4 comments about Sixty Days in Combat: An Infantryman's Memoir of World War II in Europe.

1. This was a good book, and a very easy read. I enjoyed going on the journey with the author, and I am a better person for having read it. That being said, for whatever reason, I was expecting something a little different. I guess with all the war movies and Ken Burns documentaries, I was thinking it might be longer and more "exciting." I feel bad even typing that, since the title clearly says "sixty days in combat," and it is sixty days more than I ever served. I'm still glad I bought it and read it, but if you are looking for something a little more comprehensive, try a different book. Overall, a good read and an interesting take on one man's experience in WW2.



2. "Sixty Days In combat" by Dean P. Joy. Subtitled: "An Infantryman's Memoir Of World War II In Europe." Presidio Press book, Random House, 2004.
   Born in Colorado in 1924, Dean P. Joy was almost nineteen when he volunteered for the draft in June 1943. He had just finished his freshman year in engineering at the University of Colorado, and, as with so many young men of the time, he was hoping to become a P51 Mustang pilot in the Army Air Corps. The author's poor eyesight squelched that opportunity. So, fortunately (or unfortunately), the young Dean Joy was told to take the test for the Army Specialized Training Program, ASTP. The author expected to be given military training along with his classes in engineering. In October 1943, he and one other fellow arrived at the University of Idaho, in Moscow, Idaho, for the Army Specialized Training Program. Great casualties in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) caused the cancellation of the ASTP, and Dean Joy, along with " ...some two hundred thousand young Americans in the ASTP" were off to the "...poor bloody infantry after all". (P. 26).
   
   As luck would have it, Dean Joy is transferred to the 71st Light Infantry Division, given infantry training and training on mortars, shipped across the Atlantic to the ETO (on board the ship, " USS General Tasker Bliss"), arrived in France (which has an "ancient smell"), and then off to front for sixty days of combat, from March 10 to May 8 1945. Based upon his wife's suggestion, Mr. Joy has scattered sketches of " ...selected scenes that stick in my memory, as if my eye had been a camera" . These sketches (they look like pen and ink) liven up the details that his words describe; the sketches make the book easier to read.
   
   In reality, this book is an autobiography of a young man growing up in tough times in a tough arena. Dean P. Joy changes from a youngster, just hitting nineteen, a teetotaler and a kid afraid of girls, to an Army veteran, with the Combat Infantryman's Badge, running a bar in occupied Europe, and married to a displaced person. Perhaps the most poignant line in the book is on page 23, when the young Dean Joy recounts:
   "...innocent fun..." in snowy Idaho , a carefree memory ...
   " of the ASTP ...of a very pretty girl who ...stuffed snow down my neck. Oh, how I wanted to get to know her and ask her out on a date! But I was far too shy"



3. Not a bad book at all. Dean Joy joined the war late because of an interesting school deferment. He wanted to fly the famous P-51 Mustang but ended up the71st Infantry Division. The book is very interesting reading about a unit that doesn't get a lot of press because they entered the war so late. The book is an easy read, very well written, and provides a good overview of the end of the war. Of particular interest is his description of four captured P-51 Mustangs that were converted to German use.



4. A must for WWII History buffs, but an easy read for all readers. The author recalls how he wanted, along with many other young U.S high school grads to register for military service in WWII and to "fly". With his easy writing style and incredible drawings, Dean Joy pulls you into his daily disappointments as he realized he would fight as an infantryman. You feel what he did as he writes letters home to his beloved parents. Its as though I actually felt, saw, and heard, what this young man did. The remarkable discription of the different sounds of artillery, the German towns and rivers that the Allies went through, the pride of being in Patton's 3rd Army. Along with the author, I hated the "Krauts" and sorrowed over German civilians losing homes and farms to the ravages of war. I literally "willed" this young man to make it home.

No comments about Stars in Khaki: Movie Actors in the Army and the Air Services.

5 comments about Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in Iraq.

1. As a mother of a soldier in Iraq, I wanted to know all I could about what might be happening to my son, as he never told me Anything, as they are supposed to do. I read this book, & loved it. Also read Colby Buzzell's book, My War, Killing Time in Iraq, too. Also John Crawford's The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq. All of these books were wonderful, & really helped me a lot. The other reviews talking about how good these books are tell that part of it for me, & the reviewers that loved these books were right-on, in my opinion.



