5 comments about Soul of the Lion: A Biography of General Joshua L. Chamberlain.

1. 
   
   This is the story of one of the most remarkable combat officers produced during the Civil War. Always leading from the front, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was always in the thick of battle. He had fourteen horses shot out from under him before he was finally so badly wounded, shot "clear through" from hip to hip, that he is set aside to die. Yet he recovers to fight again in the closing campaign of the War.
   
   Chamberlain is a hard man to dislike. Joining the Military from his position of Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College when the War breaks out, he saves the Union left at Gettysburg, earning the Medal of Honor, and is involved in most of the battles and major skirmishes fought by the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater. Thought so highly of by Grant and Sheridan, he is appointed to receive the Confederate's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse where he again distinguishes himself by saluting Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during the surrender ceremonies.
   
   Four term Governor of the State of Maine, in 1880, unarmed and alone, he suppresses a mob in the State's capitol that threatened to kill him. He closed his life as President of Bowdoin College, his alma mater, and as acting Port Surveyor at Portland, Maine.
   
   The Civil War produced many genuine heroes on both sides. The State of Maine may have produced the most important one. For without Chamberlain at Gettysburg, the South could have won. As a result, the United States could be two separate nations today.



2. It has been several years since I read Soul of the Lion. However, although the Civil War years of Chamberlain are quite interesting and alive, the rest of the book is quite dull. Chamberlain's remaining days in Maine and Florida are just not very interesting reading. I attribute most of this to Wallace's weakness as a writer.



3. This is an excellent book by Willard M. Wallace that was first written in 1960. It begins with the family background of the Chamberlain family and its historical roots back in Europe and then goes to the birth of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and details his life story, in which many triumphs and tragedies happened. While this book was written in a "romantic glossy tone", it is an excellent resouce for material about this gallant soldier and his contribution to save the Union at Gettysburg and Petersburg

   A man of immense intellect Chamberlain spoke many languages and was a gifted writer and poet. His natural leadership abilities was an inspiration not only to the students at Bowdoin College in Maine, but also to the 20th Maine on the hard fought day of July 2, 1863. This man quite possibly saved the Battle and thus the Union with his suprising and daring charge down Little Round Top thus suprising the men of the 15th Alabama and the rest of Confederate General Evander Law's Brigade.

   A true leader, as the book points out, Chamberlain was elected Governor of Maine and in later life was a great speaker at many GAR Reunions.

   This is an excellent book and highly recommended to anyone who wants to know more about the brave and amazing Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.




4. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is one of the greatest American military heroes of all time. He won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courageous leadership of the 20th Maine Volunteer Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, thereby ensuring his place in history. "Soul of the Lion," by Willard M. Wallace, is a well written biography of Chamberlain. With clear and lively prose, Wallace chronicles Chamberlain's early life and career as a professor at Bowdoin College; his rise from command of the 20th Maine to general officer rank in the Union army; and his unfailingly heroic performance in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, including Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Five Forks.

   Wallace also details Chamberlain's post-Civil War career as Governor of Maine (1867-1871); President of Bowdoin College (1871-1883); and unsuccessful businessman. Especially interesting was how Chamberlain, as commander of Maine's militia, saved the state from violent anarchy during the 1880 gubernatorial election.

   Despite being well written, "Soul of the Lion" doesn't quite approach the depth found in the best biographies of military leaders. I would have especially appreciated more detailed information concerning Chamberlain's relationships with his family members. This is only a minor reservation, however; "Soul of the Lion" is a good basic survey of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's life, and a highly recommendable book about one of the great Americans of the 19th century.




5. Although John Pullen recently wrote a biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Willard Wallace's 1960 classic remains a highly readible and informative gem. This was an era of great writing about the Civil war, including Bruce Catton's Centenial trilogy and the first two volume's of Shelby Foote's masterpiece. Wallace's writing is equally lucid and his coverage is vast in scope. He devotes nealy as many pages to Chmaberlain's post war career as he does to his heroic years as the Colonel of the 20th Maine and later General. We all know of the heroics of Bowdoin professor (turned military leader) Chamberlain on Little Round Top but he also was instrumental in the final battles near Petersburg at Five Forks and Quaker Road. Despite being wounded (for what seems to be the umpteenth time) he went on to rally his troops. After the war he went on to serve a governor of Maine and President of Bowdoin College. His Presidency of Bowdoin was progressive but troubled. Quite simply, his innovations were ahead of their time thus opposed by many in the Bowdoin community. In politics, he was independent, answering to no bosses and as head of the Maine militia, he put down a near inserection, after a disputed election, without calling out his troops. This is a great book about a great American. I highly recommend it.

