5 comments about A Stranger to Myself: The Inhumanity of War: Russia, 1941-1944.

1. I wanted a horrifying memoir of war. SOmething that would haunt me for years. Maybe my expectations were too high. Sure there are scenes of people cutting off feet so they cat get new boots, but I'm from Minnesota. I've spent months grabbing lost gloves from bus stops. If I was desperate for new boots I seriously doubt I'd have a problem with taking them off a dead guy; although as dead people on Minneapolis streets are a rare commodity this theory has yet to be tested.
   
   Beyond that it's a lot purple prose and flower arrangements. Willy Reese might have grown into a competant writer had he lived. He might have mined this experience for some of the most horrifying novels of the 20th century. It could have been an All Quiet on the Western Front or a The Naked and the Dead: 50th Anniversary Edition but instead it's just a book about a guy who is in a war. He doesn't like it. He's not sure if he believes in G-d. He's horrified about most things.
   
   And there are several false notes like when he breaks down crying toward the end of the book. There's nothing in that crying jag that seems genuine since this guy has presumably been at war for years. If he's going to cry about getting rescued or seeing his friends die he would have pulled that move early. It's pure literary flummory to gives us tears at such a late hour. SOunds more like he's trying to impress some woman with his sensitivity than him actually being at war.
   
   So it's pretty much a badly written book by a guy who was one of the cogs in the machine of the worst crime of the 20th century. Boohoo. He's dead. Good.



2. This book is very special for myself since it is really an extraordinary literature piece. Neither a tactic recording, nor a simple diary, but a deep and sharp introspection refer to an eternal topic: how war destroy an ordinary man. His text is florid but brutal and unbelievably precise. However, it's a very personal account, so my reading experience is also very personal, touching into my heart, and make me thinking about this world which never really gets peace.
   
   If you are trying to find any military detail, dates, names, units, strategy or tactics, please just skip this book. If you like poetry, or you are fanscinated by pondering humanity and life, war and peace, you will be astonished at his brilliant prose, vivid description, then sigh for his disillusionment, painful soul, and a young, talent but ended prematurly life. I recommend it as a great anti-war book and an unusual precious work.



3. Of all the countless memiors written by German veterans of the Eastern Front, A STRANGER TO MYSELF is the most unique I've yet read. It distinguishes itself from the "field gray flood" of nonfiction books on the Russian campaign in two very distinct ways: first, the author, Willy Peter Reese, did not live to see his scattered notes, many scribbled by the light of a cigarette, get published; he was killed in action in Russia in 1944. Second, Reese was not writing a mere litany of combat experiences and behind-the-lines hijinks but rather a deeply introspective, quasi-metaphysical self-portrait of a thoughtful young man in the midst of a war he neither agreed with nor understood.
   
   Willy Reese seems to have been a rather tortured soul well before he was drafted into Hitler's army - he had a tendency to brooding and seems to have been somewhat anguished about the meaning of life, not to mention oversensitive to its vulgarity and cruelty. The military service did not sit well with him, and he nursed a deep disgust for the Nazis and their cult of anti-intellectualism and brutality. By the time he got to Russia he seems to have given up on the human race, which made what he saw and experienced there all the more horrifying for him.
   
   Roughly 32 million people died on the Eastern Front between 1941 - 1944, the majority of them Russian civilians, and Reese himself survived long enough to see enough carnage for 1,000 lifetimes. He expected war to be horrible; what he did not expect was that he himself would willingly perpetrate some of this horror, and learn to do so with a smile on his face. Such was his transformation, from vaguely pacifistic poet to stone-faced hunter of his own species, that he came to feel that he had changed into someone that he did not know - a stranger to himself. Trapped between who he had been and who he was becoming, his only release ("spiritual morphine") came in writing down his experiences, notes which, after his death in combat, his mother would later organize into this book.
   
   American war literature tends to be very straightforward, and so it's no surprise a lot of people feel that Reese was a pretentious pseudo-intellectual trying to impress his audience with his vocabulary and intellect. After all, many of the book's passages are taken up with philosophical contemplations of the meaning of existence, the human soul, the relationship of man to nature, and the cycle of life and death. And Reese is the sort who doesn't step over a rock, he picks it up and contemplates its place in the Scheme of Things, sometimes with a seriousness that may seem silly to a (further) Westerner. This will be very annoying to a lot of readers who want their "war" books heavy on the "war" and light on the half-mystical philosophizing, but what readers and critics must understand is that Reese was merely a product of his times and of his country. German education heavily stressed philosophy, history, mythology, and classic literature, and Germans as a rule have a very deep connection to nature. This tends to effect their writing, and it deeply effected Reese's. You can love it or hate it (or something in between), but you shouldn't view it as affected - it was quite genuine.
   
