marine officer from the Vietnam era - details the abject misery endured by Cook and his fellow captives. Given only starvation rations by disinterested guards who also withheld the few medicines to which they might have access, often made dying easier than attempting to survive another day. But drawing on his strength as a Roman Catholic and a Marine officer, Cook took charge of the other POW's in the camp, and did his best to give them the hope to stay alive.
   
   Through his three years of captivity, his family received only one letter from him. Her major source of comfort came from the Marine Corps, as then-commandant Gen Wallace Greene, Jr. contacted her personally and ensured she and her children were cared for to the best of the Marine Corps ability - indeed, they continued to receive the benefits commensurate with her husband's rank, as he was promoted twice `in absentia."
   
   Col Donald Cook is the only Marine ever to receive the Medal of Honor while being held prisoner of war, and Col Donald Price has written a story of honor - courage - commitment that encompasses the entire Cook family. Highly recommended !



2. Despite the ultimate fate of Don Cook known from the outset of the book, oddly I found myself "cheering" for his survival while a POW as if the story of his life was just a bad dream with a happy ending afterall. This is a masterful biography ripe for a movie.



3. Retired USMC Colonel Don Price's first book is a masterpiece of research into the life and mysterious death of Marine Colonel Donald Gilbert Cook. He was the first Marine to be captured by the Viet Cong in combat in South Vietnam, and was the only Marine ever awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism while a Prisoner of War. In his honor, the Navy launched the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG75) which maintains a motto of "Faith Without Fear" - an appropriate summation of Donald Cook's philosophy of living.
   
   Don Price masterfully portrays the misery and privations of Viet Cong jungle captivity. Slow starvation rations and deliberate withholding of medicines to combat jungle diseases made dying easier than attempting to survive another day in such hellish conditions. Two of Captain Cook's fellow prisoners were executed by their Viet Cong captors, and another died from the effects of malnutrition, kidney failure, and pneumonia. All the while, Captain Cook gave hope and inspiration to his fellow prisoners to keep alive, and selflessly gave up his meager rations to help his men survive another day.
   
   Over the years, released American prisoners had recommended Cook for the Medal of Honor for his heroism and untiring inspiration to keep them alive. President Carter approved the recommendation, but then declined to take fifteen minutes to present our nation's highest award for valor to the Cook family at a White House ceremony. Instead, a small but dignified ceremony was presided over by then Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Edward Hidalgo, at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes on May 16, 1980.
   
   This book is a terrific read, and strongly recommended for the USMC Commandant's Reading List. Additionally it is an inspiring story for all who serve in uniform as to the responsibilities of leadership in combat, and if captured to uphold every tenet of the Code of Conduct. It is one of the top three masterpieces of Vietnam POW/MIA histories in this reviewer's opinion.

3 comments about Hitler's Personal Pilot: The Life and Times of Hans Baur.

1. Any book that provides a first-hand look at Adolph Hitler during World War II is always appreciated. In the last few years we have seen a number of English translations of Germans books written by individuals such as Hitler's Air Force and Army adjutants and his personal secretary.
   
   "Hitler's Personal Pilot" is another well written and interesting work that adds to our knowledge of the German leader at war.
   
   It is clear from the very beginning of this book that Hans Baur thought very highly of Hitler. Only later in the book does he begin to have doubts about the Third Reich's ability to win the war of aggression the German unleashed on Europe and the world. Captured by the Red Army after Hitler commits suicide in Berlin, Baur suffers through a number of years in Soviet prisons before he is finally released. But, like too many Germans after the war, he refused to believe the Holocaust ever happened and carries his high regard for Hitler to the grave, telling his wife that the German leader was one of the greatest men in history.
   
   This statement attests to Hitler's ability to weave a spell over those that worked closely with him, despite the fact that in the waning days of the war, with defeat assured, he refused to release most of them from his service, ensuring their violent death.
   
