2 comments about Two Souls Indivisible.

1. I found this to be a fascinating and inspirational account of how two men, and their compatriots used their determination and creative skills to help one another survive the ordeal of prisoners of war in North Vietnam for over 7 years. There is much to be learned from how these men responded to very adverse conditions.



2. This is a poignant story about two pilots downed during the Vietnam war and ending up in the same POW camps. I read it because it was tauted as a book of over coming racism and prejudice. The idea of American racism was supposedly being used as a tool to demean the white pilot into submission by the Vietcong. Human nature never ceases to amaze me but it is hard to comprehend that two Americans in the dire straits of a POW camp would let something like the color of their skin hinder companionship, communication et. al., things in low supply at a POW camp apparently. The story is heartwarming and informative of a POW's plight. The actual racism issue is of no significance to me when it is put in perspective of what else was going on in the camps.

4 comments about Kill Me If You Can, You SOB.

1. Wow! A book written by a battlefield-harden GI about war without a trainload of vulgar language. The bonus in this book was that the author found real life characters worth remembering. This is a lucid and compelling work about three very special Americans. I would describe this as an accidentally funny book. Not once did I feel this author was trying to be funny; but without trying, he's a cross between Will Rogers and Mark Twain. For example: "Deplaned and were loaded onto a bus with heavy-gauge wire mesh covering the windows. The driver had a pistol, an M-16, and an M79 grenade launcher. It was kind of like getting on a city bus in LA."



2. Kill Me If You Can, You SOB
   The book was OK, But as a former Helicopter pilot in Vietnam (twice), I salute his service and dedication to duty, but he saw the war from a very narrow perspective and his criticisms seemed to me to reflect his youth and, therefore, showed a bit of tunnel vision.



3. The more I read of Miller's work, the more I like it. Like HST, Miller is a born curmudgeon, cynic, and rebel. I cracked up when his commander described him as "he'll never make general but he'll get you there and back." No grunt ever had a truer, more unconditional friend.
   
   This memoir hit particularly close to home for me as it detailed the author's experiences as a warrant officer chopper pilot in Phan Thiet, Vietnam from May '68 to May '69. I graduated flight school in Jan '69 but ended up in Korea. This account showed me a lot of what I missed. Miller shared several photos of the Vietnam chopper pilot experience in his book. You can see more if you Google "192nd Assault Helicopter Company". I also recommend Googling "View the Wall" and searching for Arann and Thoman, Miller's comrades in the 192nd--a very moving experience.
   
   Our country owes the Vietnam vet more than it can ever repay. In my estimate, the greatest of them are the ones who rejected the party line but showed up for duty anyway. A tip of the hat to Bob Miller.
   
   --Ejner Fulsang, author of "A Knavish Piece of Work" Aarhus Publishing 2006



4. This pilot supported the Currahees with the best he had to give and has put the same into ths book. Agree with him or not, he tells it like it was and I'd be proud to ride with him anytime anywhere. I was there, too and he didn't skimp a bit on Blackhawk. My only disappointment was when it ended so fast.

5 comments about Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone.

1. This book arrived quicker than I thought. We are planning to move and I thought this book would not make it in time for our move. It came as almost a brand new book and after I read it will ad it to all my books on Africa. Thank you seller for this good looking book!



2. Well documented account of life in Central Africa during the 1960's. Having lived in other parts of West Africa (as a child) and traveled to sub-Sahara countries, Mr. Devlin's narrative brought back many memories of a very influential part of my life.



3. When the Belgians decided to grant the Congo independence the huge country was immediately plunged into chaos. Katanga province secedes and other parts of the country are wavering, the Soviets are arriving in droves, the Congolese army has mutinied and the newly-elected government has no clue. CIA officer Larry Devlin is tossed into this mess and his first-hand account makes some of the strangest works of fiction seem pale in comparison.
   
   Mr. Devlin discusses the politics of the Congo and makes sense of Lumumba, Tshombe and other players who seemingly changed roles from protagonist to villain and back again. The policies of the UN and where they were coming from also come to mind.
   