   A STRANGER TO MYSELF is not without its gripping moments. Like one of his influences, Ernst Jünger, Reese often digresses into turgid rambling, but just like Jünger, these tedious passages almost always give way to beautifully written and vivid descriptions - when Reese describes the horrible fury of the Russian winters, the plagues of lice, the stench of decomposing corpses, the terrible exhaustion and thirst of a long march in the Ukrainian sun, the pathos of a dead soldier "whose rigored hands refused to yield his rifle", you feel these things as certainly as if you were experiencing them yourself.
   
   A STRANGER TO MYSELF is an important book, one which approaches an unbelievably savage conflict from the perspective of a man who was quite aware of what the war was doing to him, but powerless to stop it. And that theme of powerlessness, of being swept along the currents of Fate by forces he did not understand, is part of what makes the book such a poignant and necessary read. The Eastern Front was a hell that only one in four of the German soldiers who served in lived to talk about, and while Reese did not survive, his voice rings very loud indeed.



4. This was a very interesting book that was written by an average soldier that had an above average intellect. This young man would have been "somebody" if he had survived the war. Unfortunately, he did not and these pages show his view of the war in the East. The book itself does jump around, but this can be understood since it is written by a 20 year old that is trying to understand something that can't be understood. War. Take it for what it is. These pages were written for himself in order to help him find his sanity. This should be taken into account before reviewing the item. You may not like its format or lack of combat detail, but it is about a soldier of intellect trying to search his soul. It is a moving book if you read it with an open mind. Indeed, put yourself in his boots and out of your comfortable armchair and how would you have done?
   
   Viele Gruesse!



5. A young soldiers diary of his years on the Russian front. Ending near the time of his death it recounts the price humanity pays for war.

No comments about Not Without Honor: The Nazi POW Journal of Steve Carano, With Accounts by John C. Bitzer and Bill Blackmon.

5 comments about An Ace of the Eighth: An American Fighter Pilot's Air War in Europe.

1. This is one of the finest memoirs of combat I have ever read, from any era. It is well written, insightful, and a great addition to any library. Fortier's descriptions of combat in the air and boredom on the ground ring true, and provide a first-hand view of the air war over Europe from 1943 through 1945.



2. Ditto the comments and observations by Mezza. I picked this up at a book store to kill time on the plane while I was travelling. It far exceeded my expectations. Even the content attributed to other sources provides a reader with a real 1st person feel for the whole WWII European theater figher pilot experience. An excellent mix of in the air/ on the ground exploits. The author's stories and comments directly echo what I have heard from other WWII aviators and paint a much more complete picture of their lives overseas (ground and air) than what you might have concluded on the basis of Hollywood movies and historical accounts of air battles alone.



3. This gives an excellent inside look at the workings of the Army Air Corp in Europe in WW II.



4. A real surprise. Written in 2002, I did not imagine that a biography about WW II air war written so late would be so good.
   
   Highly recommended.



5. This book has some of the most memorable quotes, images, and sayings of any other book that I've ever read! The most humurous part of this book is when someone's radio mic got stuck in the on position and the pilot of the Mustang was talking to himself about the mission, the bomber crew, and one of the other Mustang pilots of his squadron. A memorable quote from this part of the book was, "I was laughing so hard, the flak didn't even bother me!"
   
   This book is very detailed in every way! Mr. Fortier takes you on a journey back in time in the way he describes his experience as a combat fighter pilot. He briefly describes his training experience to where it's not bogged down and yet is very interesting and then moves on to the types of aircraft he flew from P-39's, P-47's, and ultimately P-51's. Get this book! You will want to read it over and over again!

4 comments about Simon Girty Turncoat Hero.

1. This is a much-needed reappraisal of a central figure of the colonial and revolutionary period of American history. As part of a total war against the native peoples, which included biological and ecological warfare, systematic treaty-breaking, and the villification of any whites who resisted or objected to this policy, Girty was made a scapegoat and object of derision and fear.
   
   Settlers on the frontier as well as leaders of the emerging American nation, unable to credit Indian leaders with the capability to formulate strategies and tactics effective enough to thwart the insatiatable appetite for Indian lands, attributed to Simon Girty the skill and determination to lead the native forces everywhere and anywhere resistance was made.
   
   Hoffman's detailed descriptions and documented sources are a long-overdue reconsideration of this pivotal figure, once scorned, now ignored, in the period from the French & Indian War to the War of 1812.



2. After years of anticipation, Phillip Hoffman's book "Simon Girty Turncoat Hero" has finally made it to press and into my hands. Phillip Hoffman has spent 19 years in meticulous research and turned it into a fascinating, and probably the truest account of one of the most "misunderstood" historical figures on the American frontier, Simon Girty.
   
   Mr. Hoffman gives us great insight into the British, American, and Indian politics, Simon's contemporaries, and life and war on the frontier. Mr. Hoffman's adept writing skills have taken a much vilified and hated individual and given us another side of Simon's complicated personality; a side of Simon Girty that other writers either ignored or never understood.
   