   Author C.G. Sweeting manages to put Baur's views in the proper perspective, but he is at his best when writing about the various aircraft used to transport the Fuehrer and their development.
   
   This is thus a very interesting but disturbing book.



2. This is an interesting examination of the life of Hitler's pilot, Hans Baur. He lived to be well into his 90's and was a fascinating man who had unique access to the Fuehrer. Baur was in Russian captivity for 10 years and wrote his autobiography after being released in 1956; the book is the basis of much of the material here.

   Baur met Hitler in 1932 and began flying him at that time. He was part of the Obersalzberg inner circle, as well as the Berlin crowd, and he knew Eva Braun fairly well. He also begged Hitler in 1945 to allow him to fly him out of the Bunker, but Hitler told him he had to die in his nation's capital, not at his Bavarian vacation home!

   The book concentrates, naturally, on Baur's relationship with Hitler and others in the Nazi hierarchy. It is weaker on Baur's life post-1956, especially his years spent in retirement on the shores of a Bavarian lake. Still, for anyone with an interest in the inner workings of Hitler's entourage, this is an excellent book.




3. Hitler's Personal Pilot: The Life And Times Of Hans Baur is a fascinating, "insider's" account of the inner workings of Adolph Hitler's Nazi inner circle from the perspective of the only person that Hitler flew with through World War II. When the tide of war turned against the Germans, Hitler often turned to Hans Baur for advice about war policy and technical developments. Baur, blindly loyal to Hitler, was captured and imprisoned by the Soviets. Aviation historian C.G. Sweeting's Hitler's Personal Pilot is a superbly researched and written military biography that along with providing an informative picture of the air equipment used by the German air force of the time, also provides fresh and welcome insights and perspectives on the homicidal and suicidal men who were the principle architects behind the horrors of the Nazi regime and who led Germany to its destruction.

1 comments about Slade Cutter: Submarine Warrior.

1. This book depicts Captain Cutter's life very well. The book is not only about his heroic feats as a Captain in WWII, but in other areas of his life as well. In everything Captain Slade Cutter attempted he did it with integrity and passion.

1 comments about FLYING THE HUMP TO CHINA.

1. The author trained as a pilot in the US Airforce in WW2, qualified to fly transports and was assigned to fly "The Hump," the airlift route from India to China that kept Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang forces together with US aircraft based in China supplied and equipped. It's a fascinating and very personal account, written in 2004 when the author was in his eighties. The book includes over 150 b&w photo's, most of them taken by the author during the war. They make a fascinating inclusion in the book and again, give a very personal view of the war. They're generally not the sort of photo's that make it into your standard history books and for that alone, the price of the book is almost justified.
   
   The author gives a very personal account, the first half of the book focuses on the author's story and pays no real attention to the course of the war, the fronts, strategy etc, except in so far as it has an impact on the author. A good chunk of the second half provides an overview and a little bit of a history of the airlift, enough to give you a broad outline, but it's not a detailed study. The final couple of chapters is the authors autobiograhy up to the date of writing the book (2004 or thereabouts).
   
   Overall, I found it very interesting as a personal account. There were many such books written immediately after WW2, most of them long out of print now. It's good to see an account such as this published and available, it provides an interesting personal view of what it all looked like to the guys doing the grunt work during the war. Kudo's to the author for taking the time to write this account and have it published, giving all of us a little more insight into what the WW2 veterans went through.
   
   The book itself - well, the grammer is pretty person all (lol), seems there wasn;t a professional editor on this one - but it has a real authenticity and a raw edge to it that you don't get in the standard military histories. If you're a WW2 flying buff or interested in The Hump, this book is worth your while. If it's a chronicle of The Hump that you're looking for, don't bother. The author writes a bit about the history of the hump but it's not a historical study or anything close - there's other books that handle that aspect much better. A great read for all that and worth picking up if this is a subject that interests you - here's few enough of these personal accounts that this one is a valuable piece of history.