   Forgotten now, the Congo saw a significant intervention by the United Nations and USAF aircraft airlifted material in support. Fear that the Soviets would gain control of the vast mineral wealth of the Congo was one of the motivating factors of western nations in dealing with the crisis.
   
   A great book!



4. An excellent biography, discusses what happened during the Cold War in the Congo from his point of view. I found it an enjoyable read.



5. A good book giving an overall flavor of the Congo in the early 60's. It would be nice if Devlin had filled in more details however perhaps this is proscribed in his publishing agreement (I presume that he had to run this through the CIA before publishing it). You do get an idea of just what a CIA COS does to try to guide events to follow US policy. He's rather blase about the physical risks of operating in an unstable environment although maybe this is because he survived to tell the tale. I don't think that I would have my family at my side in such an environment.

5 comments about Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945.

1. I found this via a web search for 84 Charing Cross Road; I started reading the eval pages online, and loved it so much that I ordered it immediately.
   
   I fun and interesting read...I simply didn't want it to end.
   
   I'm getting it for my granddaddy, who was in WWII.



2. Between Silk and Cyanide is a humorous and engaging account of code making in England during World War II. Leo Marks was not good enough to be sent to Bletchley Park for code breaking, instead he was sent to work on code making and teaching people who were to be sent to Europe how to encode their messages. He was immediately appalled at how insecure the British codes were. The book is about his fight to make better, more secure codes and make sure that no messages that were received where indecipherable.



3. I have read and enjoyed this book several times, and given away quite a few copies.
   
   WWII from the point of view of an 20-something boffin. Great story telling, both from the technical side of cryptography and the politics and office shenanigans of the British government.
   
   It has some tear-jerking stories of death and suffering, a few points of the cold-blooded ruthlessnes of the spy business, and Marks' sense of humor can either come off as self-deprecation or arrogance, depending on your take.



4. Of all WW II memoirs, Leo Marks has probably written the most distinctive and unusual. In the prime of his youth, a young Leo failed in his attempt to enter Bletchley Park's hallowed ground, and was instead sent to the SOE, Special Operations Executive, charged with Churchill's mandate to "Set Europe Ablaze." When Marks arrived at the SOE, the coded transmissions of secret agents were based around famous poems, but unfortunately the Germans had access to the same libraries of classics and were easily breaking the codes. Up against the establishment and tradition, Marks fought to introduce indecipherable one-time pads of his own invention, fighting British conservatism and bureaucracy to push through his innovations. What makes Mr. Marks' book so different is not only the story he tells, but his natural gift for writing. His distinctive literary ability would have stood him well as a man of fiction, letters, or script, and his turn of phrase is both unexpected, witty, graceful, and as much a lesson as "The Elements of Style" is to writers today. Leo Marks is a funny man, and there is nothing better than an eighty-year-old with total recall and self-depreciating humor who actually achieved something; Leo briefed Violette Szabo before she went to meet her fate and admits to falling in love with her in those few hours. The poem he wrote about her is the highlight of the book, an unusual statement from a reviewer who loathes poetry! There are only a few interesting works on cryptology, the other that comes to mind is actually fictional, Neal Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon."



5. A thoroughly intriguing story. Factual yet reads like a suspense novel...couldn't put it down

2 comments about At Thy Call We Did Not Falter.

1. A real book if you wanna know how is war from a conscript's view...and it covers both emotional and statistic matters of all the battles...some parts of it are from a soldier's diary and the other parts are written by that same soldier after 10,15 years...



2. I read this book, as part of my own research project into the South African Border War. It follows the author from home to basic to war. Pretty simple. Well written, and captures the fear of someone so young thrust into circumstances beyond their control. If you want to know what combat is like, The feelings anyway, buy and read this great book. It captures the stark unreality of combat very well. I know. But thats a different story. Highly recommended.

5 comments about The Cat from Hue: A Vietnam War Story.