No comments about The Rough Riders (Dover Books on Americana).

5 comments about In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War.

1. 
   In the Hands of Providence is a very well researched look of the life of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Alice Turlock presents a definitive biography of this modest professor from Bowden College, who met challenge after challenge to become one of the greatest leaders in Civil War history. Chamberlain had extraordinary observational and superb writing skills. His persistence at recording the historic events, which included his emotional reactions, gave Trulock's wonderful historic accounts for her book.
   The book starts by giving us an in depth look at his obscure Christian upbringing in rural Maine, and follows his processes of becoming a great young man. He was an exceptional college student, receiving the praise of his instructors. He was also highly regarded by his neighbors and towns' folk alike. Many considered him to have the highest moral and ethical standard. He was so trusted and respected as a young man in his home town that an older business man of Maine, who was an acquaintance of Chamberlain's, entrusted him with the dealings of his estate.
   
   While finishing his studies at Bowden, Chamberlain married his sweetheart Frances Caroline Adams. They had a very close and loving relationship. But during the war, the constant distance between them put a great deal of strain on their relationship. After graduation, he accepted a position as a professor at Bowden, and held that position for several years. Chamberlain maintained a very close relationship with his family, and he was especially close to his father in law George Adams.
   
   When the war broke out in 1861, Chamberlain ask for a leave of absence from Bowden to enlist, but was turned down. Not to be left out of the war, he again applied for a sabbatical to study in Europe, and this time it was granted. He had no intentions on going to Europe, and instead immediately enlisted in the army as a lieutenant colonel, and never looked back. He played a huge role in the recruitment of the men for a regiment, which would later come to be known as the 20th Maine.
   
   With no military experience, Chamberlain showed great promise in his leadership shills and military expertise. He became friends with his unit's commander, Colonial Ames, who became his tutor. According to Trulock, Chamberlain held a great deal of respect and admiration for Ames, and he gave Ames credit for his military success.
   
   Trulock's description of Chamberlain's military life is extraordinary, and she supplies us with great details about the battles in which he was involved. At the battle of Antietam, Chamberlain was not directly involved in the fighting but was brought up in reserve the next day. Trulock gives a very vivid description of horror that Chamberlain witnessed upon arriving at the battlefield that day where 22,000 lay dead or wounded on the field. It was the bloodiest, one day battle in the Civil War.
   
   Next, she transports us to the Fredericksburg, and the final assault by the North on Marye's Heights - the charge that involved the 20th of Maine. All the other divisions that day were either driven back, laid dead or wounded on the field. She describes tremendous courage that Chamberlain and his men showed as they made their charge on the now famous wall at Marye's Heights, the wall that was heavily guarded by Confederates. The division suffered great loses that late afternoon. They remained among the dead or wounded for 2 days and nights before the order was given to retreat.
   
   The episode in history that Chamberlain is most remember for is the courage and heroism he displayed at the battle of Gettysburg. He was ordered to the top of a hill known as The Little Round Top where he was placed at the far left flank. There, Chamberlain was instructed to hold that position at all cost. The 20th Maine repelled assault after assault by the Confederates that day. When ammunition ran out, Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge, an event that many historians say was the turning point of the Civil War.
   
   Trulock also gives a very detailed account of the battle of Petersburg, where Chamberlain was horribly wounded. After hearing of his heroic actions during the battle, General Grant immediately promoted Chamberlain on the battlefield to Brigadier General. This was the only battlefield promotion ever issued by Grant. Somehow, Chamberlain survived his wound, due to the skilled surgery that was preformed on him that night and next day. Chamberlain's two close friends, Dr. Shaw and Dr. Townsend worked for hours repairing the damage inflicted by the mini ball. The wound he received that day would trouble him all of his life and required numerous surgery's to repair the damage.
   