5 comments about Psychic Warrior: Inside the Cia's Stargate Program : The True Story of a Soldier's Espionage and Awakening.

1. I found the part about David's injured brain could actually benefit himself, atleast spiritually, crazy! it just makes you question what reality is. the only thing i wish this book had more of is how to do remote viewing and simply more RV sessions describing other worlds etc..



2. Very disappointing. The story of the actual work he did as a remote viewer was fascinating. The rest is dreck and casts doubt on the credibility of everything he writes.
   
   He plays the victim card with the Army, acting surprised that his superiors didn't want him to publicize details about his highly classified duties.
   
   The reader is left to wonder how much of his experience he distorts or omits. For example, he conveniently forgets to mention his apparently romantic relationship with a subordinate until it comes up in the investigation the Army conducts against him, then tries to justify it.
   
   He also is inconsistent. He writes about how unhappy he was in his assignment after Stargate, then about how he curses at the person who calls him out of the blue to offer him a job back at Stargate.
   
   He comes across as an undisciplined narcissist who sacrifices his career and family life for his own selfish gain. It is evident why he is an outcast in the military's remote viewing community.



3. This book is a waste of time, because all non-practical stories, and lack of facts. Very tiring reading.



4. I bought this for my husband for Christmas. He started the book and within a couple of days he was finished and concluded by saying YOU'VE GOTTA READ THIS ! Which he rarely recommends anything.



5. This book was impossible to put down. Morehouse tells his incredible story in such a down-to-earth manner that you feel like he is right there talking to you. And because of what he is telling you about remote viewing and his experiences "in the ether" you, you can't help but get chills up your spine! As a fellow military officer, I was equally as interested in reading about the military's reaction to Morehouse's story, and was shocked to read the depths to which the intelligence community went to keep Morehouse from going public with his information. An absolutely incredible personal account that you will NOT be able to forget. Very highly recommended!

5 comments about Hard to Forget : An American with the Mobile Guerrilla Force in Vietnam.

1. Good news first; family, friends, and non-military should really like this book. Others like myself who are retired military, served in Vietnam (Pilot 192nd AHC 68-69), and have written a book about this war might question this author's intent. After "Kill Me If You Can, You SOB" came out, I started reading every book about the Vietnam War I could get my hands on. So far about half of them have screamed out, "I want to be in the movies." This is one of those books.



2. Leave it up to the Special Forces to make a mountain out of a molehill. The Blackjack Operations were daily insertions of team into and out of the field. The entire time, only 8 teams managed to stay over night in the bush. The team that went to find the Blackbox, simply walked through War Zone D (Not the VC Secret Zone) and found the box, went to an lZ and were extracted. No POWs, no fighting into a enemy base camp, like this author writes. All the "war tales" arounds these operations are just that - Tales. This book is FICTION. Read the U.S. National Archives on what these men failed to do and they could not RON (Remain Over Night) because they were scared of the dark. Always back in before sundown with a lot of shadow shooting. The 54 enemy engagments the author claims is as bogus as Mexican water. Don't drink it and don't believe this book.

   For a more honest book on what and who dominated this AO (area of operation) in Vietnam, read Don C. Hall's book, 'I SERVED.' These 220 Lurps kicked some serious butt and these SF have been jealous of this unit since 1967 along with a string of other "marginal units that could perform well."
   Check out i-served.com




3. This a book that is a must read for anyone wanting to know what it was like in Nam. Being an Ex-Ranger this book put me right back in there. I just couldn't put it down. It made me laught,and cry. yes us Rangers do cry, for the lost of a friend.

