1 comments about Dear Donna, It's Only 45 Hours from Bien Hoa: Stories from the Vietnam War.

1. Dear Donna It's only 45 Hours from Bien Hoa by Douglas Neralich is the gut-wrenching personal account of his year in Vietnam. An elementary school teacher turned Army medic, Douglas was only twenty-two when called to serve his country as part of the 36th Engineer Battalion, stations at Vinh Long, in Vietnam in 1970. The vignettes presented are both gripping and horrifying, sometimes gentle, sometimes cruel, and taken altogether form an unforgettable picture of the war in this engaging memoir. Enhanced with occasional pencil sketches, Dear Donna It's only 45 Hours from Bien Hoa is a welcome and recommended contribution to Vietnam Military History collections and reading lists.

2 comments about Clearing Vietnam: Anatomy of a U.S. Army Land Clearing Team.

1. A well written book by one of our heroes who was on the ground doing the job. As one who participated in Land Clearing, I can attest to the accuracy of book. Americans should learn about this important aspect of the Vietnam war.



2. The author gave a detailed account of his work in Vietnam providing a lot of insight into how the military has to do so much outside of the normal job of soldiering.

2 comments about Admiral Dan Gallery: The Life and Wit of a Navy Original.

1. This bio covered much of his early life, career and family that wasn't covered in Adm. Gallery's autobiography, Eight Bells. In writing about Adm. Dan's early life, Mr. Gilliand shows how he became the leader that he became. It delves into his defense of the post WWII navy against the politics of those who would have depleted our country of a means to secure the seas with anything less than nuclear deterance and how his continued defense of our Navy may have cost him further promotions. It touches on his struggle against alcoholism. Best of all, it shows how this hero handled the problems of his various commands in war and in peace. This was an excellent book.



2. THIS BOOK HAS BEEN LONG AWAITED FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE FANS OF ADMIRAL DANIEL V. GALLERY. IT FILLS IN THE MISSING PIECES FROM THE ADMIRAL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY FROM SO MANY YEARS AGO, AND GIVES US A BETTER LOOK AT THE MAN I AND MANY OTHERS HAVE COME TO ADMIRE OVER THE YEARS. EXCELLENT READING FOR ANYONE WHO HAS ENJOYED ANY OF ADMIRAL GALLERY'S BOOKS, BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU WHERE HIS INSPIRATION CAME FROM.

5 comments about Tattletale: A Two-Tour Vietnam Veteran's Combat Experiences on the Ground and in the Air.

1. Rarely, if ever, do we ever get to read two different views of how a war was fought from the same combat veteran. Author Charlie Palek's memoir "Tattletales: A Two Tour Vietnam Veteran's Combat Experiences on the Ground and in the Air" provides the reader a wonderful opportunity to see and feel how that war was for those who were engaged in fighting it. Not how some general saw the war but how the common solider lived through it all.
   
   I loved his book and how he tells his story by periodically using that old military axiom called "Murphy's Law." The author certainly has a wonderful sense of humor and does not take himself so serious. His portrait of his two tours of duty--one as a RTO (radio operator) humping the boonies and the paddies, to being a scout observer on a helicopter where he saw the war from tree top level: totally different and contrasting kinds of experiences and dangers. (The title of his book refers to having had these two military jobs; as RTO he told where the enemy was when they found or engaged with them; and as a scout it was his job to tell where the bad guys were at - thus he was a "Tattletale.")
   
   Palek captures the attention of the reader right from the beginning story with his interesting beginning that got me hooked, then made smile. His book is not a series of lectures, or written in some textbook style--it is more like he just "talks" to you about his time in Vietnam. His story is at times can be sad, funny, frightening, but always riveting. You will feel pulled into his life story as he unfolds it page by page. It took him 30 years to sit down and write it but it feels fresh like a first told tale from a returning solider back to the base camp. His writing style is relaxed and not formal. It is an easy read and one that will keep you turning pages until you have finished the entire book.
   
   The last section written by members of his family is a novel way to tell his total story. Through their own experiences and observations they share their emotions and comments--adding greater depth and some more understanding to the whole war experience as felt by those who lived through that time of our history.
   
   This book is given the MWSA TOP RATING - 5 STARS
   
   A MUST READ BOOK!