   His persistent heroism and outstanding leadership were the deciding factor when Grant chose Chamberlain to receive the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. He showed great respect for his fellow countrymen that day when he gave the order to his men to give a solders salute to the surrendering confederate men. His honorary actions that day were later critized by many people.
   
   This book contains a lot of historic photos of Chamberlain's family, friends, fellow soldiers and numerous battle maps. The book also gives a great account of Chamberlain's life as Governor of Maine and President of Bowden College, but these accounts do not compare to the bravery and patriotic devotion that Chamberlain displayed during the Civil War. His actions made him a hero to his men, and the country he served.
   
   Trulock has given us a great biography, not only one of the Civil War's greatest commanders, but one of the United States most distinguished citizens. The book flows very smoothly while covering details of battles that would interest even the most die hard Civil War enthusiast.
   
   Finally, a book that does justice to an astonishing person. I highly recommend this book.



2. Chamerlain's heroism is similar to Teddy Roosevelt, Alvin York, and Audie Murphy who came behind him, but have been better publicized.
   
   The difference is that his act of confidence, courage and decisiveness may have been the one that changed the outcome of the Civil War, the 1864 election and the future of America.
   
   In The Hands of Providence is the story of Chamberlain's exemplary character before, during and after that momentum changing moment. All Americans should read and learn this story.
   
   - Richard V. Battle - Author of The Four Letter Word That Builds Character



3. I found Alice Trulock's biography on Joshua L. Chamberlain to be quite readable, well researched and well grounded. Considering the length of the book, Trulock's book read quite well for most readers of any level. Well, it may not be good as the one written by John Pullen but it definitely is superior to the one written by Edward Longacre. I put that in just for comparison purpose.
   
   I think this biography may served as a good introduction to Chamberlain who's name have definitely reached near mythological level nowadays among Civil War readers thanks to Jeff Daniels and his role in that movie "Gettysburg". Of course, most readers would probably be disappointed that Jeff Daniel's portaryal of Chamberlain will not jive with Joshua Chamberlain of Trulock's book.
   
   The biography covers all aspects of Chamberlain's life. The book does a good job covering Chamberlain's military career which proves to be the most important period of his life from which Chamberlain's life will be centered around until his death. I do wish to make a point here. He died at the age of 86, a very ripe old age and I doubt if his wounds he got from Petersburg really hasten his death, it may have cause him a lot of pain but even in modern days, most people don't live that long!
   
   Overall, an very good biography on one of Union's more natural soldiers. A non-professional who performed better then most professional soldiers.



4. The Duke of Wellington supposedly stated that it is impossible for a Christian to serve in the military. Too bad he wasn't around during the American Civil War! Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson from the South and Joshua Chamberlain and Otis Howard from the North are notable exceptions to Wellington's thesis.
   
   Trulock has written what is the best account of the hero of Little Round Top and who personally oversaw the surrender of Confederate troops at Appamattox.
   
   Among the important events in Chamberlain's life covered include:
   
   1. Birth and Christian upbringing in rural Maine.
   2. His days as a student and adminstrator at Bowdoin College.
   3. His early Civil War service including the formation of the famous 20th Maine Regiment.
   4. Fascinating accounts of his involvement in major Civil War battles: Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Petersburg, and other engagements.
   5. The horrible wound suffered at Petersburg that eventually killed him some 50 years later.
   6. His loving yet strained marriage to Frances Caroline Adams.
   7. Postwar public service as President of Bowdoin College and Governor of Maine.
   
   Reading the book was a joy - the narrative flowed smoothly while covering several details of a fascinating character. The author managed to keep the story from becoming too bogged down in dry detail without insulting the reader's intelligence. Oh, how I wish more biographies were written like this!
   
   The book also contains excellent battle maps and numerous photographs of the main characters: Chamberlain, his wife, parents, sister and brothers, many Civil War officers, and other important people in Joshua Chamberlain's life.
   
   All in all, an excellent and highly recommended read. Read and enjoy!



5. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was the epitome of the American citizen-soldier. Since the birth of the republic, American soldiers have left home and hearth to serve the nation and many of them have come home physically shattered and haunted by what they have seen while still others have not come home at all. Thrown into the breech, some of the citizen solders found they did not have the fortitude for what was asked of them while many others have excelled, performing better than graduates of West Point or Annapolis, America's most prestigious military academies. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a citizen soldier who became a great hero of the Civil War, a man who met challenge after challenge and became a great leader of men and afterward, the course of his life was forever altered. An academically inclined young man, Chamberlain left Bowdin College and his studies and teaching in theology to accept a lieutenant colonel's commission in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The modest young professor took part in most of the important battles of the North's Army of the Potomac. He was a participant in the Battle of Antietam, still the bloodiest single day in American history. Today, we can walk the battlefield off Sharpsburg Pike, in rural Maryland and see "Burnside's Bridge and the cornfields where so many men fell and get some small measure of what men like Chamberlain went through. We can also visit the battlefield at Fredericksburg and see the heights that he and his 20th Maine and the Union Army tried to take in bloody frontal assaults into the teeth of Confederate guns and under the pounding of their artillery on the hills. Today Chamberlain's comrades - as well as the fallen Confederate troops - are buried on the commanding heights they failed to take, one of the Civil War's bitter ironies. Colonel Chamberlain then immortalized himself at Gettysburg's Little Round Top where he anchored the Union left, repelling assault after assault and winning the day by leading a charge down the slope that broke the Rebel troops. He was given a general's star by General Grant at Petersburg and was honored to receive the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. His heroism and leadership qualities helped him win the Governorship of Maine no less than four times, after which he retired to the Presidency of Bowdin College, his alma mater. Alice Trulock who wrote this book, was not a professional writer and after her retirement from civic affairs, this book took her ten years of careful research, writing and rewriting to complete. She based her work on a great deal of new research and handles the account of infantry combat beautifully. Unfortunately, Trulock died before the book was released and so she wasn't able to accept the accolades that were due to her for such a well-written and moving biography of an emblematic Civil War figure.

3 comments about Simon Girty Turncoat Hero.

1. 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



2. 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.



3. 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 The Flying Greek: An Immigrant Fighter Ace's WWII Odyssey with the RAF, USAAF, and French Resistance.

1. FLYING GREEK is the autobiography of Steve Pisanos, a WWII double ace and career Air Force officer. In many ways, this book reads like a Hollywood adventure movie - young, impressionable 19-year old Greek jumps ship in America, two years later enlists in the RAF to defeat Hitler, subsequently flies Spits with 71 Squadron and P-47s and -51s with the 4th FG, downed over France, joins the Resistance, etc. Yet it's all true, this fascinating story being told in fine fashion by Colonel Pisanos - no ghostwriter employed! - in this 2008 volume from Potomac Books.
   
   The bulk of FLYING GREEK details Pisanos' wartime service in England. Initially he flew with 71 Squadron, one of three 'Eagle Squadrons' manned by Americans. In September 1942 all three were transferred to the USAAF, becoming the 4th FG. By war's end the 4th was credited with the most kills of any 8th AF Fighter Group. Pisanos' share of that total was an even 10 kills although his most memorable moment may have come on May 3, 1943 when he became a U.S. citizen. On March 5, 1944 Pisanos was downed over France and survived an almost unbelievable crash-landing as depicted in the book's cover art. He chose to join Resistance units in attacks on German troops, later linking up with U.S. troops and returning to England. Postwar he held a number of Air Force commands and positions before retiring in December 1973.
   
   FLYING GREEK has much to recommend it. It's a truly inspiring story and well-told by Pisanos. He is a gifted writer, relating events in a straightforward yet compelling style. The section on his WWII service, which takes up about 200 of the book's 315 pages of text, has vivid descriptions of combat that put the reader right in the cockpit.
   