   Roadrunner 6 out




4. I have read ,HARD TO FORGET, The book captures the smell of damp vegetation rotten in the jungle, the sweat burning your eyes, the rucksack straps digging into your shoulders and that ever-lasting ache, on your hips, from the the burden of the pistol belt. The apprehension and fear, of a too quiet jungle, resurface in your mind. Your heart beating so loud, you think, everyone hears it. The hunter waiting to become the hunted. To the men who fought in Vietnam, "HARD TO FORGET". will bring the memories, flooding back. The good memories along with the bad.The book also deals with the effects of the war on the men who fought it. The book shows the beauty of America along with her warts. One point the author makes is, Soldiers do not fight wars by mistake. Soldiers fight wars because of mistake by politicians. In the end only soldiers and their families pay the piper. "HARD TO FORGET"



5. When I picked up this book for the first time I did not put the book down until I had finished the book. Steve and I met for the 1st time in 1966, I was an O&I spec4 working in S-2 in Bien Hoa and had known Col Bo Gritz he was Steve,s CO at the time and it was my job to provide MAPS and AO,s to A-301 and A-302 when they were at Bien Hoa. Years later at my 2nd reunion I met up with Steve at our Ft Bragg reunion and was proud to have known and served in SF with him. The book put me back 34 years and I remember the Black box incident and the unit being recognized for a job well done by Gen Westmoreland. Thanks for letting me know you Steve and May God Bless and watch over you and yours. Sincerely yours your brother John J Coppinger

5 comments about Lee's Tarnished Lieutenant: James Longstreet and His Place in Southern History.

1. This biography and the one by Jeffrey Wert must be considered as one of the two best works on the life of General James Longstreet. William Piston's work came first so he get the credit for turning the tide for James Longstreet who have long been a goat and villain of the Lost Cause of Confederacy. Piston proves to be a good writer, fair and honest about Longstreet. The controversy that surround this general are treated with a sympathic outlook, realizing that perhaps, Longstreet was too honest and blunt for his own good during the time and period he was alive. Longstreet made many errors during the war and he did many great things as well. His major mistake was telling the south after the war that Lee did the same thing. I think if the reader read both Piston and Wert's biographies, he got Longstreet pretty well covered.



2. William Piston has written a fine, highly readable, and fair-minded but sympathetic biography of one of the most controversial leaders of the Civil War. While Lee himself held Longstreet in the highest regard and made the dependable Longstreet his senior subordinate and commander of his First Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia, the stubborn South Carolinian found his reputation tarnished after the war by jealous military rivals who disliked Longstreet's politics and resented his criticisms of some of Lee's command decisions.

   As a military biography, this work offers a fairly comprehensive and balanced treatment of Longstreet's career that effectively demolishes some of the more unfair criticisms of Longstreet as a commander, and in particular takes apart the myth (that emerged in post-war controversy) that Jackson, not Longstreet, had been the senior commander in whom Lee had placed his most reliance and trust (although for a more critical, but still balanced and highly useful analysis of Longstreet's military record, see Jeffrey Wert's biography of Longstreet).

   Reading Piston's book will demonstrate why Lee described Longstreet as "my Old War Horse," and why Longstreet was widely regarded on both sides as one of the very finest -- if not THE finest -- corps commanders of the war. Piston also does a nice job of disentangling the post-war Gettysburg controversy, which emerged out of polemics over Reconstruction politics and the bickering among former Confederate generals anxious to rescue their own reputations while putting Robert E. Lee above any criticism.

   Lee, of course, was a great commander, but he never pretended to be perfect, and Longstreet, in daring to criticize certain aspects of Lee's tactical operations, became a threat to a post-war mythology, the cult of Lee, that became so important in building a post-war, Solid Democratic South and white supremacist post-Confederate Southern identity. As Piston demonstrates, the post-war Lost Cause mythology, in deifying the defeated Lee, required a scapegoat, a "Judas", upon whom the blame for defeat and humiliation could be heaped. As both Jackson and Stuart had been killed during the war, and as most western Confederate commanders lacked the prominence to serve this function, Longstreet emerged for unreconstructed Confederates as the bete noir of Southern military history, both for his post-war Republican politics and his criticisms of Lee, his actual war record and relationship with Lee notwithstanding.