1. Despite its intimidating length, I plunged in nonetheless and prepared to plow through it as fast as possible. By the time I was halfway through I was rationing the pages because I didn't want it to end. If I was teaching a course on the Vietnam War, I would make The Cat From Hue required reading, along with Caputo's A Rumor of War, Fitzgerald's Fire on the Lake, and Karnow's history.



2. As a Brit, I was unfamiliar with Lawrence's reporting work, but was intrigued by the subject, the title and mostly favourable reviews.
   
   It was definitely a worthwhile and entertaining read (even at >800 pages) and, although far from a conventional history, it would definitely make my top twenty list of Vietnam books.
   
   As has been mentioned elsewhere, it does stylistically fall somewhere between 'We were soldiers once...' and 'Dispatches', although both of those are truly exceptional, for different reasons, compared with TCFH. No mean comparison, though.
   
   Lawrence's recollections are about his personal experiences in Vietnam and the (mostly correspondents/photographers) people he knew there. It's not an attempt at Big Picture history and is none the worse for that. Lawrence talks candidly about his own drink and drug use and the book has an honest feel to it, IMHO.
   
   Lawrence writes well and vividly, as one would expect, as makes his recollections seem like yesterday, which one might not. Characters such as Sean Flynn, Dana Stone and Tim Page are vividly brought to life.
   
   I doubt whether journalists covering current war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan are afforded the same access to the front lines as Lawrence and his peers were given in Vietnam: not a criticism, just an observation on changed times.
   
   It probably could have been edited down a bit, but I still found it a humane and compelling read. Highly recommended.



3. Very long but worth it if you want to know many of the personalities reporting the war in the Nam. Follows most aspects of the war from near the beginning with a green Laurence till the end and John as an old salt. Better and more human than other vietnam memiors.



4. There are lots of great things about this book, but what I enjoyed most is that it covers two distinct but interrelated subjects: The Vietnam War from the perspective of the grunts on the front lines and journalism during the war. Both subjects are covered in vivid detail, making the entire book enlightening, informative, and even entertaining. The Cat from Hue is a history book and an autobiography all at once, written in prose that flows well and makes the reader want more. And since it's 800+ pages, there is plenty more. Anyone with even the remotest interest in the Vietnam War should definitely read this book, even if you think you already know everything there is to know about that chapter of history.



5. The good ones, and John Laurence was very good, roamed South Vietnam like they owned it, documenting the carnage, the horror, the bravery, the cowardice, the stupidity, the love, the pain, the loss, the whole long national nightmare that was the Vietnam War. "The Cat from Hue", a taut, flabless doorstopper of a book, chronicles the roughly five years Mr. Laurence spent in South Vietnam as a combat correspondent for CBS.
   
   It would be inaccurate to characterize Mr. Laurence as naive when he first landed in-country in 1965, but he wasn't yet the gimlet-eyed observer that he would become. He was, like many first-timers, caught up in the adventure of the enterprise-young men at war. He lived with other journalists and photographers in Saigon, booming out from there to all points of the Vietnamese combat compass, in a place called "Frankie's House". If "Frankie's House" wasn't quite a den of iniquity, it was home to copious amounts of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was also home to a very talented group of men. Sean Flynn. Dana Stone. Tim Page. Michael Herr, of "Dispatches" fame. Flynn and Stone later disappeared in Cambodia and were never found.
   
   Through the years Mr. Laurence came to realize that America was trapped in the lethal briar patch it had flung itself into. His inability to be anything less than honest sometimes got him in trouble with the military hierarchy but this same honesty made him a favorite with the ordinary groundpounder. He shared their hardships (though he freely admits that he could hop a chopper and leave whenever he wanted) and his award-winning documentary "The Boys of Charlie Company" is the gold standard for what life was like in the field for the infantry.
   
   Combat is depicted in all its chaos in "The Cat from Hue". Mr. Laurence captures the fear, the excitement, and more, the "... wild rage of men trying to kill each other at close range". He wants to know, and coveys to the reader, what soldiers think about when facing death. In a war that, like all wars, became all-consuming, all-destroying, that became an end unto itself, that spawned casualties in the millions, Mr. Laurence is able to show the magnitude of the tragedy by focusing on the individual.
   