2. I was a pilot in the Apache Scouts and Charlie flew with me. His book is true and as real an account as can be written. This gives readers a good look at the s... we went through!



3. Highly recommended. Very well written and easy to read. Tattletale captivates you from the very beginning and does not let go. Not a blood and guts or brag story, but a well balanced and honest view of what is was like as a grunt humping the paddies and as an observer flying in a LOH with a bit of humor, sarcasm, and wit sprinkled throughout. This book is difficult to stop reading once started-it puts you right on scene. It also glances into the not often talked about ventures into Cambodia by American forces. Tattletale also mentions the conflict and its effects from a family at homeýs viewpoint. Do not less this one pass you by-it is first rate all the way!



4. The extensive review that is online was actually written by David Volz, feature writer for the Nashville News not by Charles Rusiewski as the title indicates. I only submitted the review which was so well done. I, too, own the book and have found it to be be outstanding. Tattletale takes one back to a period in our lives and Palek makes one relive those years as if were happening now. The book packs quite a punch and brings back emotions that were once put at peace. A tremendous job!



5. Charlie Palek knows military history may be written by generals and politicians, but the stories they tell are really about those who fought and died. Palek's book, "Tattletale," offers a no-holds-barred portrait of the joys and miseries of a combat soldier in the Vietnam War, in what he calls "a dark time in this country's history."

   Some 30 years after he came home from his second tour, Palek decided his experiences were worth recording. The reader can almost feel the oppressive heat and huymidity, smell the gun oil, sweat and burning flesh, hear the gunfire and screams, know the coppery taste of fear and see the horrible sights that become all too common in war.

   His brutally honest writing style, seasoned with humor, recounts his two combat tours in Viewnam during the height of the war and the part he played in two of the best known battles, the Tet Offensive and the incursion into Cambodia.

   His book also touches upon the anti-war protests, the incredibly inept government policies and the reactions of friends and family at home.

   Charlie found himself in the 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry of the 9th division and joined the Mobile Riverine Force. The outfit suffered an 80 percent casualty rate as they patrolled the Mekong Delta, south of Saigon. As a radio telephone operator (RTO), someone called him "tattletale" because it was his job "to tell on the enemy" when a firefight erupted. RTOs were prime targets for snipers. For the next 22 months, he humped the paddies in search of Victor Charlie.

   The reader quickly learns that Vietnam was a war with no front lines and no clear objectives; endless, mind-numbing patrols punctuated all-too-frequently by gut-wrenching violence. Palek tells what ponchos were really good for, why flak vests were seldom worn and what it's like to have a huge tarantula crawl over your face. The jungles, rice paddies and canals tormented the grunts with skin infections and mosquitoes "the size of helicopters."

   His book is filled with tales of good buddies ("we fought for each other, not the government") good and incompetent officers, and the hardships suffered by the Vietnamese civilians. Humor was a coping tool for Palek. "That's what kept me sane." Various experiences are tied nicely with Murphy's Laws of Combat, such as "If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush;" "When in doubt, empty your magazine;" and "Friendly fire--isn't."

   KPaleks second tour gave him the job of door gunner in a helicopter. Unbelievable, his second tour in the air provided even more intense combat experiences. Many times Palek looked directly into the eyes of the enemy. The incursion into Cambodia was the "most intense experience of my life" as U.S. troops finally took the battle to the enemy's previously untouchable sanctuaries across the border.

   The book discusses all the happenings at home with anti-war protestors. By the end of the second tour, a military career no longer looked so inviting. "There were too many idiots in charge." Palek's closing words of his book accurately sum up his view of this most controversial war. "The men that faced bullets everyday, whether they were on the ground, on the water or in the air, did a damned fine job and I hope they never forget that." Let no one forget that.

   Reviewed by David Volz, Nashville News. Submitted by Charlie Rusiewski.

5 comments about Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior, Conservative Statesman.

1. There are redeeming qualities in this biography of Hampton. There is much more material included about Hampton's postwar life than is found in Longacre's treatment. But Cisco has totally bought into the highly favorable southern examinations of Hampton that predate the Civil Rights era. There were certainly redeeming qualities in Hampton who seems genuinely concerned about black's welfare especially when compared to racists like Ben Tillman (a Hampton opponent), N B Forest and John Brown Gordon (a Hampton ally), but Hampton was a virulent opponent of any black who did not see things his way and presided over the end of large-scale participation of blacks in South Carolina governance. It is notatable that Cisco includes nothing about Hampton as a slave-owner (he owned over 900 human beings) other than a few "oh he was a fine massa" quotes from ex slaves who were in no position to state otherwise.
   