   And in this post-war Lost Cause narrative, Gettysburg became the critical key or turning point upon which all else hinged, as though the outcome of a thousand campaigns mobilizing millions of men, fought over five years across a vast continent, could be reduced to one afternoon on one bloody field in Pennsylvania, or as though (even if that had been true) Longstreet alone could be blamed for Lee's failure at Gettysburg. It is the politics of Reconstruction and Longstreet's place in that political struggle, that largely shaped what became the dominant Southern narrative about the battle of Gettysburg, and the meaning of that defeat in the larger destruction and humiliation of the Confederacy. Piston's treatment of this issue, and his discussion of the evolution of Lost Cause historiography, is brilliant, and deserves attention not only from those interested in the Civil War and Reconstruction, but from those interested in the relationship between politics, historical memory, the historical record, and the writing of history.




3. This is a very objective and informative book on General Longstreet who, had he died at the battle of the Wilderness instead of surviving his very severe wounds, may have had a monument on Monument Ave. in Richmond in spite of not being a Virginian. Longstreet fought all the major campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Manasas up to the Wilderness returning after a recovering from severe wounds to command the Richmond theater during the siege and the final stages of the war. Piston points out well that Longstreet was a steady hand for Lee as he called him my "Old War Horse". Enlightened in that he thought of the war in broad strategic fashion suggesting using the railroad and interior lines to reinforce the west with eastern soldiers and he even offered to go himself which he did in time for the battle of Chickamaugua. Longstreet's role in Gettysburg is well discussed particularly the Lost Cause syndrome led by Jubal Early who pins the entire war on Longstreet at Gettysburg. Ironically, Early's original memoirs make no mention of any criticisms of Longstreet until after Lee's death when Early finds a niche to match his abrasive leadership style. Often critics suggest that Longstreet failed in Suffolk, Knoxville and East Tennessee; however, Piston notes that in Suffolk and Knoxville he was laying siege to forces equal or larger than his own that stayed within their works. The attack at Fort Sanders was a severe failure and in the East Tennessee campaign Longstreet performs well but the low point was Longstreet's dealing with personnel in difficult circumstances. Piston demonstrates how Davis micromanaged when he writes of Davis' interference with Longstreet personnel issues. Impressive that after his wounding Longstreet returns for any command that Lee will give him. Piston quickly covers Longstreet's post war career as a businessman, a republican who enters Louisiana's controversial political scene, leads the Police on horseback against a mob only to be attacked himself, his Republican connections and maneuvering for political plum jobs and his final days as a hotel owner and vineyard grower in lovely Gainesville, Georgia. Longstreet's post war writings are covered which had Longstreet been more accurate in his views or memories, his legacy may have stood taller and less challenged.
   His criticisms of some of Lee's decisions and turning Republican cost him dearly in the south but he steadfastly refused to change to suit others. The most endearing part of the book is Piston's telling of Longstreet and Dan Sickles after a joyous round of spirits, they walk each other repeatedly back to each others door refusing to end the night of the two most controversial generals who were at Gettysburg.



4. Piston's book is the first modern account of the first soldier of the Confederacy. Controversial both during and after the war, James Longstreet is one of the most fascinating and forgotten figures in American history. Second in command of the Army of Northern Virginia, Longstreet was the only senior officer who was with that army from the first battle at Manassas to the surrender at Appomattox. He was in command of the most famous attack in American history, Pickett's Charge. His most notable victories included Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, and the Wilderness. After the war, he did several things considered unpardonable sins by most Southerners, some of whom still cannot forgive him to this day. First, he dared to criticize Robert E. Lee and his conduct of the battle of Gettysburg. Second, he reconciled with his conquerors, became a Republican, and accepted appointive federal offices from four out of the next six presidents of the United States, including President Grant, to whom he was related by marriage. Even worse, he became a Catholic in a staunchly Protestant South. Most important of all, he promoted a doctrine of racial reconciliation that is as relevant today as it was 135 years ago.