2. Jason Christopher Hartley was raised in my own hometown of Murray, Utah. His story could have been mine, had I chosen to join the Army. What Hartley has is a sharp wit that transforms his work into something more than just a blog in book form. It is episodic, a mere compilation of his blog entries, but this helps recreate what it might feel like for a soldier. Battle is probably quite episodic itself.
   
   Hartley's blog posts are quite eloquently written, laced with a dark sense of humor that can only come from being raised as he was (similar to my upbringing--maybe I found his sense of humor so authentic because it falls in line with my own). His frank honesty, even that which may paint him in a negative light, is refreshing, a nice change of pace from the typical "see what a good person I am?" self-promoting attitudes that come from many autobiographies.
   
   I will say that this is the best of the books I've read from soldiers of the Iraq War. It has the most to say by saying very little at all. It's the simple day-to-day tasks that drive much of Hartley's writing. It amounts to anyone else's blog about their workplace, except Hartley is facing life-or-death on a nearly constant basis. I highly recommend this book if you want an honest portrayal of one infantryman's experiences. Be warned though: Hartley's attitude reflects much of the video-game-generation's detachment. He can view even the most serious of tragedies in a comedic light. For example, he affixed a "I Heart Dead Civilians" sticker to his laptop. He enjoys the thrill of the fight, maybe if just for a thrill. It's a common personality trait of his generation (and mine).
   
   Not to be missed if you can handle it. This is a must read for anyone wanting a peek at how soldiers are living out their tours in Iraq.



3. Mr. Hartley has given us a book of our times. He is literally on the ground of the World Trade Center after the planes hit and goes into Iraq with the invasion. There is a certain lack of pretension in his style and I feel that the writing and the photos he gives us are as close to the reality of being there without being there.
   
   He is not afraid to present himself as a humanist who is in love with the Army, which I am afraid will be far too complex for many who cannot reconcile that idea. His foibles, screw-ups, less than flattering lights are all in there.
   
   He says he has not read books of other wars and I believe him. If he did, the style and degree of openess would be very different. Without trying to be poetic or profound, he testifies to the day-to-day grind of trying to make a difference in the occupation of a hostile land.
   
   This is as real as it gets.



4. For reasons to numerous to mention, many are detached from the war in Iraq. Where journalists may have failed, articulate veterans like Jason Christopher Hartley are documenting their experiences in books that should be required reading for every American.
   
   Hartley is a superb writer and balances his prose between the often-absurd events of the war and his finely tuned personal observations. From the pathos of describing the plight of an Iraqi chicken farmer, to the deep humor of his description of leave in the artificial paradise of Qatar, Hartley's wit and command of language results in a compelling narrative.
   
   I first read Hartley's blog (the precursor to the book) on the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of American) website and couldn't wait to read the final product. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the future writing of this talented writer.



5. This book gives you great insight into the happenings and everday life of a soldier fighting in Iraq. This book does just not tell of combat and fighting, but also the everyday occurences and thoughts of what it is like to be over there. It is filled with humor, sadness, anger and reflection of a year spent over in Iraq. If you want a book filled with combat and fighting, this is not for you. But if you want the thoughts and happenings first-hand witnessed from a soldiers point of you, than this book is for you.

2 comments about Co. Aytch : The Classic Memoir of the Civil War By a Confederate Soldier.

1. the best diary of a civil war veteran i have ever read!!