   In one respect though, I feel a golden opportunity was missed. The 4th FG was made up of talented fighter pilots who were also, judging from what I've previously read, a wonderful collection of characters, starting with Blakeslee himself. Pisanos knew all of them - Gentile, Godfrey, 'Deacon' Hively, 'Kid' Hofer, Pierce McKennon, 'Cowboy' Megura, 'Goody' Goodson, etc. It's a shame he didn't share more memories of those people in his book. Perhaps there were publisher-imposed page limitations. In any case, I'd like to suggest to Colonel Pisanos that he write a sequel to FLYING GREEK sharing some of his memories of these hot-rock fighter jocks.
   
   In summary, FLYING GREEK is a marvelous book, a great read and an inspiring account of one man's efforts to achieve his dreams. Highly recommended.



2. Colonel Steve Pisanos is a true hero and an inspiration. His autobiography captures, not only his flying expertise and experiences, but also his driving desire to become an American Citizen. He has a pride in America, and a humbleness about his World War II service. His writing is from the heart, is extremely readable, and is very accurately told. His story is absolutely gripping!
   By the end of the book, you consider him a friend and realize just how honored we are that he is a part of our history.



3. Col. Steve Pasanos is a true American hero. His book is a must read for young people that have doubts about what the word "Patriotism" means. This is an exciting story of a man who survived the best of the German Luftwaffe in the air, the wicked Gestapo on the ground, and perilous adventures at sea. Eight years in the making, Steve Pasanos writes in a style that is wonderfully fascinating. If there is one book you buy this year this is it!
   
   Scott Graham
   Escondido, Ca



4. A great book full of examples of determination and patriotism. He certainly puts alot of people born in the United States to shame when it comes to his patriotism. We are fortunate to have him as a citizen of the U.S. The book is well written and tells of his desire to be an American and a pilot!



5. I have read many, many biographies on World War II aces. This book, by far, is the best I have read. Steve Pisanos' story is such a facinating one. I could not put this book down until I finished it. It has it all. The struggle to get to America, his flight training, a RAF Eagle Squadron volunteer, founding member of the 4th Fighter Group. What a life this great AMERICAN has had! You will not be disappointed if you buy this book.
   
   Leigh Barratt
   San Diego, CA

5 comments about I Can Still Hear Their Cries, Even In My Sleep: A Journey Into PTSD.

1. Being the wife of a combat Marine I really learned alot from Doc's book. I read the book all the way through and this is a book that is alive. Our heroes sacrifice so much for us and if it wasn't for them we would not have our freedom. Doc, thank you for helping me understand more about PTSD and what y'all went through. I don't give this book a 5 star rating , I give it a 10 star rating.



2. We have been told the Vietnam veterans' story many times before. We've seen it in the movies, in books, on TV, and on the corners of our streets. Yet, in an intimate way, in E. Everett McFall's book, `I Can Still Hear Their Cries, Even in My Sleep,' the inner struggle of the Vietnam Vet comes home yet again. This time the reflections come from within. Having read `Born on the Fourth of July,' and seen 'Platoon,' I feel that McFall properly takes us to a new dimension, focusing on the inner torment that won't shut off.
   
   Consisting of reflections, resources, and nearly thirty poems, he focuses on the pride, bitterness, and fragility of his service as a US Marine Hospital Corpsman in The Vietnam War from 1966-67. Whether in prose or in poetry, he won't ever let us forget their sacrifices. Noting that some have forgotten the Vets of the War, the Vets of the War have taken it home with them and can't ever forget. In detail, sometimes graphic at others subdued, he shares images of the grim reality in battle that haunt him--and probably will haunt him until death.
   
   The title is a bare-bones description of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD). In his introduction McFall concisely states that "It's an instant video play-back in my mind, with cranial surround sound." That playback is given a stark treatment in poems such as "Death Angel" and "Flashback". Whether drawing from elements of traditional poetry or relying on rap-like structure, the subject matter changes with the rhythm. In "Patrol on Ambush" and "The Ooorah Warrior" the repetition reflects the routine of a marine waiting for the next development in "combat hell." At other times the rhythm is more irregular to reflect the chaos and death that surround him. To round out his repertoire, "Heavenly Star" and "Brotherhood" add much needed hope to the experience.
   