5. "Longstreet is the one Rebel general who's memory hasn't been romanticized." Yikes. That "who's" deserves grammatical capital punishment.

3 comments about Lincoln's Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut.

1. James Duffy's biography on Admiral David Farragut proves to be interesting and easy to read. The book basically summarized Farragut's career without going into great details. The book deals more or less with Farragut's military career with few insights to his personal life. The book gives a pretty clear understanding of Farragut's role in the Civil War and the amazing amount of the time he spent on the Mississippi River after capturing New Orleans. His pet project of taking Mobile had to wait two years. The book was also reflective in revealing his relationship he had with his stepbrother, Admiral David Dixon Porter, another famed Union naval leader. The author believes that Porter was quite jealous of Farragut and tried his utmost to undermined him.
   
   If there was a singular weakness, the book doesn't covered much about Farragut's life during the peace time but then, the subtitle of the book is "Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut" so that where the main focus remains.
   
   Overall, I found this book to be pretty well researched, well written and easy to read. Its easy to introduced this book as a nice introductionary book on the career of Farragut and no doubt, helped put him among the great seamen of our nation's history.



2. I was not sure whether I wanted to read a biography of Farragut after having read Loyall Farragut's biography of his father, but I enjoyed Duffy's book. He does not blindly glorify Farragut's memory, but clearly shows why David Farragut's long career in the Navy and perceptive intellect made him one of the most effective military leaders during the Civil War. Duffy is also one of the few authors/historians to portray Adm. David Dixon Porter in a negative light by shedding light on Porter's attempts to upstage and undermine Farragut's accomplishments via his connections in Washington.



3. I read this book when it was first published in 1997 and although I had never heard of Admiral David Farragut I had heard "Damn the torpedoes..." from some where (I'm an Australian!). I found this book to be a very easy to read biography of a very interesting man. I have very limited knowledge of naval matters (I was a grunt) but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable to read and the battle scenes were vivid and easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anybody who has an interest in the American Civil War.

5 comments about Becoming Eichmann: Rethinking the Life, Crimes, and Trial of a "Desk Murderer".

1. Since the recognition that Adolph Eichman played a leading role in the Holocaust there has been a debate about his true role and the meaning of it. One group has spoken of him as a mindless, dull bureaucrat, who followed his orders and was part of a tyrannical Nazi regime. Another group has tried to show that he had intent and hatred in his efforts to destroy the Jews of Europe. This book seeks not only to blend this scholarship but to re-examine the evidence for his crimes and ask the question `to what degree was Eichman responsible as a person and not as a bureaucrat?' In other words this is a critique of Arendt'sEichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Penguin Classics) or the The Specialist - Portrait of a Modern Criminal This is a new and interesting biography of the man who was personally responsible for the destruction of the Jews throughout Europe from Hungary to Greece and the Netherlands. Eichmann had a zeal for organizing death.
   Much has been made of he learned Hebrew and studied Jewish history. Others have shown that he was not a personally brutal individual. But this work seeks to show the degree to which he was personally involved in the final solution, above and beyond his following `orders.' A very interesting and necessary contribution to our understanding of the Holocaust.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



2. Great job on researching the early life of Eichmann. Here is a man with no conscience who was willing to become a killer because of the elite status he obtained by doing so. He was a person who thought he could escape Germany and put it all behind him. I couldn't tell from the book if Eichmann ever regretted his role but it was clear he regretted getting caught.



3. The first half of the book is rather dull: a dry account of Eichmann's climb through the ranks of the SD and the SS. It gets more interesting after the point of Eichmann's flight to Argentina. There's a certain twisted romanticism when it comes to the Nazis who fled to South America and went underground. Kidnapped and taken to Israel, Eichmann awaits trial. This trial takes up most of the second half of the book. Since I'm a lawyer, the legalisms may appeal more to me than to other readers but, even so, the narrative does drag at points.
   