   There is still room for a scholarly study of Hampton particularly his role in slavery and his post war career. This one is for the Civil War buffs only.
   
   The new biography of Hampton by Rod Andrew is indeed a vastly superior work compared to Cisco's effort, but I doubt it will receive as much readership.



2. I had trouble putting this book down and finished it in 2-3 days. I consider it one of the best books on my shelf, not only for its style, but because it is extremely well researched. Part of the fun after reading the book was going through the bibliography and the footnotes to see where Mr. Cisco came up with all the information he presented. "The Truth is (still) Out There", for anyone who cares or takes the time to look. Buy it, read it, and see what your school teachers left out when they taught you about "Reconstruction"!
   
   Much of the information contained herein will disturb those who are public school educated AND have never learned to think for themselves, or who see the past in terms of their own world. If this is you, then don't buy this book. Instead, do an amazon search for "video games" and stay in your contented fugue state because you will certainly be disturbed by what's in this book!



3. With respect to the other reviewers in this forum, I must disagree with their positive impressions of this book. Cisco's book is strictly for the neo-Confederate reader. True, Hampton is in real need of a biography--there are basically three: Manly Wade Wellman, Giant in Gray, 1949; Ed Longacre's, Gentleman and Soldier, 2003; and Cisco's version. The best of the lot, Longacre's, is war heavy, and the other two are biased to a Confederate view. Indeed, Cisco's book can not be taken seriously by academics or even serious students of history with such outlandish comments that, "During the war many Southern blacks stood by their country--the Confederate States" (p. 170) Or, that Hampton "treated slaves as individuals and fellow human beings." (p. 41).
   
   This book is poorly written and ignores Hampton's role as a Redeemer and slaveowner. Hampton, and the reading public, deserves better.



4. Wade Hampton is local hero here in Columbia, SC. His statue is prominent on the State House grounds and his home is a local historical society attraction. Outside of SC he may not be a household name, but within SC he is an icon, a figure respected and admired. This biography of Wade Hampton will give the reader an orderly summary of the key events of his life. When significant events occure the author goes into more detail, rightly so. Readers interested in Civil War military or political history, the history of Reconstruction, or American politics in general will benefit from this book.



5. Wade Hampton III has been in need of a comprehensive biography for a long time now. Reserved and deliberate in life, both as a cavalry commander and as a political leader, he tried to restrain his annoyance when temporarily outshone by more flamboyant peers; with the benefit of hindsight, however, we ought to pay more attention to WHIII and his substantial achievements.
   
   The "untrained" officer whose pragmatic cavalry tactics proved more of an asset to Lee than the celebrated Stuart ever was; the reluctant secessionist who sacrificed family and fortune to the Confederate cause (or more accurately, to the cause of South Carolina); the conservative Democrat who reined in the bitter ferocity of his own party's extreme elements to become among the first Democrats in the nation to benefit from black voters - Hampton is a fascinating character and Cisco provides a worthy introduction to him.
   
   Walter Cisco does not repeat the bits of folklore that crept into the last Hampton biography, a 1940's hagiography; instead he quotes extensively from primary sources and lets his subject's character emerge naturally. Nor does he shy from uncomfortable aspects, such as the probable abuse of Hampton's sisters by another prominent South Carolinian, or Hampton's bitter exchanges with Sherman over POW executions in the Carolinas Campaign of 1865. However, by the time you finish this work, you'll understand Wade Hampton III as a major and underappreciated figure in both the military and civil history of the South and of our nation.

4 comments about Reminiscences of the Civil War (Collector's Library of the Civil War).

1. John B. Gordon was Georgia's greatest Confederate Hero.
   After the war, he led the KKK in Georgia and participated in one of the greatest stock market scandals of the Gilded Age.

   He also formed a triumvirate, along with Aleck Stephens and Joe Brown that dominated Georgia politics for more than a quarter century after "redemption." And milked his image as the "plumed knight of Appomattox", who led the last charge of the Army of Northern Virginia.