2. This fast, short read is a Civil War memoir written by a private in the First Tennessee Regiment of the Confederate army, the "Maury Grays", about twenty years after the war. Channel surfers and Ken Burns fans may recognize "Co. Aytch" as a favorite source of quotes for War historians, and for good cause. The book is not a history of the war - Watkins is at pains to make this point - but rather a view of what one private saw. And by his telling of it, he saw a lot. He was at or around half the Civil War battles you ever heard of - Manassas, Shiloh, Chatanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta - and a bunch of others of which you probably never heard. By the end of the war he was one of seven men still living from his original company of one hundred twenty. Watkins's classic front-porch, army veteran style was likely developed over the course of many retellings, during which - just perhaps - one or two of the episodes were a tiny bit stretched. Taken prisoner three times - followed by three escapes - grazed or hit by bullets innumerable times, once having his hat removed by a cannonball, Watkins is occasionally hard to believe. A special strength of Watkins's style, however, is his abilty to switch from, for example, a lurid and breath-taking description of men in battle at the "Dead Angle" of the Hundred Days Battle northwest of Atlanta to scathing sarcasm in his assessment of General Hood's performance in that campaign. Humor abounds in this book, some of it uproarious - as in the description of a preacher who was courageous in his sermonizing but not in battle. Much of Watkins's humor, however, is gently sardonic: "Well, reader, let me whisper in your ear. I was in the row, and the following pages tell what part I took in the little unpleasant misconception of there being such a thing as north and south." "Co. Aytch" has many qualities reminiscent of "The Red Badge of Courage". The two works - the former an extroverted memoir and the latter introspective fiction - convey strongly the private's nearly constant condition of not knowing the big picture of an army's movements - a knowledge reserved for generals and for historians. The two works also offer scenes of battle which bring the reader into the action through judicious choice of descriptive detail. Watkins writes: "We were charging through an old citizen's yard, when a big yellow cur dog ran out and commenced snapping at the soldiers' legs - they kicking at him to keep him off. The next morning he was lying near the same place, but he was a dead dog." Elsewhere Watkins writes: "The sun was poised above us, a great red ball sinking slowly in the west, yet the scene of battle and carnage continued", which recalls a famous, and stronger, concluding sentence from a battle scene in "The Red Badge of Courage": "The red sun was pasted onto the sky like a wafer." It is difficult to know, finally, what to make of Sam R. Watkins. His judgements of his contemporaries are trapped in contradiction by the values of his region and era. His acceptance of the south's aristocractic ethos causes him to retreat repeatedly from his own trenchant, plainspoken criticisms of this or that general's performance; and yet the criticisms, once stated, do remain. Likewise, Watkin's patriotic and religious convictions mix with his stright-talking nature to produce contradictory opinions. All any incompetant soldier need do to be rehabilitated in Sam Watkins's eyes is to get killed in battle for his country. This triggers an immediate suspension of criticism and lengthy sentences of praise, with flowery references to reunions to come in the blessed hereafter. Watkins's most troubling conflict, however, is between his graphic depictions of the senseless brutality of the war - which of themselves amount to an argument for pacificism - and of his refusal to finally reject war either generally or in this instance. He of all human beings has seen enough to take the shine off chivalry - but he will not give it up. Sam Watkins stays true to the cheers of the ladies and of the preachers who sent him and his friends off to war in 1861. Watkins's social background triumphs over his own moral sense; and so, in the end, we get not a moral document but a wonderfully colorful description. "The tale is told. The world moves on, the sun shines as brightly as before, the flowers bloom as beautifully, the birds sing their carols as sweetly, the trees nod and bow their leafy tops as if slumbering in the breeze, the gentle winds fan our brow and kiss our cheek as they pass by, the pale moon sheds her silvery sheen, the blue dome of the sky sparkles with the trembling stars that twinkle and shine and make night beautiful, and the scene melts and gradually disappears forever."

2 comments about From the Cockpit: Coming of Age in the Korean War.

1. I highly recommend this book to anyone who really wants to know what it was like for someone in the Korean War. It is easy to read and you feel like you are right there with him. Excellent!



2. A damn fine read! It's just like he's sitting by the grill smelling steaks and sipping martini's as he spins his tales of yesteryears!

5 comments about Let Me Go.

1. i just finished the audio version of 'Let Me Go.' Over the course of a lifetime, thanks to countless tv documentaries, books, movies, museums exhibitions, etc., we're aware and informed of so much that occurred in the death camps during the Holocaust. We have heard many barbaric specifics before or at least enough to extrapolate much of the rest; much of it is not a surprise or revelation, per se, but more than half a century later in this story, the truths of the Holocaust still shock. Can you call an audio book a 'page turner?'
   
   What sets this book apart in this audio version, is it's no-holds-barred, accounting straight from the mouth of a former female Nazi SS guard, the mother of the author, Helga Schneider. The author's rollercoaster of emotions and pain is pitiful and incredibly moving enough and in Rosesnblat's hands, the mother's undiminished hatred is so palpable; she is vile, repulsive, and totally unrepentant. This book speaks to the pathological motivations and complicity of that time. This is the voice of one woman and it is the voice of many. The question has been asked incessantly, by so many as to render it trite; 'How could this have happened?' In this book, in these words, and especially in this superb reading, you sit there and say to yourself, "This is how such a thing can happen."