   But the main focus is on the indelible memories of trauma and death. "Tic Tic Tic" and "Undying Memories" are each aptly titled for their flashback resonance in waking moments that rush into consciousness. Flanking McFall's work are sample poems by fellow veteran Pfc. Jay E. Keck and anonymous poems (which is entirely appropriate given the unknown soldier element of every war). The guide ends with a short, poignant reflection and a resource guide for the veteran suffering from PTSD, including a handy guideline for filling out forms for VA claims.
   
   Whether approached as a cathartic guide for fellow veterans or a route to vicarious appreciation from uninitiated civilians, 'I Can Still Hear Their Cries,...' is an essential portal to understanding the trauma of selfless veterans of a tragic War. Clearly by McFall's writings, the repercussions are still being fought today. If you were at the front lines of the War or at the front of the picket lines--or even too young to remember--Ernest McFall's little book will have a big impact on how you feel about those who served their country at such a fragile time in our history.



3. I was to young to actually know the impact that this war had on our men and women. This book by Mr McFall gets right to his heart and his feelings. It is so powerful! I believe that this book should be used in many ways to help communicate the effects that war has on an individual. God bless our men and women who have served our great country!
   Thank you Mr McFall and may God continue to bless you and your family!



4. A combat medic lives war at its worst, and remembers every terrified scream of it.
   
   There are the memories of those who were treated and made it home; of those whose wounds were beyond treatment despite heroic efforts.
   
   Those memories are as fresh today as the emotions were at the time of treatment; memories of soldiers and civilians gushing blood; memories of soldiers and civilians having body parts torn and cascading into all the wrong places.
   
   For E. Everett McFall, there are the memories of jumbled body parts and attempts to put them together to form the remains of what were once men - individual men with loved ones, hopes, talents, and dreams that dripped into the red soil or into the floor of the jungle.
   
   There are no fancy words here. His words are direct, his pain drips off the pages and into the heart of the reader.
   
   McFall writes from the heart. He writes from a soul splintered and haunted by 365 days that have been lived over and over and over again for the last 40 years.
   
   We measure war in terms of dollar costs; in counts of the dead; in counts of the wounded.
   But we have yet to learn to measure war in terms of lives ruined by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We have yet to learn to measure the losses of those who love those who come home with PTSD.
   
   We have yet to learn the true face of war. E. Ernest McFall provides the reader with a vivid and heart tearing word portrait of the hideous face of war; of the plague of PTSD; of the rending of soul by survivor's guilt and questions of why am I still here when so very many others are not.
   
   Pfc Jay E. Keck contributes his poetry to I Can Still Hear Their Cries. May I ask you to direct your attention to the last lines of his Sand Soldiers and pay heed to his admonition, as there are all kinds, as he points out in another poem, all kinds of Bogeymen contributing to PTSD - even those who should have, and in truth did, know better.
   
   
   I Can Still Hear Their Cries is a story of the long, long road home. It is a tale that will speak to other Veterans who suffer PTSD. It is a tale needed by those who love those with PTSD to help them understand.
   
   McFall tells you, loud and clear, that drugs and alcohol only bury the pain deeper, rather than excavating it and getting help to go through it to healing.
   
   McFall notes that he is still in the process of finding his way home. It is a long road.
   
   But I Can Still Hear Their Cries may open your eyes to the possibility that there is, in fact, a road home for you too - should you choose to come up from the dark to the Light.
   
   Take the first step - there are many, many around to help you - just reach out - someone is there waiting to walk point for you.



5. Mr. McFall uses a combination of stories and poems to pull the reader into the pain and turmoil of living with PTSD. This book is a MUST READ for veterans and their families and friends who struggle to understand the scars left from battle.

No comments about Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register (Shades of Blue and Gray).

1 comments about I'm No Hero: A POW Story as Told to Glen DeWerff.

1. One of the few books by a Vietnam War POW written very shortly after the war. A view into history that has not been colored by outside influences. It leaves you with little doubt about the truly patriotic nature of the men who were fighting in the war and how they felt about their captors and those that would defend the North Vietnamese. It is an inspirational life story that uses the author's POW experience to show the inner strength that people have if they can summon it. There are lessons here that go beyond the history.

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!

5 comments about My Detachment: A Memoir.