   John B. Gordon, in short, was a piece of work. (Read C.Vann Woodward's description of him in TOM WATSON AGRARIAN REBEL.)

   Another of Gordon's postbellum achievements was as high priest
   of the cult of the "lost cause." In codifying the "myth," he was second only to Jubal Early. Like Early, he maintained that the war had not been about slavery at all, but states rights. Like Early, he would maintain that the South was not defeated but only overwhelmed but vastly superior numbers of men and material. Unlike Early, he downplayed the struggle between northern industrial capital and southern landed gentry and he gave the myth a conciliatory twist perfectly suited to the capital hungry "new south." For decades he would dazzle memorial day audiences, with a speech arguing that *both* sides of the "war between the states" were right and *both* sides won( the North preserved the union and the South preserved "honor"). (Now *that's* conciliatory!)

   It is this mythmaking, that is in evidence in his wartime memoirs. His overwritten florid prose

   describes each calvary charge in romantic hyperbole with out a hint of gore attached to the proceeding. (It is just this sort of bunk that Sherman had in mind when he told cadets "war is not a gentlemen's game,
   war is hell.")

   As "myth" this book deserves five stars, as "history" two would be being generous--so I've split the difference.

   If one wants a real soldier's story told with out concern for the memories of marble men or a sense of decorum one would be better off with Edward Porter Alexander's FIGHTING FOR THE CONFEDERACY.

   If on the other hand wants to wallow in fantasies of "moonlight and magnolias" then, by all means, knock yourself out!




2. John Gordon's book is an important book to read for those trying to gain an understanding of the Civil War and a perspective of a individual that had been involved in multiple engagements. From the start, Gordon writes about raising the Racoon Roughs and their start in Georgia which carries the reader chronologically throughout various battles. His service to the Confederate cause is covered well from his early beginnings to his involvement with General Lee in the surrender at Apomattox. This book is an important tool for understanding the fairness and qualities of Gordon and his sympathies for the people involved in the Civil War be it North or South. His character in speaking about individuals involved is fair and truly demonstrates that he wasn't just another 'racist' that fought for the South which is typical of only today's modern society. It is a must read for those looking to get into the mind of a great Southern leader. I would have rated this book 5 stars if Gordon would have only covered his involvement in the Civil War instead of writing reports on battles he wasn't involved with, though shaped the outcome of the Civil War. It would have better in my opinion if the book didn't get into explaining other battles or problems which Gordon had not took part in since it didn't appear that those other situations affected him.



3. This is an excellent book. Gordon may not be as well known as some Confederate Generals, Nevertheless, He was a very good officier and a gentlemen that can discuss the many complex issues with the Battles he was a part of. I strongly suggest that you read this book to learn more about him and his part in the war between the States.



4. Being a passionate reader of autobiographical accounts of the Civil War, I have to put this book on my top five of all-time favorites. General Gordon writes in a concise, easy-to-read style that demonstrates his intelligence as a leader and character as a great American.

4 comments about The Life of Mahatma Gandhi (Harper colophon books).

1. This biography of the immortal Indian spiritual leader by the far-left American journalist Louis Fischer was first published roughly 18 months after Gandhi's assassination in January 1948. It thus benefits and suffers from the closeness of the personal relationship between the subject and author, and its extremely limited temporal perspective.
   
   The author had two extended interviews with Gandhi at his ashram in May 1942 and June 1946. Not surprisingly, Fischer's physical descriptions are vivid and authentic. The reader can almost feel the enervating heat of India, taste the bland vegetarian cuisine, and above all see Gandhi's peculiar mannerisms and hear his sing-song vocal inflections. But Fischer is also much too close to the events that he writes about, and too emotionally involved with his subject. The twentieth century was blood-soaked and sparsely populated with significant political figures who sincerely preached peace and reconciliation. Nevertheless, the Gandhi that emerges from the pages of this biography is more painted icon than flesh-and-blood, although Fischer does describe him as a rather cold and inconsiderate husband to Kasturbai, his faithful, semi-literate wife of sixty-two years, while his falling out with his alcoholic and Muslim-convert eldest son, Harilal, is heart-breaking to read. Moreover, from the perspective of the early twenty-first century reader, two of the more interesting aspects of Gandhi's life and legacy are his impact on the civil rights movement in the United States, South Africa, and elsewhere, and the rise of modern India as a major global power. Obviously, given the publication date, none of this is considered in Fischer's work.
   