   As an amateur genealogist, researching the Girty name including my fourth-great grandfather, Simon Girty, I have had numerous occasions to research Girty papers and have read most of the major works that have been written about Simon. I always came away feeling that no one knew the true Simon Girty until Mr. Hoffman came along. Now the Girty family and frontier enthusiasts probably have the most accurate account of Simon Girty and the role he played on the American frontier.
   
   I know there are many American Revolution and frontier enthusiasts, having met them at the frontier reunions, who will enjoy reading this book and adding it to their collections.
   
   Stephanie Thalman
   Simon Girty's fourth great granddaughter



3. Phillip Hoffman's book, "Simon Girty Turncoat Hero," is the culmination of 19 years of research into the history of the lesser-known but pivotal Frontier warfare that took place during the Revolutionary War.
   
   Hoffman shows us that the Revolutionary War was not just an East Coast war about taxes on tea and obedience to the king, it was also (perhaps mainly) about the British attempt to control the development of the West by joining with numerous Indian tribes to keep American settlers from streaming into Kentucky and Ohio and on to the West Coast which, of course, they eventually did.
   
   Three prominent figures in the Frontier war were Simon Girty, Alexander McKee and Matthew Eliott, all American agents stationed at Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) who, after working for the colonists, decided to throw in on the side of the Indians and the British, in part due to the treacherous way the Indians were being treated.
   
   This triple defection was a serious blow to the Americans, since all three men were fluent in the Indian languages (Girty and McKee had both been young captives; Eliott was a trader), very useful as translators and spies for the British.
   
   If the British had won the war, these men would have been hailed as heroes. The Indians, it goes without saying, would have ended up being screwed either way. As it was, the three were branded as traitors and Girty, "Dirty Girty," took the brunt of the colonists' wrath, wrongly blamed for every atrocity. Over a century after these events, my mother remembered being told, "You'd better behave or Simon GIRTY will get you," as if he were the bogeyman personified.
   
   My great-great-great-great grandmother, Margaret Paulee Erskine, was captured by a group of Shawnee Indians in 1779 and lived in Shawnee towns in Ohio until her ransom in 1783.
   
   Margaret's narrative mentioned all of these men (who lived in close proximity and had Indian wives) in positive terms. Simon Girty had assured her she would not be forced to marry or cohabitate; McKee had saved her life. I've been waiting for a book that told the true story and here it is.
   
   "Simon Girty Turncoat Hero" is a scrupulously researched, fascinating account of the events surrounding the Frontier war in general and an exoneration of Simon Girty in particular.
   
   Phillip Hoffman has managed to take a mountain of raw data (battles, treaties made and broken, both sides floundering through the woods with short supplies, runners routinely sent on 100-mile foot-journeys to deliver messages) and turn it into a very readable account of "how the West was lost."
   
   Hoffman's career as a screenwriter served him well in this endeavor. Girty, his friends, members of his family, and the Native Americans they lived and fought for, spring to life on the pages of his book, which, in other hands, might have come across as dry as dust.
   
   Simon Girty, "The Most Hated Man on the Early American Frontier," a man with a large price on his head and a gash in it as well (coshed by an Indian chief during a drunken brawl), emerges as a person both tender and tough, who loved his family and was a champion in the Indian cause to hold onto their land.
   
   It may perhaps be a small choir that Hoffman sings to, but for anyone interested in the history of the Revolutionary War, this book is a must-read.



4. I have read almost all of the books and articles about Uncle Simon and I must say this book by Phil Hoffman is the most accurate in-depth account of Simon Girty , his life and the Girty family of the 1700s that I have had the plesure to read. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Early America and its heros. Kenneth E Girty Renfrew, Pennsylvania

5 comments about LeMay (Great Generals).

1. LeMay is probably best known for his "bomb them back to the stone age" suggestion on how to win the Vietnam War. He is also rumored to have been the inspiration for the crazed Air Force general Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove." This book helps to set the record straight. LeMay was certainly one of the leading advocates of strategic bombing. He masterminded the fire bombing of Japanese cities in World War II, directed the Berlin Airlift, and essentially created the Strategic Air Command from the ground up during the Cold War. He was also one of the youngest men to ever reach the rank of Four Star General at the age of 44 (U.S. Grant was a little younger).
   
   While this book is a good introduction to LeMay's life and career, it is limited by the small format of the Great Generals series. This is not the fault of the author, but he is forced to condense certain portions of the narrative to fit the confines of the small page count. As a result, the account suffers and the reader is left wanting more. I would recommend Iron Eagle by Thomas Coffey (ISBN 0-517-55188-8) for a more complete and nuanced biography of LeMay. It can be found pretty cheaply through Amazon's marketplace of used book dealers. Happy reading!



