No comments about Happy Valley: Murder, Mafia, Mormons and More!.

1 comments about Churchill at War: His "Finest Hour" in Photographs 1940-1945.

1. As the author or co-author of the bulk of the official biography of Sir Winston S. Churchill, few people can be said to approach Sir Martin Gilbert in their knowledge of the man and his life. Here, in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum, Gilbert has produced a wonderful visual record of "His 'Finest Hour' in Photographs."
   
   The book is divided up by years, with each year receiving a brief narrative introduction. It is not a photographic history of the war, and there are few photos of Churchill "off duty" -- to the extent he ever was in those years. But what it sets out to be, it achieves extremely well.
   
   Looking through this volume, I was impressed by the quality of (most of) these photos, and especially impressed by the sharpness and clarity with which they are reproduced here. I admit I have a particular distaste for photo-books with few or insufficient captions, and so I was very pleased to see that Gilbert gives each photo a thorough description, including not only what Churchill is doing in the image, but also naming other key people in the image and often even giving the date on which the photo was taken.
   
   I think this would be an excellent addition to the shelf (or coffee table) of any member of the vast legion of Churchillians around the globe. I have no hesitation in recommending it for the gift list for the Churchillian in your life.

5 comments about Dress Gray: A Woman at West Point.

1. Donna Peterson was in the third class containing women (Class of 1982) to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. She describes her decision to apply to USMA -- Peterson was in the enviable position of being nominated to two service academies and turned down the Air Force Academy to attend West Point. But the heart of the book is life at the academy, year by year. It starts with being a "Plebe"; going through "Beast Barracks"; being run ragged with chores and bothered by memorizing "Plebe knowledge"; and being "unrecognized" by upperclassmen until the end of the year. In her second year, Peterson gains some responsibility and finds herself in the position to correct other, younger cadets. During the summer, Peterson gets the opportunity to lead actual Army enlisted men and train to be a helicopter pilot -- her future Army career. Peterson tells us that she looked forward to her "Cow," or junior, year the most, but it was spoiled by a cadre of men who opposed her advancement to a leadership position. Finally, as a "Firstie," Peterson plans for her post-USMA future.
   
   Throughout all this, Ms. Peterson excelled as a cadet and took advantage of all West Point had to offer, from being a member of the Honor Board, to taking numerous leadership positions, to being a Public Relations representative, to singing in a choral group. What is also interesting is that in this very male environment Ms. Peterson was able to retain her femininity. Unlike many, Ms. Peterson apparently wore her uniform skirt, helped form a cheerleading team modeled on the USC dance team, and had more dates than one can imagine (sometimes juggling two or three boyfriends at a time.)
   
   This is the second book I've read about West Point's early female graduates. The other, "In the Men's House," by Carol Barkalow, is also well worth a read. Where Barkalow's account differs from this one is that Barkalow was in the first coed class, rather than the third. As such, her female classmates bore more of the brunt of harsh, misogynous behavior by older, all-male classes, and the book reflects it. Barkalow also includes some description of life in the army after West Point -- I hope Peterson writes another book to tell us about her Army experiences.
   
   This is a very well-written book about an unusually talented woman. I highly recommend it.



2. As an avid reader of career stories, I ordered this book through interlibrary loan. I wish some publisher would reissue this title, as it's much better than I would expect from its out of print status. Ms. Peterson should have searched more widely for an agent and a publisher -- and an editor.

   The book is extremely well-written (perhaps due to the editing of Ed Eakin, who undoubtedly is related to the publisher). What probably kept it off a lot of shelves is the introduction, where Ms. Peterson emphasizes that she was "harassed" and "betrayed." It's all too easy for a reader to say, "Oh no, not another one of those. Maybe she was a loser."

   In fact, Ms. Peterson was a sterling cadet. By her own account, she had a challenging but not particularly stressful sojourn at West Point. She was a natural, coming from a background that included such diverse activities as judo and cheerleading. Her room-cleaning abilities were legendary.

   Throughout her four years, she attracted great-looking dates, sympathetic leaders and a wonderful sponsor. She shows real humor, describing how she coped with a spazzy roommate during "Beast," the summer of basic training. Through her report of this episode, we learn about West Point's emphasis on "cooperate and graduate."
   More seriously, we get a cadet's eye view of the Honor system when Ms. Peterson describes her service on Honor Board.
   
   Throughout the four years, Ms. Peterson kept her humor and her standards. She accepted leadership roles easily and apparently managed to get good grades. In turn, she admits (without getting maudlin), West Point gave her some of the most wonderful memories of her life.