2. Let Me Go is one of the most un-put-down-able books I've ever read. Though in general my husband and I have very different reading interests he also found it to be so. We each had it finished within 24 hrs. In it Helga Schneider exposes the raw emotional journey of seeing her aged and estranged mother for the last time. This is an intensely personal book focussed entirely on this exchange and to a limited extent the intruding context of Helga's childhood and Helga's previous visit decades ago. The book leaves questions unanswered, and that is it's strength. Just as some readers may find that there are no satisfactory answers in some respects, there are none for Helga. The book does not interpret it just tells you the story with an honesty that is incredibly courageous. There may be things that the reader wishes had been resolved or discussed in the exchange, but this is not the reader's story, it is Helga's story. I have read a lot of Military history and I found this book a wonderful, powerful and moving counterpoint as it illustrates the lasting legacy for the innocents even so many decades on.
   I consider this book to be one of the most precious in my library.
   This review is based on the hardcover edition.



3. Something was missing for me in the historical recount.
   
   She meets her 90 year old mother in a nursing home and starts asking very leading questions that suggest she should feel pity (whether she should or shouldn't isn't the point) when I was just waiting for her to head in the direction of how her mother came to believe in the nazi lifestyle in the first place. The previous reviewer is right, they pick right up where she leaves her children and joins the SS party and is viewed as a monster but I think it's responsible to attempt to understand humanity's motives and find out what the catalyst was to her drastic life change. There are even hints that she missed her old life terribly but these reasons are not explored, only pondered over by the writer in hindsight. As the famous saying goes, if you neglect to understand these situations, however painful they may be, history may repeat itself.
   
   Overall, it was a very good read but the detail above it why I'm giving it 4 stars.



4. History is often written on the grand stage. The huge battles or landmark laws are recorded. The feelings of the children whose parents are caught up in the "monumental events" are rarely recorded. In "Let Me Go, Helga Schneider has given us just such an account. Her mother was a seemingly unapologetic nazi who abandoned her family to serve Hitler. Helga is now going to visit her dying mother, who is possibly suffering from dementia. Helga just needs to know, and engages in incredibly difficult conversations with her mother. Is her mother still rational? Is she telling the truth? Why would she do the brutal things that she herself describes (including tortures and nonchalantly sending another woman who offended her to be enslaved in a brothel). This is compelling reading, and an underappreciated way of knowing history. The only comment I have, and it is not directed at Schneider, but at society in general. We are always surprised when it is a woman who in engages in such terrifying acts, as it violates the stereotype of female behavior. We would probably not be as surprised if this book were written in terms of going to see her aged father.



5. I enjoyed the book but kept wondering why the mother's name or the camp she worked at ever mentioned. Would have made the book more enjoyable.

1 comments about Stories of Service: Valley Veterans Remember World War II.

1. well done; well organized into war theatres, easy to follow; great "cast og characters" a "must have" addition to library of anyone interested in ww II history.

5 comments about Masters of the Art: A Fighting Marine's Memoir of Vietnam.

1. I am a VietNam Vet having served two tours. It's as if Ron Winter had come into my brain and written my memories. I was involved in some of the events he relates. Other stories are so real that it was as if I were telling them myself. In fact my family will attest to the fact that I have told some of these stories in almost the same words. This book made me smile and it made me cry and it made me remember. If you want to really know what it felt like to be there; if you want to get some idea of what went on inside our head - then read this book. I have given it a permanent spot on my bookshelf.



2. Being a retired Marine and having served in the same squadron and having the same MOS as Ron, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I recognized several names, even though I was stationed in HMM-161 in the early '70s. I would definately recommend this book to any person interested in Marine Aviation and its real world attributes.



3. When I picked up Masters of the Art, I thought I was about to read a kind of Chickenhawk book but from a door-gunner's perspective. It turned out to be much more than that. The door-gunner's perspective is there, but that experience is nicely bracketed by Winter's experiences and personal development prior to and after his tour in Vietnam. He aptly conveys what it meant to him to be a Marine; and by so doing, he conveys what it must have meant to other Marines. One senses a timelessness in this conveyance: it must have meant the same to Marines on Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, at Chosin, and at Khe Sanh and mean the same today to those serving in Iraq. It is an esprit that many without military experience may find difficult to fathom. For anyone familiar with Marine history, it is an esprit that can lead to the accomplishment of near impossible missions! An excellent tribute.
   
   The narrative is presented in chronological order: from Winter's high school graduation, through Paris Island bootcamp, helicopter training, the tour in Vietnam and the years following his discharge. In Vietnam choppers were the life-line to the grunts on the ground and the life-takers of the enemy that got in their way. Often they made the difference in turning the course of a battle. Grunts relied on them with an awesome sense of faith: they'd bring the ammunition when you were running out, they'd take out the wounded even under the most harrowing circumstances. As a door gunner on these choppers, Winter displays (as few others have done) the dedication that made them such a welcome sight to the grunts on the ground.
   