2. Considering Curtis LeMay's long-term influence on air power (from before WW II into the early Vietnam era), it is astonishing that there has only been one prior biography: Thomas Coffey's Iron Eagle (1986). This entry in the Great Generals series therefore is the first biography since LeMay's death in 1990.
   
   The author clearly knows his subject. He has produced a concise, objective study of one of the most controversial military figures of the 20th century, and one of the most significant. Tillman examines LeMay's early life and career, then traces his evolution from the young commander whose decisions helped speed the end of the Pacific War into the "caveman in a bomber", excoriated by the Left even while he kept the Cold War "frosty" rather than "hot."
   
   Readers looking for the story behind the impassive face will have to wait for a more comprehensive treatment. The author's charter apparently was to describe LeMay's leadership philosophy and draw comparisons useful to current managers, as do the other installments in the series. In that regard, Tillman has accomplished his mission: a feat of which LeMay himself would have approved.



3. This book is a quick and dirty overview of the life and career of Curtis E. LeMay. The biography is rather thin and it hits only the highlights of the general's life. All the books in this series are on the short side and serve more as brief introductions to their subjects than authoritative accounts. There is only so much Tillman can do in the space that he has available and given the constraints he faces, he does a good job. Tillman is a sympathetic biographer and does an exceptional job of explaining LeMay's involvement in the Berlin Airlift. Previous biographers have given this topic little attention. This approach, though, leads Tillman astray when he reaches LeMay's tenure as Chief-of-Staff of the USAF during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. Like previous LeMay biographers, Tillman is as dismissive of the national strategies and foreign policies of these administrations as was LeMay. His explanation of these different ideas and approaches is simplistic at best. He is particularly rough on Secretary of Defense Robert S. MacNamara, making the former executive at the Ford Motor Company look at various times as either an incompetent or as a black-and-white villain.
   
   It is clear that Tillman likes his subject, and there is much to admire in Curtis E. LeMay as a professional, a leader, and as a man. Tillman, however, has a difficult time developing the general's complex personality. There was good deal more to him than his gruff exterior. Despite his "bomb `em back into the stone age" reputation, LeMay had a powerful understanding of the bleak realities of what war really was. He was fully aware he was sending off men to kill and be killed, and he was alert to the real damage that they would suffer one way or another. He rarely got romantic about the business of war, which made him all the more human and determined to get results. Despite the caliber of Tillman's biography, the best book on LeMay remains the general's own memoirs. If you can get to a library, it is a good read. Otherwise, this book is pretty good too.



4. If the Cold War could be wrapped up into one person it would be Curtis LeMay. The U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC) was LeMay and LeMay was SAC. I knew the History Channel facts about Lemay, but I wanted to know more. Unfortunately this book left me wanting. At only 191 small pages, it was tough to really get into deep historical research or analysis for a figure as large and important as LeMay.
   
   I got the feeling the author was just cranking the book out. It did have the feel of a cliff notes or a term paper. There was noting really wrong with the book, but there was nothing that great about it either. LeMay comes across flat and the book lacks the tactile feel that makes great biographies.
   
   The author is very pro-airpower and never really dives into the great political/military dissent around LeMay and his views. I thought that maybe 15 years after the Cold War ended, enough time had past for someone to give LeMay a fresh look, but this book never got there. I will keep searching for a better LeMay bio.



5. Barrett Tillman's LeMay is a welcome addition to military aviation literature. Rooted in extensive research, gracefully written, and cogently argued, it places LeMay in a far richer and thoughtful context than the one-dimensional cigar-chomping, firestrom-triggering, finger-on-the-nuclear-trigger caricature of post-Dr. Strangelove, post-Vietnam sensibility. Tillman ranges widely across LeMay's life, relating it to key developments in military aviation, technology, world events, national strategy, and the political and social environment of the times. Nuanced, polished, and engrossing, it is must-read for anyone interested in the development of American air power and the role of this complex and fascinating man, one of the "Great Captains" of air warfare.

5 comments about George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century (Twayne's Twentieth-Century American Biography Series).

1. Before reading this book I did not have a very high opinion of George Marshall. You never heard much of anything he did. The Battle Field Generals of WW2 took much of the show. However after reading another book about Ike where he talked a little about Marshall I decided to give him another look and I am glad I did. Marshall was a truly outstanding general and patriot of the highest kind. But so humble that he would not even accept awards or leave his own story written by him. Getting back to the book, it was written very well. One of those books you just cannot put down. Naturally it takes you through his early years, West Point, the lean years of the army. But it also goes through the most difficult times of WW2. Without Marshall we would not have been prepared for WW2 and many of the command and control items are still used today. But just when you think it was over and Marshall would fad into history the President called him back on the civilian side and he was wonderful. If the book told you nothing else about Marshall it would be that he could not say no! You have to read it and I promise you will never be bored of regret it.



2. This is a good biography of the general. If you want more in depth read the masterpiece four volume biography by Forrest Pogue.