   Her only setback -- the "betrayal" she mentions in the intro -- came when a female Tac officer failed to respond responsibly to jealous complaints by males who were competing with Donna for a coveted command slot senior year. A female roommate inadvertently contributed to the problem.

   The only other flaw is the absence of a section describing what happened afterward. We get a very abbreviated description -- a sentence of two about a few characters. What happened to Mary Ann, the first-year roommate? What did the author do as a commander of helicopter companies? How did West Point really affect her later life? Perhaps she needs to write another book.

   If this book becomes available, I'd buy it. Some publisher out there is missing a bet. Meanwhile, investigate your local library and interlibrary loan.




3. I am a Court-at-Law Judge who just came across a copy of this book in a library recently and thought it looked interesting. That was an understatement! This book was well written, funny, thought provoking and entertaining. In fact, it was written so well that at times I felt as if I was actually there watching these events unfold. When I finished the book, I felt as if I had just graduated from 4 years at West Point. A marvelous effort for a first time author. This book should make Oprah's Book Club! Bravo and 5 stars!



4. Wonderful book! I attended West Point and I found myself with tears in my eyes reading parts of this book. It was nice to recall so many of the (rare) comical moments at the Point as well. I highly recommend this book for any graduate who wants to remember how it felt to be young,scared, excited, confused and far away from home as a new plebe! Best of all, it is an interesting read...you just keep turning the pages! I can't wait to read her next book! Please, please keep writing books, Donna!



5. I bought this book for my neice to read several years ago. It is soiled and stained now, having been through the hands of MOST of her friends, guys and girls! It is an exciting read, one that my husband, who had been in the Army, enjoyed as well as non-military readers like my neice's friends. I KNOW it inspired her to follow her dreams and not be stuck in the stereotypes others make for women. Captain Peterson (now a Major) is a wonderful christian role model as well ! Also, if you send her a request, she will send you an autograph you can attach to the book (or send her the book with return postage like I did!). I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to feel good about their country again, or for any young person thinking about attending a service academy! Well written!

3 comments about Becoming Ann: A Baltimore Childhood.

1. This is a basic biography of the author, Ann Hennessy. Of course as with all biographies of people who are not famous outside their immediate area the question comes up as to why someone should read it. Ann Hennessy does an excellent job of not only telling her childhood story but vividly portraying the time period and quirks of living in the Baltimore area in the 1930's through the 1950's. Her writing style effectively draws the reader into her life as a friend and clearly shows what it was like to be a child in this time period and place. Becoming Ann is a recommended read for anyone interested in the general social environment of the time.



2. I enjoy reading autobiographies and "Becoming Ann" did not disappoint me. The descriptions of people and places makeyou feel as if you are right there with the author. AnnHennessy's spirit of adventure and optimism shines through.I consider this book a very enjoyable read.A reader from Maryland



3. A revealing description of the author's life and thoughts based on a daily journal that she wrote during six decades. She treats you as she would a good friend by telling both the good parts and the not-so-good parts of a real life; the highs and the lows, the wonderful and the embarrassing. The difficulty of trying to deal with her emotions regarding her different relationships with her mother and father is a constant theme that runs throughout her life, and clearly has an impact on how she also relates to friends and neighbors. One especially delightful aspect of the book for anyone who attended parochial school on the East coast during the mid-twentieth century is her recitation of daily events; you feel as though she was sitting next to you in class! After finishing the book, I felt that the author had truly welcomed me into her home and life and made me part of it. A very enjoyable read, and an impetus to reflect on my own life.

No comments about Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny: an Officer in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars: An Officer in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars.

5 comments about The Complete War Memoirs of Charles De Gaulle.