   I found Part III, dealing with the years following Winter's return from Vietnam, to be some of the best chapters in the book. They deal with the reception (or non-reception) he got when he got home, and while not unique to him, he articulates his thoughts and frustrations in a way that many other returning vets could identify with: the rejection, the almost personal denial of the Vietnam experience, the coming to grips with it and the attendant moving on.
   
   Fortunately, Winter did move on. This masterful book is undoubtedly a result of it. It is a tribute to him, to the Marine Corp and to the American military.



4. Masters of the Art is a superbly crafted memoir of one man's journey through a Marine Corps enlistment in the late 1960s, at the height of the Vietnam War. The account describes scenes and events that every former Marine reading this book will be able to relate to. This is one of the book's many attributes, one that sets it apart from other war stories. The author is an accomplished writer with something to say in each of the book's 26 chapters. His writing style grabs your attention in the opening paragraphs of each, and does not let go until the message is clear. The process then re-cycles on another theme or topic, in the next chapter. From the turmoil of family relationships, to enlistment, through boot camp, ITR, and aerial combat as a door gunner on a CH-46 Sea Knight, the author takes you on an excursion through the various stages of his life. While the events he describes are often humorous, they can be somber or melancholy. They are always insightful and provide the reader with a snippet of the events the author deems important to the forming of his character. As one might expect from a story involving warfare, death and dying are also touched upon. Most often the author's perspective is dependent upon whether the process is being inflicted upon the enemy or a close friend. In a style all his own, the author puts into perspective the weight of events that transpire on the battlefield to forge the bonds that will forever hold together marines who have fought together. Of significance here, and reiterated in several places in the book, the author learns what he terms "emotional compartmentalization", a defense mechanism he attributes to having allowed him to function effectively within the chaos of the battlefield environment where emotional attachment is often veiled to preserve sanity.
   
   If you are a veteran Marine, this book will spark memories that can either warm your heart or bring you to sadness, often within sentences of one another. I do not believe that anyone will walk away from this book unaffected. For me, it brought with it a new found respect for the Marines who fly to support the Grunts, for theirs is truly a dangerous mission.
   
   Finally, in the book's epilogue, the author looks back and puts the Vietnam experience into a much wider historical perspective. It is the author's contention that the stance the United States military took against communist aggression in South Vietnam provided surrounding nations in Southeast Asia with the time needed to prepare their militaries and their economies, thus making it more difficult for communism to turn them. In this sense, Vietnam was not fought in vain. On the other hand, under pressure from war protesters, our government's decision to withdraw support from Vietnam directly lead to the fall of South to the North. The peoples of our country and others, turned their backs on the peoples of South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the years following Saigon's fall, permitting the loss of millions of lives to atrocities committed by the North Vietnamese, the Khmer Rouge and the Pathet Lao. These events could have been prevented, had action been taken, leaving us with the clear message that every action following the decision to engage has ramifications that must be carefully considered thereafter. The world will continue to raise up predators to whom naïve and peace-loving peoples will be viewed prey. Our country is presently deeply engaged in combating what has been termed "global terrorism". Although the enemy differs significantly in his character, the consequences of withdrawal from this war may be similar to those following Vietnam. The protesters marching in our streets naively believing that if the US withdrawals troops from Iraq, all hostilities will stop and the world will be at peace. One would think that we would have learned by now that this shortsided, self-centered thinking, would be recognized as both flawed in concept and practice. But no. Having read this book and reliving the events of the 60's and 70's through the author's memories and perspective, I must state "Thank God for men like Ron Winter and his fellow Marines!"



5. This chronicles what the helicopter doop gunner's job entailed.It's consice and very accurate.

5 comments about Pathfinder: John Charles Fremont and the Course of American Empire.