   Overall, the book is pretty good. What is, perhaps, most striking is just how "normal" Eichmann was. In many ways, he seemed a typical middle-class Austrian bureaucrat. He didn't seem to have the personal oddities of Rohm, Hess, Himmler, and the others. This "normalcy" makes Eichmann more interesting in the sense that he demonstrated how easily one can pass beyond the pale of human decency. Making these people into "monsters" de-historicizes them and, I think, belittles their crimes and their victims.
   
   Happily, this author chose not to sensationalize his subject.



4. The problem with all books dealing with evil people is that they begin with the assumption of exceptionalism: that the mass murderer is an exception. The 20th Century, if not all recorded history, should have taught us that this is not so. The Mongols Ghengis Khan led in their slaughters were no more inherently evil than Eichmann or the Soviet executioner who won an award for shooting several thousand people in a few days.
   
   Cesarani does a good job of presenting Eichmann as an ordinary man seeking advancement and prestige within a society that saw nothing wrong with murdering millions. Hannah Arendt's characterization of Eichmann as a dim-wit was nothing but an intellectual's refusal to acknowledge that the Germans in their bloodlust were no different than the Soviets, Communist Chinese or other societies that considered murder and enslavement a normal part of the exercise of power. (It should be remembered that Stalin and Mao each murdered more of their own citizens than the total of all murdered by the Germans. Stalin and Mao also enslaved hundreds of millions more people than the Germans. These have always been inconvenient facts for left-leaning intellectuals to deal with, thus their propensity to attempt rendering the German experience as unique.)
   
   Cesarani traces every aspect of Eichmann's life, sometimes to the point of dullness. The ultimate story is that Eichmann wasn't any different than any of his peers in Germany, the Soviet Union or what would become Communist China. In Germany, it is estimated that about 500,000 people were at one time or another in the extermination of Jews and other groups, not counting their Ukrainian, Polish, French and other European helpers. Eichmann held an important position in this apparatus, organizing and administering much of the system that gathered and delivered Jewish victims to the place the Germans had designated for their cruel deaths.
   
   Cesarani successfully "humanizes" Eichmann as a man who could spend his work hours plotting the deliberate enslavement and murder of millions simply because they were Jewish and literally go home to be a typical husband and father. It is that part of Eichmann and nearly all the other state-sanctioned murderers like him through the ages that is so disturbing. To them, slaving and murder was an ordinary part of their lives. For many today, it still is: just look at the recent experience in the Balkans, the Sudan and elsewhere.
   
   The ultimate repugnancy of Eichmann is that he was the exception in that he was tried and hanged. Of the estimated 500,000 Germans who are estimated to have participated in the murder of the Jews, very few were punished. Most went on to live the normal lives their victims were denied. The same is true of the killers in the former Soviet Union, China and elsewhere in the 20th Century. Such crimes and the criminals who commit them are too easily forgotten. Cesarani is to be congratulated for once again reminding us that ordinary men and women can embody the most horrible evil.
   
   Jerry



5. Studying the motivations of those who actively participated in the Holocaust and trying to understand them is no easy task. There have been many attempts to do so ranging from a simplistic 'they must have been monsters' view to 'they were victims of their circumstances'. But neither captures the true complexity of interacting causes of any one person's behaviour nor the slippery-slope aspect of increasing brutalisation through participation. Sadly for humanity's peace of mind, there is probably no simple explanation for why anyone actively participates in genocide - if there were we should have been able to prevent its regular reccurence since 1945. However, David Cesarani goes a long way to reaching the most balanced view I've yet read to date.
   