   Mr. Laurence may have made his bones as one of the stars of the TV war but he is also an excellent writer. He describes the jungle so vividly that one can see the bugs and the snakes and feel the heat, oh yes, the heat. Those who had to fight there knew that the jungle was a living thing, a place where a man could pass an area he had been through ten minutes before and not recognize it. Mr. Laurence can write elegantly, as when he describes the death of his friend Sam Castan, or acidly, as when he portrays Morley Safer as a cowardly grandstander.
   
   Of course, no one can spend as much time in combat as Mr. Laurence did and return unchanged. "You'd never be all to yourself afterwards" is how one grunt is quoted about the effects of too much time in the bush. Mr. Laurence is no exception-he exhibits many of the symptoms of PTSD and he still seems genuinely troubled by the time he crossed the line that separates correspondent from combatant. "The Cat from Hue" is moving and honest. It will stand next to other classics of the Vietnam War, the war that keeps on giving.

1 comments about The Guadalcanal Air War: Col. Jefferson Deblanc's Story.

1. I knew the man for 20 years yet didn't know the full story until I read this book. I couln't put it down. I would advise anyone interested in history to read this.
   
   It is great I only wish it had been published while he lived.

5 comments about Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun.

1. I found this to be a very interesting book to read. Wernher von Braun is one amazing man and and lived a very different and amazing life. This books gives you a bit of a look inside the man, what made him tick. There are a lot of interviews with people who worked with him or new him. The book is well written and is a must read if you are into the history of the NASA space program.



2. I really enjoyed this book. I worked at ABMA and later NASA during the late 1950's and early 1960's as a student trainee and it was pretty heady stuff for a young guy from South Georgia to be involved with members of Dr. Von Braun's team. Ward provides excellent insights into Dr. von Braun as an individual and his role in the nation's "space race". While at times it comes across as a little " promotional" it's an excellent story and makes one wonder what our space efforts would be like today if had he been chosen as head of NASA



3. Many rocket history buffs will review this book very closely, and be very critical if it doesn't treat every aspect of their personal interests completely. This book will fall short for many, depending on an individual's particular interest niche'. Criticizing this book in such a way is crazy.....it's a fine historical read. If you want in-depth technical descriptions of his works, then research those specifically. Similarly, if you want to dwell on the moral aspects of being a Nazi rocket researcher, then research that on its own. But, on balance, if you want to read about a man who rose to prominance "on the wrong side of the tracks," where his brilliance thrived, and how that transformed the modern era into the space age, then read this book. It's a great book about a great mind.



4. The novel Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun is written as a biography to show the main events in the life of Dr. von Braun. Although the book does not strictly follow a timeline of his life, it does basically follow the course of his life from his early childhood until his death in 1977. The book highlights his early promise as a musician but then shows how he became fascinated by rockets and the stars through small experiments and a telescope. The book then goes on to show his rise from firing rockets with a group of young enthusiasts to heading the German army's rocket development throughout World War II. After the war, von Braun heads to the United States where he and his team work on all kinds of missiles. All the while, von Braun attempts to convince the American government to allow him to develop a space program. The novel then follows his incredible career as a designer for the rockets that launched the first U.S. satellite into space and also carried the first man to the moon. This story is given added credibility by the fact that the author was a newspaper writer in von Braun's adopted hometown of Huntsville and knew the scientist personally. He writes the novel to share his opinions on the life and work of Wernher von Braun. The book is a good read for anyone with an interest in history and especially for anyone who is fascinated by rocketry. Since von Braun is the father of the American space program and a pioneer in the field of rocketry, this work is a great read for anyone with an interest in science.