3. This is a perfectly unobjectionable book outlining Gen. Marshall's life and military and political careers. It did strike me as being rather cursory in a number of areas and does not go very far in terms of the motivations and character of its subject. Undoubtedly this is in part because Marshall left very little in the way of written reminiscences of his own and kept a studied distance from those with whom he worked. As such, it leaves a bit to be desired as an in-depth biography. Nonetheless, it is well written, fair in its viewpoint and can be read within a couple of evenings. It is certainly a fine introduction to Marshall, but a reader looking for a comprehensive treatment of his life might well select one of the longer alternatives.



4. Mark Stoler writes a concise account of the life and accomplishments of George C. Marshall, one of the greatest soldiers and statesmen in U.S. history. The opening lines in chapter one describe how Marshall was the only professional soldier to receive the Nobel Peace prize. Stoler's work provides inspiration to not only those in uniform, but also diplomats and others interested in leadership in general. I found the book highly readable, succinct, yet having the detailed notes that provide guidance for further reading. It is well worth the read.

   Stoler's work comes in at just under two hundred pages, but adds depth with extensive notes for the reader who wishes to pursue more details on the life and accomplishments of General Marshall. The author leans heavily on Forrest C. Pogue, Marshall's official biography, and others who have written extensively on the leader and World War II. The book also features a chronology of Marshall's life, two sets of photos, a bibliographic essay, and an index.

   I found the chapter on Marshall's time as Secretary of State to be extremely interesting. He not only garnered passage of the European Recovery Plan ("Marshall Plan") during his tenure, but he also helped negotiate the Rio Pact and Organization of American States, witnessed Tito's Communist coup in Czechoslovakia, opposed the Soviet blockade of Berlin, and supported the creation of NATO. Marshall's immense impact on world affairs can still be felt in Western Europe and elsewhere, as his military and diplomatic efforts set the stage for international relations for the remainder of the 20th century.

   As a military leader, I found this to be great reading and a good source for future reading on General Marshall. Read Stoler's work if you are a student of history or enjoy reading about leadership. Highly recommended!




5. The book by Stoler is an excellent,albeit somewhat abbreviated account of the life of Marshall. The format, which discusses a time period and its relevance in US History and the life of Marshall was an excellent choice by the author. The only place it falls short, in my opinion, is in that its not really a critical review - the author never really analyzed Marshall's actions and took him to task for anything, and I find it hard to believe that, while a great man, Marshall never did anything wrong. Nonetheless, anyone who wishes to understand US military and foreign policy in the 20th century needs to read this book.

4 comments about The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring.

1. Kesselring's description of his life, specially the military aspects, give the impression of a man that deserves the nickname of "smiling Albert", as he always seems to see the good side of even a person perceived by others to be evil.
   The book brings brilliance and experience of an officer to life who can deal with incredibly difficult situations in battles of military strategy and political entrapment.
   The subject may be dry, but the narrative is very engaging.



2. Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring was one of Germany's top military strategists who commanded air fleets during the invasion of France and Battle of Britain. This edition of his memoirs blends in introductions from James Holland and Kenneth Macksey which surveys Kesselring's background and effects, providing a fine survey to the focus of Kesselring, who details both military background and his involvement in World War II - including the war's end and his subsequent trial. Any collection seeking source material and definitive first-person exposes will want this.



3. His troops called him "Smiling Albert", but his enemies considered him something between a strategic mastermind and a bloodthirsty war criminal. Hitler considered him too honest for his own good, and everybody knew he was tough. In 1944, when his staff car collided with the business end of a howitzer, a joke circulated among his armies during his convalescence: "The Field Marshal was only slightly injured, but the gun had to be retired." Such was Albert Kesselring, General Field Marshal of the Luftwaffe and one of the few of that rank to leave his memiors behind.
   
   Kesselring had one of those military careers that is actually several careers in one -- army officer, air force general, theater commander. Considering his many achievements, he should probably be more famous, but it was his fate to be the "other field marshal" in the Southern Theater - the principle one being, of course, Rommel, with whom Kesselring often bitterly quarreled. Indeed, it was Kesselring's relations with men like Hitler, Goering, and Rommel that I was arguably looking most forward to reading about - among other things. And therin lies the problem. It turned out there were too many "other things" in MEMIORS. Kesselring was attempting too much. His life story is simply too damned big to cram into a single volume. Considering the vital importance he played in the development of the Luftwaffe, the French campaign, the Battle of Britain, the invasion of Russia, the war in North Africa and the defense of Sicily and Italy, it would have been better to split this into a two or even a three-volume series.
   
   The problem of biting off more of his life than he could chew was exacerbated by the fact that he wrote these pages wholly or partially while imprisoned for war crimes, and thus had very limited access to research materials - he seems to be operating from memory, and from postwar literature produced by his ex-enemies. Finally, Kesselring's writing style, while not precisely bad and showing flashes of talent here and there, isn't what you would call aesthetically pleasing. Having read a lot of German military literature to use as comparison, I would rate him in the bottom half of the ex-generals: he often generalizes when he should speak specifically, and sometimes bogs down in details when he should have spoken broadly.
   