1. The tone of Tracy Kidder's excellent memoir from his tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968 and 1968 is dour, full of resentment and disbelief in the value of war, and one of the stronger pacifist statements in book form. Rather than re-living the horrors of the Vietnam War and struggling to stay alive in a combat zone not marked by peripheries but rather by indistinct underground burrows where the ubiquitous 'enemy' remained hidden and disguised, Kidder's 'Detachment' was an Intelligence unit, for the most part safe from assault attack, but a unit that suffered the psychological destruction that accompanies an isolated band of men living in filthy conditions and always under the threat of 'inspection' by commanding officers seemingly more concerned with polished boots than by healthy mental states.
   
   Kidder, who never believed in the concept of the war in Vietnam, was a Lieutenant in charge of a small band of enlisted men whose job was to gather Intelligence to pass on to the war planners. His memoir unveils his own need to transmit to his family and girlfriend back home a sense of constant danger and participation in killing, and it is this disparity between his own convictions and the 'image' he felt necessary to send home that makes his memoir so frighteningly memorable. He shares his relationship to the men under his command, the multiple problems he confronted with personality types and aberrant situations, and the manner in which he grew as a man during his prolonged exposure to the underbelly of the commanding officers of the war. 'But to represent something is to command power over it. Maps are the tools of many ambitious people, of policy makers, commanders of armies, and youths who like to play at being one of those. And the problem is that the maps are easily confused with the world'.
   
   Where Kidder succeeds in his memoir about his war experience is in his brutal honesty, his fearless approach to report the reality of a war everyone is electing to forget, and the impact that Vietnam had on the mentality of the world and especially now with the youths who face another very similar war. His pacifism may annoy some readers, but his intelligence as a reporter and a writer cannot by ignored. As Kidder completed his tour, he observed a lifer, Major Great, on his way to back into Vietnam and ultimately society: 'I tried to imagine the life in front of him. Paperwork and acronyms and young men who wouldn't get dressed right. Too bad he wasn't a more prepossessing villain. But what a horrible life. Incomprehensible, really. And, of course, he probably walked off still shaking his head, thinking much the same about me.'
   
   Kidder has written a gripping book, one that would serve us all well to read - a different view of the long-term effect of Vietnam, and war in general. Grady Harp, March 08



2. My Detachment is the story of Tracy Kidder's one year tour of duty serving in Vietnam. He describes his experiences, command style, and attitude to the war and the Army in this memoir.
   
   This book has received many accolades, but I find this hard to understand. The story Kidder tells about himself doesn't inspire respect.. He portrays himself as a superficial, lying coward.. Having read the reviews others have written, I think most reviewers found these traits to be endearing. I did not. I think the acclaim this book has received has largely been from people who thought poorly of the Vietnam war and found expression of these feelings in this book. But certainly there are better, more thoughtful and intelligent anti war books than this.
   
   Kidder says he is against the war because a friend told him should be. He gives it no more depth of thought than this. By the end of the book he has become a true believer in the anti war cause, but we never see this develop.. He never gives any indication that he has given this any depth of thought.
   
   Kidder's experience in Vietnam was unremarkable. Nothing happened. He did not see any action. He did not talk to people who saw action. He never interacted with the Vietnamese. He was never exposed, even second hand, to the realities of war. He gives us nothing as a basis for why he opposes the war
   
   The only example he ever gave about something tragic was when he mentioned how the Communists had shelled innocent civilians in a refugee camp. It was the enemy who did this.
   
   The only thing I found interesting in the book was the brief description he gives of his work. His detachment's job was to use radio detection techniques to locate enemy units. The brief description of this was the most interesting.
   
   "When I'd left the United States, some people in the antiwar movement were still saying this was a war waged only between a corrupt South Vietnamese regime and valiant local insurgents. But on the part of our map that covered the brigade's AO, most of what you saw were large North Vietnamese units, and just a couple of Vietcong companies. And here was the kicker..... All of those units, including the two little VC companies, communicated directly with a giant corps headquarters across the border in Cambodia....... which in turn communicated directly with Hanoi. More than geography separated me from my principled antiwar friends back home....... He should be against the war, of course, but I'd bet he didn't know why"
   
   I was appalled when I read this. He offers us proof of North Vietnamese aggression, but this has no impact on him at all.
   