   Gandhi has been described as a saint who tried to become a politician (Gandhi himself said that it was the reverse). The man that Fischer describes was, in my opinion, more cult figure than saint. Gandhi's religious views were incredibly pragmatic and highly unorthodox. For instance, Fischer argues that Gandhi interpreted the Bhagavad-Gita - the most holy of Hindu texts - as an allegory that preaches "desirelessness" and pacifism although the story is literally about God commanding Arunja, a member of the Kshatriya warrior caste, to fight and kill to fulfill his caste obligation. And it was Gandhi who attacked the Hindu practice of outcastes or untouchables and even coined a new term for them, Harijan or Children of God, and later named his weekly newspaper after them. He established ashrams first in South Africa and later in India that are reminiscent of modern day cult compounds with communal eating, sleeping and bathing, making their own clothes, and practicing a bizarre amalgamation of Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and mysticism, all centered on Gandhi as leader-guru. There are probably a few places just like it today in Mendocino County.
   
   And yet Gandhi was a leader of unusual appeal and effectiveness. His policy of Satyagraha (truth-force or love-force - or what we may call civil disobedience) triumphed against the British and Afrikaaners in South Africa and he had full confidence that it would ultimately succeed in his native India and around the world wherever injustice could be found. Whitehall had directly and closely ruled India for over half-a-century when Gandhi emerged as a powerful force for reform and home rule. Winston Churchill was dismayed in 1931 by "the nauseating and humiliating spectacle of this one-time Inner Temple lawyer, now seditious fakir, striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceroy's palace, there to negotiate and to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor."
   
   The irony of this book is that Gandhi, undoubtedly one of the giants of the twentieth century whose reputation will likely only grow in the coming decades and centuries, in the end saw his own life as a tremendous failure. He dedicated himself to Indian self-purification, redemption, and honorable self-rule (which he called Swaraj). Fischer stresses that Gandhi had no desire to conquer or defeat the British, nor did he wish to see a small group of Indian elites take over the government. Gandhi's program was essentially a liberal religious movement; the fall of British rule would merely be a necessary by-product, not the end-state. The goal was a unified India of high-caste Hindus, Harijans (untouchables), Muslims, Sikhs and Christians living modestly and peacefully in simple villages wearing khadi (homespun fabric) loin clothes and shawls. Clearly, things did not turn out according to plan.
   
   Nothing pained Gandhi more deeply than the Hindu/Sikh versus Muslim violence that accompanied independence and ultimately partition in 1947. Gandhi fought tenaciously to keep India united. He fasted and essentially threatened his own death if the leader of the untouchables, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, did not back down from a primary voting scheme for Harijan participation in the Hindu voting bloc. And Gandhi, a man of unnatural peace and forgiveness, reserved his most powerful words of insult and scorn for Mohamed Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League and staunch supporter of a separate and independent Pakistan.
   
   Indeed, Fischer correctly concludes that "[i]ndependence brought sadness to the architect of independence. The Father of his Country was disappointed in his country...Millions adored the Mahatma, multitudes tried to kiss his feet or the dust of his footsteps. They paid him homage and rejected his teachings. They held his person holy and desecrated his personality. They glorified his shell and trampled his essence. They believed in him but not his principles."
   
   I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed it immensely.



2. This is simply put one of the best books I have ever read. Half of the reason is of course the topic - Mohandas Gandhi, who is one of the most important religious persons to have lived. The other half is that it is well-written, packed with information, and by an accomplished author. While Fischer's shorter book, "Gandhi: His life and message" is more concise and also a triumph, anyone who has read it or is a Gandhi enthusiast should acquire a copy of this book and read it.



3. This particular biography of the Mahatama is insightful and powerfully written. Fischer analyses Gandhi in a way that allows you to discover Gandhi for yourself and see connections between the world in which Gandhi lived and the man he became. It provides numerous insights that Gandhi's own humility may not have allowed him in his own autobiography. It does start out kind of slow, but Fischer's analysis of Gandhi picks up momentum after the first few chapters and becomes a page turner. Highly inspiring for those who want to further understand Gandhi's views and see them in relation to the world. Highly recommended!