   I also have some issues with the book itself. The pictures are low quality -, grainy, dot-matrix style, and the translation from German to British English leaves something to be desired. Ranks are incorrectly translated on many occasions and some of the sentences have that unweildy, unnatural quality that an overly literal translation tends to create. There are also some misspellings, and a comment or two in the forward which is/are downright nonsensical.
   
   MEMIORS are by no means all bad. Kesselring's career is breath-taking in its sheer scope, and his criticisms of Allied battle strategies, the cumbersome and inefficient leadership structure of Hitler's armed forces, and the Axis failure to seize Malta (which cost them the North African war) are all fascinating. His diplomatic criticisms of Rommel shed interesting light on the less pleasing aspects of that legendary soldier. Furthermore, in defending himself against charges of war crimes in Italy, he makes a number of valid points about the hypocrisy of the Allies, who encouraged and facilitated the brutal partisan movement knowing full well how the Germans would respond to it, and then used ex post facto laws to prosecute German leaders after the war.
   
   MEMIORS are most definitely not a smooth and easy read. In some ways they is not even as well-written as Field Marshal Keitel's death row memiors, which were cut short by his execution at Nuremberg. But they are an important contribution to war literature.



4. Albert Kesselring was the commander of German forces in Italy during World War 2, but his memoires cover his entire military service, from pre-WW1 through WW2. He waxes nostalgic on the friendly pre-WW1 relations between the German troops stationed near France, and the ladies across the boarder. (What would the Boarder Patrol think of it!) His discussion of the post-WW1 period focusses largely on the circumstances of his transfer from the army to the air force. An intermediate amount of coverage is given to the early WW2 period, with the latter part of the war in Italy dominating the memoires, much as it dominated his career. Hauptsturmfuhrer Otto Skorzeny (the commando leader who freed Mussolini) commented in his own memoires about his differences in methodology from those of Kesselring, and Kesselring takes this opportunity to provide his side of the matter. In addition, Kesselring discusses why he was chosen as the commander most uniquely qualified to serve as a liason with the Italians. Several sections cover the important steps he took to preserve historic art treasures in the midst of the destruction of war, and his views on the criminal nature of guerillas who disguise themselves as civilians in violation of the Geneva Convention.

5 comments about Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq.

1. This book and Jonathan Trouern-Trend blog inspired me during a difficult time and was an inspiration for my own project.
   
   I remember a few years ago listening to Public Radio and hearing him speak for the first time. I was driving down the road listening to him speak on the radio, crying and profoundly inspired all at the same time!
   
   During this time in our dark history his work has been an inspiration and a comfort for many. There is something incredible in a person when they can rise above such trauma and destruction to produce something so beautiful.
   
   I am also impressed with how he describes the resilience and potential of nature to serve us with healing under any circumstance. I look forwards to more of the same from this author!
   
   [...]



2. This started out as a soldiers blog, and has more of a travelogue feel, rather than a war correspondent feel of it. The author is most interesting when presenting his walks around the camp, and finding birds in back of the laundry camp and travels. And exotic birds they are: such as Squacco heron, Greater spotted eagle, Egyptian Vulture, purple swamphen, whiskered tern, and blue-checked bee-eater. What is missing however any introspection about the war, Sadam's effect on the environment, or contrast of being in a war zone and observing nature.



3. Being a bird enthusiast, AND having a son in the US Army inspired me to buy (and read) this book. I had originally bought it to give to my son (who enjoyed watching birds...mostly raptors....as a child), I decided to read it myself and was amazed at the species of birds this soldier was seeing over there. Sounds like (in addition to his mission) he did have some downtime and had some positive things to say about the region, which was nice. It has to be hard to be away from your family and friends for so long....and Jonathan found a way to stay busy and keep upbeat. Kudos to him, and God Bless our military!



4. This is a small, beautiful book. The natural phenonomena and bird-life that Jonathan Trouern-Trend desribes with such simple elegance in Birding Babylon is both comforting and poignent as it all takes place in Iraq near the beginning of our most recent conflict there.
   
   I salute Mr. Trouern-Trend, both as a fellow "birder" as well as a poet. His writing is spare and unembelished, yet the warm sentiment he awakens in the naturalist' heart is undeniable. Here, again, poignance was the feeling he inspired, as well as admiration for a job well-done.
   
   I love this little book. I bought 3 more copies as soon as I read it to give to friends.
   
   Thank you, Sergeant Trouern-Trend. I salute you! Beth Hall, San Diego, CA



5. Because I am a birder, a friend bought me this book. It is perfectly aimed, not a pure birding, and no ranting about the war. Shows the power of nature and appreciation of nature to put a lovely perspective on even the most ugliest of wars. I wanted to know what the birds he referred to looked like so am ordering the birds of the middle east. one might wish photos or more realistic drawing of the birds, but I think that would detract from the journal-like nature of this cute little book.