1. Charles de Gaulle is perphaps one of the most enigmatic figures of World War II. Misunderstood by both the British and Americans during post WWII period, he ended up greatly disliked in both countries. De Gaulle's memoirs, however, are an important source to more throughly understand the second world war. He tells the story of a France in a virtual state of civil war after the collaspe of France and the establishment of the Petain regime at Vichy. This civil war was fought in the outer reaches of the French Empire- Dakar, Lebanon, Syria, Chad, Indochina, etc. It tells a depressing story of how most of the French remained loyal to Vichy. De Gaulle recounts how in 1940 he made a speech before 2,000 French soliders stranded in England. H He pleaded with them to join his Free French army. He was only able to convince 200 to join. He recounts how the Vichy French army fought with greater vigor against fellow Frenchmen and the British then they did against the Nazis. He writes the history of how a people deeply depressed by war and defeatism slowly raises itself for the struggle against Germany. Without doubt, De Gaulle's perserverence provided France with some cover of honour to assuage its sense of national shame and guilt. De Gaulle takes us through the Empire, his challenges in remaining relevant to the British and the overt hostility of the Americans who remained loyal to Petain until 1943. The translation is good. The inclusion of maps of the Empire would have been useful. As with other memoirs, such as those of Mussolini, Admiral Horthy, Churchill, etc. this is a must read for the student of the 1940s. One note is that strategically, De Gaulle, like Churchill, was an imperial optimist. Both were convinced that once the war with Germany became a world war, time and the vast resources (both in men and material) available in their respective Empires would provide Great Britain and France with decided advantages against the Axis. As history was to demonstrate, both men's optimism were proven correct.



2. I'm an agronomist and I live in Brazil.I read this book, published here in Brazil in three volums and translated to the portuguese.
   This book is an auto-biography, but it is only about De Gaulle, in World War two and some months later.
   De Gaulle was a giant, not only about his hight, but also about his life.
   You won't only know about war, in this book, but also about peoples.De Gaulle has very good opinions, about Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini,etc.
   About the future of France, De Gaulle was prophetic.Being writen in 1940 decade, De Gaulle in this book, tells that nuclear energy will be very important to France, in the future.In fact, today, nuclear power is 85% of France's eletricity.The hidropower is 15%.Nothing comes from oil or natural gas.De Gaulle knew that France, will be nuclear.
   In another part of this book, De Gaulle tells that soviet communism is nothing more than a fashion, and that it will pass, but France will last.
   
   The biggest problem of this book is that it's very biased.And the bias isn't only about De Gaulle , but also far more, about France itself.
   The Frace's defeat in 1940, came from cowardy, betrial and incompetence.
   You can't know nothing nothing about this.You know nothing about France's anti-semithism.Some scape goats, such as Laval, were punished, but France was a shame, in World War II.
   For De Gaulle, France is ever biggest of all nations and full of proud.
   I have dozens of book about World War II.And any of them, is so biased about France as this.
   In all senses, De Gaulle was a giant, but this book, even being 100% biased, is good and after sixty years, remains prophetic about France's future.



3. An essential book and one of the best autobiographies ever. Unlike Churchill and others, de Gaulle researched and wrote his momoirs all by himself, without any "contributors" and shadow writers. He writes clearly, the style is formal and elegant. A joy to read, which is wonderfully surprising and refreshing considering the stuffy nature of most such undertakings. To truly understand the man, one has to read this. His motives, his love for France, the belief in France's destiny. The world has still a lot to learn from him.



4. This book is outstanding for its literary, even poetic, power. De Gaulle thinks of France as a person fated for tragedy and greatness. His biggest problem is achieving recognition as the political representative of France after France has signed an armistice with the Germans: Churchill tells him that although he claims to represent France, neither England or the US will recognize him as such; De Gaulle steadily replies that it is sufficient for him if the French people recognize him. This is the story of a man standing against the entire world for the sake of an ideal. Reminded me of Nelson Mandela!



5. As one might expect, De Gaulle's memoirs of the Second World War are deeply concerned with self-justification, if not self-glorification. More surprisingly, they are good reading. De Gaulle writes in a formal, but clear and elegant style. The period covered is from the fall of France, through De Gaulle's flight to England and formation of the Free French, to the liberation and a bit of the postwar period. Obviously, this is not objective history. The chief interest of the book is that De Gaulle's personality and opinions colors every page. The reader may indeed be irritated, or he may be amused, by the author's undisguised self-regard, but in any case there are compensations. There is revealing detail on events such as the fall of France and the invasion of North Africa. With great candor and sharp perception De Gaulle assesses his own and others' strategies. There are good pen-portraits of Churchill and many other contemporaries. And there is the fascination of viewing great events through the prism of a commanding mind..

3 comments about SSS.

1. Captain Clark has written an excellent book of his adventures as a ship's officer just prior to and then during WWII. It is an accurate description of the typical mariners life. The book is enhanced by his descriptions of the history of the various places he visited and the seas he sailed. He has played down the dangers and violence to which the US merchant mariner was exposed. They suffered the second highest casualty rate after the US marine corps. Having seen the historical official documentation of the sinking of his vessel in the north Atlantic, I can tell you he understated the danger to himself and the actions he took to save others. Anyone interested in life at sea will enjoy this book.