4. Louis Fischer does his subject justice with a fine account of Gandhi's life. Despite the long duration of the Mahatma's struggle, the author keeps the book interesting pretty much throughout. Fischer's two first hand accounts of his meetings with Gandhi serve as a plesent break in the course of the book, giving it greater life, as well as providing a more personal insight into Gandhi. Thankfully the author remains well clear of blind adoration for the man, highlighting both his flaws and weaknesses. The only short coming is that the book was written before the rise of M.L. King and Nelson Mandela, thus fails to address the full influence Gandhi had and will have beyond India. Overall, I whole heartedly recommend this book of such an important subject, which was also the inspiration for the film.

1 comments about Let Us Meet in Heaven: The Civil War Letters of James Michael Barr, 5th South Carolina Cavalry.

1. Let Us Meet In Heaven is a compendium of letters written by James Michael Barr of the 5th South Carolina Cavalry, during the American Civil War. Editorial notes explaining place names and the like help make the letters instantly and immediately understandable to any reader; extensive familiarity with the battles of the Civil War is not needed to read and understand Barr's testimony. Let Us Meet in Heaven also includes an index makes for quick and easy reference. Let Us Meet In Heaven is a compelling, informative primary source and an invaluable contribution to Civil War studies reading lists and historical reference collections.

4 comments about Jefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heart (Shades of Blue and Gray).

1. Since becoming interested in the 19th Century, and the oasis of information concerning that time period, I'm still baffled as to why the 21st Century historian cannot understand the greatness of men like Jefferson Davis. All the modern historian can do is point out cultural problems of times past (slavery: as if the South was the only place on earth that had them). After reading the standard review from Amazon, I had to chime in on this great book. I've read William J. Cooper's Jefferson Davis as well as Jefferson Davis himself. Is it not interesting that modern day Jefferson Davis antagonists' (Just read James Mcpherson's preface in 'The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government") can only talk of slavery, as if this is the only motivating factor which drove J. Davis to become a relunctant secessionist, while ignoring our own cultural problems that are far worse and grandiose in scope. Modern day/ post-modern historians cannot grasp the larger picture of history. Their worldview does not allow for such truth gazing. F. Allen does a supurb job of showing us a Davis who was triumphant, depressed,ultimately defeated, caring for Negros, and a dedicated Episcopalian who knew who his Saviour was. Many of J. Davis' associates supported gradual emancipation (Bishop Meade of Va and Bishop Leonidas Polk) as to help assimulate the Negro into society. The Northern invasion of the South precluded any such cultural assimilation to take place. Read this book- It is partisan, but isn't every historian coming to work the task of history with his/her presuppositions? F. Allen is not ashamed of this and her logical conclusions about the man and his times is as accurate as a historian can get. Cheers for independent scholars who have not abdicated the task of passing story to fellow countrymen!



2. What Mrs. Allen succeeds so brilliantly at is showing the human side of the man. I must admit that I was no fan of Jefferson Davis in his role as the President of the CSA. However, thanks to Mrs. Allen, I was able to see him in a much different light - as an American patriot and a human being. In the passions that colour anything dealing with the War of Northern Aggression, it is sometimes difficult to remember that everyone involved had a life before that tragic conflict. I can't help but be grateful for the way in which Mrs. Allen brought that point home in her book. While I will still take issue with many of his wartime decisions, I can't help but be proud that our nation produced a man like Jefferson Davis. Thanks for the insight and the education Mrs. Allen!



3. This is a good book to read for anyone wanting to see how a good man dealt with adversity. Allen places much emphasis upon Davis' Christian faith, and how it helped him to be the sort of man who can be worthily imitated. The book also contains a goodly amount of historical information which is not commonly known. It could have used some tighter editing, as there were a few points where I was not quite sure about whom Allen was writing, and had to go back and re-read the paragraph, but, all in all, I was both informed and edified by this book. About the review by Kirkus, I can only conclude that that reviewer is an anti-Christian, anti-Southern bigot, as he obviously had already decided about the book before reading it.



4. Felicity Allen's recent biography, Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart, transcends mere history. Such a sensitive and comprehensive work, therefore, may perplex the hardened historian, who is often pleased only with cold chronological facts that fit comfortably into his own predispositions. Allen's intricately documented work has the touch of a true poet who deftly and profoundly reveals not only the heart and soul of a great (and often misunderstood) American but also a way of life gone forever.