5 comments about Heydrich: The Face of Evil.

1. Sincerely, I expected more about a so complicated and mythical personage.
   
   Short book, short biography, short investigation. I know more details about Heydrich that what appears written in this book. The death of the author must be the main reason for an incomplete work like this. I would prefered not to publish it... but money is a powerful dude.
   
   Let's wait for a more complete biography.



2. Mario Dederich traces Heydrich's life from his early years in the Nazi Party, through his views on resettlement of Jews (p. 100) which evolved into extermination of the same, his assassination by Czech partisans, the ghastly German reprisals, and postwar issues. Heydrich is described as a man who was ruthless even by Nazi standards. Certain neo-Nazis have hailed him as "the Naziest of the Nazis." (p. 177)
   
   Was Heydrich of Jewish ancestry? Dederich shows that he was commonly regarded, in Nazi circles, in that light (p. 37, 54-55). The evidence itself is inconclusive. The ancestral list, used by the SS to prove Aryan ancestry at least as far back as 1648, was "very superficial". (p. 54). The Suss (Suess) lineage, according to the ancestral list, was Lutheran (p. 37). But does this eliminate the possibility of conversion from Judaism? Furthermore, one of Heydrich's great-great grandmothers, Johanna Birnbaum, may have been Jewish, and, significantly, her name doesn't appear in the documentation (p. 56).
   
   Heydrich held very strong anti-Christian views (p. 72, 74-75). "As did Heydrich, [Professor Alfred] Six identified the main enemies of the Reich as being the freemasonry, the Jews, and the Churches." (p. 99). In addition, Dederich notes: "...Himmler's allegation that medieval witchcraft trials were actually an attack by Roman Catholicism on German womanhood." (p. 100). Interestingly, some modern feminists have followed in Himmler's footsteps by leveling a similar accusation against the Church and calling it gynocide.
   
   Not only the Einsatzgruppen but also the Wehrmacht had been involved in shootings of large numbers of civilians (p. 111). Dederich puts the subsequent Wannsee conference in perspective: "The Wannsee conference was not the beginning of the genocide; Heydrich had initiated that with the Einsatzgruppen in Poland in 1939 and in the Soviet Union in 1941. The death camps...had been in existence for some time." (p. 134)
   
   As for the postwar war-crimes trials in West Germany, Dederich discusses how Pole-killers and Jew-killers such as Werner Best and Bruno Streckenbach escaped justice through various medical-related technicalities. Furthermore, he adds: "Not a single head of the RSHA Polish Division IVD2 ever came before a court." (p. 183)
   
   Finally, Dederich concludes: "It is clear that of all the direct Heydrich descendants, not one has ever uttered publicly a word of regret about the crimes committed by their ancestor. Never have they furnished a gesture towards the Jews, Poles, or the survivors of Lidice." (p. 189).



3. This is without a question a very good book even if lacking in detail. Heydrich was such a complicated man that one would expect a book on his life to be more detailed, include more photos and even more authors speculations on this brutal character. 4 stars.



4. I am a huge collector of books on the Third Reich and I found this one very interesting Heydrich definately was a complicated personality who did more harm than good for his country well mostly to the average citizen in his country, I often wonder what would have happened had he not been assassinated now thats a scary thought!! But all in all a really great book very detailed although very short and no photos in it thats why Im only giving it 3 stars, I understand that the auther died while writng it thats probably why it came out the way it did, but for those who want an intimate look into Heydrich's life this is the book to read.



5. 
   
   
   
   While his face was not attractive, though many a woman found him so, it is the eyes that truly reveal Reinhard Heydrich. Piercing and cold, evil itself looks out forever in the extant photographs: Hitler's man with the iron heart, nothing seemed too much for Heydrich. He was the worst of the worst, more ruthless than all the others. And that is quite a statement.
   
   
   
   On page 23 a partial explanation for the flaw in Heydrich may have been something biological: "To what extent the encephalitis damaged the mind and soul of the young Heydrich it is impossible to know." Could his evil truly have its roots in this such illness?
   
   
   
   It has been some time since a biography of Heydrich has appeared and this book, finished by a friend due the author's death, is a well composed work, and an interesting, revealing study of a totally evil man, but a man of whom neither his wife or blood kin would ever say or write a bad thing. And to top it all off, though he led the group that wanted to kill all Jews, the one thing always troubling him, keeping him humbled before both Himmler and Hitler, was Hydrich's deep-seated fear that he himself had Jewish blood.
   
   
   
   While I have Charles Whiting's study of Heydrich on my library shelf, I find this an up-to-date study and a worthy one. Even The Military Book Club chose it as selection. If you have stomach to face evil head on, then this WWII study will no doubt interest you.
   