1. This is an excellent biography of an American that few people know about. Fremont was truly a vivid member of history from the days of the early republic through the age of manifest destiny. This book covers not only Fremont's triumphs but his downfalls. While a young and impetuous (sometimes dishonest) man, Fremont was successful in helping to expand this countries knowledge of its own topography and boundaries. Through a vivid use of journals and maps Fremont led expeditions that cataloged the trails for westward expansion.
   His service in the army corp. of engineers helped with the capture of California through bravado more so than force. After his brief governorship of California, Fremont was found guilty at a court marital for his actions against General Kearny and the Polk administration. Fremont's retirement would lead him to business ventures and a run for the presidency as the Republican Party's first candidate. These distinctions would continue as he was a commander of the western union forces during the Civil War. His greatest act here would be to promote a little known Grant to general and command the armies of Tennessee. Overall this is an excellent biography and does a great job of providing a balanced look at a little known person in American history. Highly recommended for those who want to understand how the groundwork for manifest destiny was laid.



2. This is a massively important book, one that invokes not only America, but also the frontier and the life of a man who, hitherto a minor player in history, has been brought to the forefront to show how he embodied an age. The author puts himself astride the arguments of American history, showing how John Charles Fremont was once the epitome of the American who helped brave the wilderness, and how recent revisionist historians cast him as an imperialist and a leader in the persecution of the Native Americans. For the author Fremont is neither and both, a man who forced America to "reimagine America itself". Born in 1813 in Savannah, Fremont was to embody America itself, the Colossus in the Cradle, that was just beginning to feel its way into the new frontier of the West.
   
   He was to be surveyor in the 1830s when the Cherokee nation was relocated. Fremont's most important expeditions would be between 1838 and 1854, charting various routes and mapping the American west. His campfires and wagon trails are today nothing but dust, few are preserved. The author sought in van to find them but found instead the legacy of Fremont, America astride the West gave birth to the American West and after that to commerce and the great movement of population, for which Fremont's old camping sites are now national parks or owned by the government or inside the property of corporations.
   
   This book evokes so many things it is hard not to give it praise for all of them. It tells the story of the American West and attempts by well meaning explorers to sympathize and help Native-Americans, Fremont himself judged the U.S government deficient in its promises to the American Indian.
   
   An amazing read that will be enjoyed by any student of American history or anyone interested in the frontier or the American West.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman



3. John Fremont was (in some aspects) the Alexander Hamilton of the mid-19th century. That may seem like a strange comparison, but they had one very strong similarity.... you either loved them or you hated them. Both were seen as larger than life and aroused strong emotions throughout the country.
   
   There are some pretty significant differences between the two - Fremont was world-renowed explorer of the American Wild West - while Hamilton was a bona fide finacial genius (which Fremont definitely was not!). Hamilton died too young and became somewhat of a martyr and his reputation has grown. Fremont may have lived a little too long and scandal soiled and diminished his reputation.
   
   Now to Chaffin's wonderful biography on Fremont: What a great/interesting read! The characters are much larger than life John Fremont, Thomas Hart Benton (His father-in-law), General Stockton (Who helped win California fo America) and of course Fremont's exploring buddy Kit Carson.
   
   Chaffin tells a tale that is so odd that it must be true. The tales of Fremont's four main explorations is straight out of a Hollywood movie. We follow Fremont up mountains, across rivers, through deserts - we see how they faced extreme starvation and how some members were forced to turn to canabalism (ouch!).
   
   Chaffin presents Fremont with warts and all - there is mention of his affairs, his conceit, his insubortination, his shameless self-promotion and his many financial blunders. While Chaffin does not apologize for Fremonts faults he also chooses not to dwell on these aspects.
   
   So why only four stars? There are some minor flow problems (for me) I found that the section on the war for California to be far too long, and the sections on Fremont's role in the Civil War and his ill fated Presidential campaign to be far too short. However, a significant amount of the book concentrates on Fremont's explorations.... which is exactly why I give a full recommendation.



4. I loved this book--an inspiring story that conveys the excitment of the exploration of the west. Author includes historical background so Fremonts actions are placed in the context of the time. Very readable--almost like a novel. The one drawback are the maps of Fremonts explorations. They are merely sketch maps without any location detail--I would have liked to have seen more detailed cartography with, perhaps, landforms included. Many (most) place names in the book are not shown on the maps. I kept my atlas at hand while reading, but many place names have changed. I strongly recommend.



5. A good book, rich in historical detail, but...wow, the copyediting is bad. It's enough that it's really hard to read the book. I hope they can fix the copyediting problems if they reprint the book or bring it out in paperback.

1 comments about Douglas Bader (Airlife Classics).

1. A well written history of one of the RAF's most famous flyers.The story of Britains legless ace is indeed a fascinating one,and this book tells the story very well indeed.Well worth the read for aviation enthusiasts and general readers alike.