2. This book was historicaly accurate of war at sea and spans 2-3 years. It is well writen from real time notes and the later memories of Capt Clark. This book was well writen and researched over a period that spaned 50+ years. The adventures of the young Captain during WWII. I found to be spell- binding. The author was able to totally draw me into the events as they happened. I found myself living a part of each event as it was being so vividly described. Spellbinding.



3. "SSS" was the Radio call meaning "under submarine attack" a call heard much too frequently on merchant ships during World War II. Captain Clark has written an outstanding 500+ page memoir of his war years.

   The book is not just a memoir -- it's a lesson in history geography, local customs and navigation, because Clark annotates his voyages with brief explanations about the discovery of an island, the island's geography, climate, etc. He explains the war situation at that point in time, which helps us understand why his ship is going somewhere. There's never too much explanation to get in the way of the main story, and it adds plenty of flavor.

   Clark seems to have acquaintances, mostly young women, in every port, so we get a glimpse of wartime civilian life in San Francisco, Wellington NZ, Melbourne, AU, etc.

   Clark received his training in the Cadet Corps, class of 1940.

   On Pearl Harbor day he is Second Mate on an Army Transport, USAT J. W. McAndrew. Besides the Army Transport, he sailed on "merchant" ships, such as the DelBrasil carrying a SeaBees construction battalion to the South Pacific, and was Captain of the XAPA Young America, a Navy Attack Troop Transport which had 89 merchant mariners and 145 Navy personnel and carried up to 2,000 troops for amphibious operations.

   What a unique combination! It gives the reader varied perspectives on the war effort.

   Clark is torpedoed in the North Atlantic, survives the Murmansk Run, transits the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and countless islands in the Pacific.

   This is a wonderful book. Don't miss it!

No comments about Ten Men, a Flying Boxcar, and a War: A Journal of B-24 Crew 313, 1944 to 1945.

No comments about Thomas ap Catesby Jones: Commodore of Manifest Destiny (Library of Naval Biography Series).

1 comments about Remembering: Stories from the World War II Pacific.

1. HEARING THEIR WORDS
   
   Although I was only in grammar school during World War Two; I have always considered that event to be the most important occurrence in modern human history; effecting all human beings on this planet, including-by way of example-natives with blowguns in darkest Africa to Eskimos on the frozen Artic Ocean, hunting whales for their maktak. I remember hearing a Lockheed aircraft worker, my next door neighbor, saying at the time, "Everyone in the world is looking over their shoulder."
   
   My interest in the war-on and around the Pacific Ocean-was triggered by my older brother who enlisted when I was eight years old in the Navy and was being trained in PBYs (my favorite classic aircraft), for duty in that theater of the war. Thus I was ready to buy when I saw the new title, REMEMBERING: STORIES FROM THE WORLD WAR TWO PACIFIC.
   
   I was ready to buy the book, and I wanted the hard cover with the picture of General Douglas Macarthur.
   
   So, when I scrutinized this brand new book by the author Jerry Jackson and read in the, "ABOUT THE AUTHER;" inside cover material; that he lives in Malibu Beach, California; my favorite beach as a teen; I thought `bingo,' my brother; PBYs and Malibu Beach; those are all good-luck reasons why this book will turn out to be, a great-read- book, and I have a feeling that it will be read over and over.
   
   After the purchase; what I found great about this book is that instead of hearing the author's opinions throughout; he brings out the best tales and words from the mouths of the serviceman who were there. As an example; these words are that of an eighteen year old boy (Bob White), words remembered from 1941. "Not only did she look like a scow, but the odor coming from her was almost unbearable." (A few sentences later), "After recovering from the seasickness I was no longer aware of the odor of the ship ever again."
   
   I could go on with other similar examples, but why ruin a delightful read? What was invigorating to me was the variety of the true, `first-person stories.' I will skip around the table-of-contents and list just a few of them next.
   
   THE SINKING OF THE USS NECHES
   
   THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH
   
   A NAVAAJO CODE TALKER LANDS ON IWO JIMA
   
   AN ARMY NURSE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC 1942 - 1945
   
   `FIRE!!!' `ABANDON SHIP'.
   
   And many others.
   
   What I loved about this small treasure, is that when traveling or just around the pool, I can pull out this great book and not have to slide back into a continuous narrative, but pick a true story to relive in it's entirety. And if I have time, read another. I recommend this book highly and wish there were more like it.