   
   
   Semper Fi.

3 comments about Becton: Autobiography of a Soldier and Public Servant.

1. LTG (Ret.) Becton has served this country honorably for over 40 years. His autobiography is outstanding and demonstrates that hard work will win out over all obstacles. He is truly one of this Nation's great heros and I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about his life.



2. Personal memoirs of famous or near famous people can be risky investments for a reader. General Becton's book has no such risk though, and it makes for enjoyable, informative reading without any of the jargon that often can make military matters tedious to the layperson. In fact, Gen. Becton frequently shows an obvious effort to explain technical points in terms that keep everything well inside the reader's comfort zone. Autobiography of Becton compares very favorably with those of a number of other senior professional officers whose names are quite familiar to the general public and which were issued over the last 15 years or so by some of the larger and more prominent national publishing houses.
   
   Julius Becton is far less known in America today than he deserves to be. Not only does he have a public service career spanning more than 60 years, but it is a career highlighted by taking up tough jobs that entailed a lot more criticism than material reward. These included FEMA, presidency of a historically Black college in the South at a time when those institutions were becoming increasingly strained by the end of segregation at larger state universities and, the hottest potato of all, taking charge of the pathetic District of Columbia school system to root out the graft and incompetence, while fighting off the incessant backbiting from the power centers that benefited by the old ways of doing things. And he did this while in his 70's, postponing a well-deserved retirement.
   
   My own interest in the book was mainly in General Becton's military career. Although he had quite a successful one, it was a career marked by competence and solid performance, rather than the glamour, slogans and catch phrases, goofy reorganization plans or personality stunts that accompanied so many general officers I saw during my service years in the 70s and which were such a burden on their subordinates, at no gain to the service. I was also gratified to see several of General Becton's observations on Army inspections, personnel policies and run-ins with overinflated egos along the career paths. Oddly enough, I had crossed paths with some of those people (at a far lower level on my part) or heard a great deal about them, and in every case agreed with his polite, but negative assessments.
   
   At this point I should note that I had one fleeting contact with the author more than 35 years ago, when he swore me and my graduating class into the Army. The word "charisma" is terribly overused and not necessarily informative, so I won't use it here. I will say that General Becton was a man of monumental dignity, seriousness and personal magnetism. This was most noted by the families who were present at the time, who didn't discuss anything else about the ceremony other than what a stunningly impressive, yet approachable, pleasant and civil individual this was (and this was at a time when a member of an ethnic minority as a military general officer was much less usual than in recent years).
   
   Although I doubt that General Becton's book will be used much this way because youth today don't read much, this would be a wonderful thing for any teenager to read, whether black, white or whatever, because it shows the path to an excellent system of values and life choices. General Becton writes with a good deal of introspection and is quite open about some of his statements and decisions that didn't work out for the best (indeed, he is often too hard on himself in that respect). On the other hand, his many accomplishments and the good he has done for his country come across from the simple facts and not by a lot of self-aggrandizement from this modest and monumentally decent man.



3. "Becton's" autobiography is the tale of a great man of humble beginnings. Born the son of a handy-man, he took advantage of the opportunities life presented and he still serves as the role-model of someone we should all aspire to be.
   
   Lt Gen Julius Becton enlisted in the Army just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Beginning the war as a private, he ended it as a second lieutenant. The book follows his military career through the hot wars in Korea and Vietnam, and finished with the Cold War in West Germany. Having led at every organization level in the Army, he retired as a Lt General with 39 years of service.
   
   After serving our nation in the profession of arms, he came out of retirement to run another organization that greatly benefitted from his proven abilities at international diplomacy and crisis management. He ran the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), which coordinates United States assistance to other countries that have suffered man-made or natural disasters. After fixing OFDA he was asked to head the newly-formed Federal Emergency Management Agency. From there, he returned to his Alma Mater of Prairie View A&M University, this time as President, and saved it from going into receivership. He continued his pattern of restoring desperately needed leadership to (at the time) dysfunctional organizations one more time for the District of Columbia Public School system before finally retiring.
   
   Lt Gen Becton's career predated another famous Black American's military career by just a few years. Similar to General Colin Powell's "My American Journey", both books recount the experiences of two men who were very successful in the environment provided by the US armed forces. Gen. Powell's biography benefitted from a professional writer resulting in smoother flow through the book. The author could have also helped elicit more when it came to Lt Gen Becton's incredible accomplishments. In some cases, Lt Gen Becton's humility when relating his proudest moments whet our appetites, but left us wanting "The Rest of the Story".
   
   Lt Gen Julius Becton's life story is an incredible one. Becton's candid story-telling provided examples of what worked, balanced with his introspection as to what he could have done better. This critical self-assessment combined with Becton's 13 principles of the "First Team Philosophy" provides the reader with a very powerful lesson in applied leadership.