   The book assumes that you are reasonably familiar with the facts and chronology so a novice of the era would probably struggle to keep up with the narrative. Cesarani takes you through Eichmann's life until his kidnapping by Israeli agents in Argentina at a fair pace, occasionally skimming events that you might have wanted covered in greater detail. But this is not a book about what happened - it's looking at Eichmann the man, and so the author rightly (in my view) does not dwell on the untold misery and horror that he inflicted from afar (and witnessed on occasion at close quarters) on millions of innocent people. He then goes through his trial in Israel in great detail giving as much attention to the trial as to Eichmann himself. It becomes clear that the trial needed to serve the interests of the State just as much as the interests of Justice, but nevertheless, the verdict is no surprise to anyone except perhaps Eichmann himself. And here lies the clue to the real man within. Eichmann lived a life so full of self-delusion for so long that he found it impossible to separate the spark of real humanity left within his corrupted soul from all the conceited self-justifications, lies, propaganda and, ultimately, anti-semitism that had so taken over his life and his sense of Self.
   
   The book ends by assessing Eichmann's impact on history and the debate over the Nazi Final Solution. He takes time to argue against Hannah Arendt's views as expounded in her book of the trial (The Banality of Evil), claiming she was only interested in pushing her personal theory, and because of the huge publicity she achieved, how she warped the ongoing debate. This book certainly addresses this and puts Eichmann back into a more balanced, and in my view, more realistic place.
   
   Cesarani leaves you with a view that although Eichmann was made by his circumstances (he could never have become a genocidaire without Hitler's Nazi state), he was ultimately personally responsible for allowing himself to be sucked into the machinery of genocide. In other words, Eichmann started out as normal a person as you or I, but he chose the path he trod - and, quite rightly, his end was that reserved for a monster.

4 comments about Adolf Galland: The Authorised Biography.

1. This is every school-boy's hero book. For those of you that don't know the name, the late Adolf Galland was the Luftwaffe's most famous World War II fighter pilot. Grining roguishley from the front cover, the story within however, is much more than an account of Spitfire and Messerschmitt air-to-air victories. Once into the fairly intense writing style, the chapters within give a fascinating insight into the Wehrmacht's grand battle plans for the conquest of Europe, Asia and Africa. The Luftwaffe was a higly trained and disciplined fighting force which commanded great loyalty amongst its personnel. Unfortunately this valuable asset was almost totally let down by the high command's basic misunderstanding of modern aerial warfare and its inability to adapt from 'Blitzkrieg' tactics to a war of attrition, strategic bombing and fighter defence. Galland often bashed his head against brick walls put up by dillentante members of his senior command, most notably Herman Goering.! This autobiography relates strategic thinking as well as the day-to-day reality of a front line fighter unit. Galland himself was a genuine flying fanatic who was always restless when away from aeroplanes. He was also a lady's man, i.e. a typical pilot. A great read.



2. This history is something that should never be lost. Men like Gen. Adolf Galland are far and few, many lessons on strife, integrity, character, can be learned from his life. Not only do you learn about the man, but you also learn about a time in history that is constantly under attack and threatened with revision. This books tells the story the way that it happened. A must have book for any serious collector or historian.



3. I found that the book described Adolf Galland's life exceptionally well, however early in the book, it tended to become bogged down with technical details of the air battles and unit formations that tended to drift from the main topic -being Adolf Galland. It was also interesting to see how he maintained his relationships with his fellow pilots during and after the war




4. This was a very excellent biography about a man who may well have been the greatest fighter pilot of the Second World War. The book tells the story of Adolf Galland's life from his birth in 1912 to his death in 1996. As would be expected the books focuses primarily on Galland's activities in WWII as a German pilot first in the Spanish Civil War and follows his amazing career through his promotion to Inspector General of German Fighter Forces and his work with the Jet "Squadron of Experts" JV-44.

   The book is well written and instead of focusing solely on Galland, does a good job of explaining what was going on during the war and how Galland fit in to the course of events. It was very interesting reading and is a must for any serious student of World War Two aviation history.

   I am convinced that Adolf Galland was probably one of the most principled and honorable men I have read about. Although he fought on the side of the side of the Nazi's, he fought for his homeland not Hilter and was a hero in the truest sense of the word