   No scholar can fail to appreciate Allen's exhaustive research,, nor any layman fail to be amazed at her mass of fact and significant detail. But if fact is the body and bone of biography, truth is its revelation. And this is the outstanding accomplishment of Felicity Allen: she has recovered the heart and soul of an honorable and courageous American patriot who thought and fought and fell with his young nation.

   Oxford Stroud

5 comments about My Father's Secret War: A Memoir.

1. This well-written, mesmerizing book recounts a true, deeply intense story of a daughter's 21st Century quest to uncover the details of her father's apparently clandestine military mission during World War II. It reveals, in riveting style, the impediments to the author's quest presented by her father's obvious sworn secrecy, his advancing dementia and, ultimately, his death. It places the quest in the context of the emotions that crowd the life of a "baby boomer" as she also raises her own children. Somewhat surprisingly, I found this book to be a real "page-turner."



2. At first I did not like Ms Franks or her book. I was not sure why she was writing if she disliked her father so much. But as I read on you could see she was trying, not very well at first, to understand her father and what made him tick. It took a lot and several times I wanted to slap her for some of the things she said but in the end she found the father she had wanted all along and really had right there with her but she had to get tear down the wall he had built so he could servive with what he had seen during the war and her mother after the war.



3. This seems to be a book with the best of intentions.
   I liked Thomas Franks, and clearly Lucinda Franks is an accomplished journalist.
   But the story itself is all over the place. Too many quick episodes and incidents about too many irrelevant characters. All I really wanted to know was what happened to the author's father during the war.
   I didn't appreciate Lucinda Franks's decision to take us on her arduous journey of finding the truth about her father, either. "Did you do this, Dad?" "Did you do that?" "Were you serving here, Dad?" "Were you serving there?" All answered with a "Well, perhaps," or "Let's not talk about that now." A sentence or two along the lines of, "It took me years to get the most basic information out of my father, but finally I did: here is his story," would have made for much more compelling reading.



4. This book was absolutely amazing. I was drawn to it especially because my father, and the father written about in the book, were both at the Ordruf Concentration camp and liberated it at the same time.
   I loved how the author wrote so sensitively about her father's health and the issues that certainly changed him after his time in the war.
   Eileen Hale



5. While many readers have criticized the author for pursuing her inquiry to the point that, as they see it, it inflicted on her father unnecessary pain, I see two positive outcomes. One is that she unveils for us all one of the most unusual military careers of all times and prepares for the father the recognition and the dignified military farewell accorded to him at the end of his life. The other is that by relentless personal and professional persistence she proves to him that she is not only his worthy offspring but also that she is maturing by leaving behing her youthful ideological adventures and moving closer to him by appreciating his outstanding skills and sacrifices for the country. They both get rewarded by her actions.
   As to the psychological and clinical interpretations of the story, I believe that talking of posttraumatic stress is an unproductive if fashionable analysis, that trivializes the uniqueness of this case. Instead, the man's withdrawal seems to be a case of disruption of the relationships the hero had formed with his larger than life assignments, the exceptional feats of skill and daring, the national and world significance of his services. Importantly, these successes had been part of his personal growth away from the stifling family environment and had helped him conquer the limitations of his introverted disposition. When he returned to the unpleasantness of his job and the confines of a home and a distasteful marriage, he simply withdrew. Where he could keep his accomplishments reasonably alive, i.e., in the company of Pat Rosenfield, he opened up, talked rather freely about them and found just about all the joy of which he was capable. Likewise, the alienation from the author/daughter during her youth paralleled her acting the role of a "commy," i.e. a proxy for the things he had fought against. Fortunately it resolved when she slowly grasped and accepted his "secret war."
   Better than with the current PTSD theories, we could perhaps understand Tom Franks' story in the light psychoanalytic concepts of "adaptation" to certain object relationships that anchor our adjustment and self image and whose withdrawal engenders conflict and neurosis.
   The only exception would be the episode of the concentration camp, a trauma unredeemed by the excitement of a task accomplished and by the satisfaction of a duty absolved. In fact, when the memory of it was stirred in the restaurant encounter, he reacted violently, more in keeping with the majority of the PTSD cases and clearly out of character with regards to his typical aloofness. This could be the exception that confirms the rule.