5. The old admonish about never judging a book by its cover is very apropos to Dr. Space. The book's jacket touts this biography as a "...rare, balanced study..." of Von Braun's life. Sadly, that isn't the case. Ward clearly states that he had met Von Braun more than once. Those interactions obviously left Ward with favorable impressions of the man, which end up shaping the portrayal of his subject. Von Braun is depicted as an almost super-human being that was loved by most, but despised by a jealous, inferior few who made the end of his life miserable. Even Von Braun's faults, toward which a chapter is dedicated, are depicted not as flaws in character but as mild eccentricities and naughtiness. Yet, Von Braun's career strongly hints that he was a firm believer that (at least professionally) the ends justified the means. A more balanced biography would have the explored this aspect of Von Braun's personality further.
   
   The reader is especially shortchanged in the depiction of Von Braun's technical skills. Von Braun is primarily shown in the workplace as a cheerleader type manager who got the best from his staff. Virtually none of his technical accomplishments are mentioned, leaving the reader to wonder why a good manager would be awarded the National Medal of Science and ranked second on the list of the 100 "Stars of Aerospace". While detailed technical descriptions might be over the head of some readers (after all, most of us aren't rocket scientists), some illustration would have been helpful to appreciate Von Braun's creativity.
   
   With the atrophying of the U.S. space program and the time that's passed since his death, the general public's knowledge and appreciation of Von Braun is sadly fading from memory. A good biography of this rocketry giant would restore the widespread respect that he deserves. Unfortunately, Dr. Space is just a warm up to that more definitive biography which has yet to be written.

4 comments about U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books).

1. Uboat Ace is a excellent book on Submarine warfare in WWII. While you may not like Wolfganf Luff as an Individual one has to admit he was a great leader and example to his men. Found the book interesting and an easy read. Anyone interested in Uboat warefare will enjoy it..



2. another u-boat captain book,Luth's u-boat survival of the war depended a great deal on his skill,but there are instances here where you realize there was some luck involved as well. An even better source of luck was that he was assigned a section of the south Atlantic,and African waters where his prey was not often as heavily protected as was were convoys in the North Atlantic.Luth's patrols were mainly "lone wolf" type guerilla attacks on isolated cargo ships,not the suicidal wolfpack attacks that were sure to bring on lots of task force boats.You can't help but draw from the book that the thirty year Luth was a by-product of the post WW1 Versailles Treaty outrage against Germany.His resentment as well as his crew run deep,methodically shinking ships like shooting mechanical ducks at a carnival.Not deliberately cruel but with a firm belief that it's either "us or them".When reading this book it would help to have a little knowledge of the "War Reparations"clause in the Versailles treaty,it would make for boring reading but,it will make the Luth story more enriching.



3. This book is a great read. The writing style is concise, and it makes it easy to get involved with a facinating (and true) story. Wolfgang Luth went on long range patrols to Southern Africa, notched up many sinkings, and was popular with his men. What comes across with this book is the personality of Wolfgang Luth himself. He didn't have a large ego, and is not as well known as other U-boat aces, but through this book seems far more interesting than the others U Boat Captains, and was more successful. He could be laid back with his men, other times encouraging them to get married, or poke fun at himself, was utterly fearless, and other times shot hundreds of shells into ships without reason. The book makes one consider the morality of his actions, and yet also gives a front row seat to an interesting U Boat career, and tragic end. This is a good book.



4. I have read this book and it is an excellently done story on Kapitan zur See, Wolfgang Luth. This man Took charge of the Uboat U 181 and had an excellent crew serving with him. This book is almost as good as "Shooting The War" by Otto Giese. It held my attention which was fully rivited to the pages as I read them, as Otto Giese's book did to me. This book is THAT well done, and I will buy several extra copies of it to send to all 8 of the surviving U 181 vets. Its a shame that Otto Giese, U 181's 2nd Watch officer under Luth, recently passed away as well as three other U 181 comrades. The living members of U 181 will absolutely love this book and will think of it as a work of art. As I do have the priviledge of knowing all the surviving vets, I know they will enjoy adding a copy of this book to their libraries as they have done so with Otto Giese's book. Soon to be another book on U 181 by vet/friend, Bernhard Trenn.

No comments about Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, Updated Edition (Research Division Report / National Endowment for the Arts).