   Kidder dislikes the Army. He volunteered in hopes of avoiding being sent to Vietnam. When he finds out he is going to be sent he argues that his Harvard education made this a waste of material.
   
   Initially Kidder believes that he is too good to be sent to Vietnam. He comments that the war is for the uneducated and unsophisticated. However, once in Vietnam he starts to identify with these people in a total reversal of his attitude. He is their champion. He is an officer but has nothing but contempt for other officers no matter how good they are to him. He likes all enlisted men no matter how shameful their behavior. He doesn't like officers because he doesn't like regulations and inspections.
   
   Kidder makes a big display over how he feels he must protect "his men". But when he says protect, he means protect them from annoying inspections and regulations, But, he has little use for true protection concerns. His men are supposed to wear their helmets. He thinks this rule is ridiculous. His men are supposed to keep the sandbags maintained around their living and working areas to protect from mortars. He thinks this is just "make work" doled out by the Lifers as harassment. The real shocker is even when he hears about people getting killed by mortars in the camp, he still thinks the sandbag filling is harassment.. So much for protecting his men.
   
   His men didn't respect him. He showed no leadership qualities whatsoever. The whole book is a celebration of his weaknesses. He wanted to be a good leader, but in his mind his men had to like him for him to consider himself a good leader. So, to "Protect" his men and make them like him he asks very little of them. No expectations whatsoever. They live up to these expectations. He wants his men to like him yet by the end of the book he is still hopelessly not respected by his men and he knows it. His sergeant didn't have this problem with leadership, so the men listened to and respected the sergeant. But this leadership lesson was lost on Lt. Kidder.. As if to highlight his weaknesses he even tells us that while he was on R&R in Singapore a prostitute rejected him and the madam thought he is gay.
   
   He lied in his letters to family and friends. He never got anywhere close to any danger, but in his letters he constantly suggested he was in the thick of the war, and he is a good and respected leader. He is a writer so he wrote stories about the war while he was there. He wrote stories about soldiers in the field. People with whom he had no contact whatsoever. Stories of combat, racial problems, drug problems, the raping Vietnamese girls. Yet he had no personal knowledge of any such activities nor heard anyone tell him of such things. He admits this, yet he disingenuously wrote these things anyway.
   
   Kidder paints a truly pathetic picture of himself in this book.. I found it very hard to read. Almost embarrassing to read.



3. Having read "House", I knew that I liked Kidder's writing style and was curious about this book because of my own experiences. Much like Kidder, I was attending graduate school in Boston when I was drafted into the Army and ended up doing a tour of duty in Viet Nam. Also like Kidder, I was somewhat ambivalent about serving in the Army as I did not support the war and did not believe the U S should be in Viet Nam. So we both were sent off to do something that didn't need to be done for people who didn't want it done for them. Kidder does an excellent job of describing the almost fog-like state of mind that someone in their 20s adopts while in the military in order to get through the entire process, from basic training to final discharge.
   Kidder discusses how the day you arrived in-country, you started counting off the days until you could leave. It was rare to find anyone who couldn't tell you the number of days until they could DEROS (date of estimated return from overseas) or ETS (estimate termination from service). I will never forget drunken soldiers at NCO clubs, who had been in country all of three days, singing the "Short Song" - the Animals' version of "We Gotta Get Out of this Place."
   Kidder does a marvelous job of sharing the sense of tedium you experienced as well as the sense that you were completely and totally wasting your time. For most of us, your only goal and objective in serving in Viet Nam was not to be killed and Kidder helps the reader understand how one would adopt this philosophy. It was clear that we were not out saving America for democracy. Kidder also brings parts of his failed novel on Viet Nam into this book in helping describe the fantasies of those who were serving in the rear echelons.
   Kidder does a good job of explaining that many of the people who were sent to Viet Nam were not humping through the boonies but instead were placed in mindless jobs in the rear echelon. There they had to take orders from officers and senior NCOs who were putting in their required time in a war zone because it was a box that needed to be checked off so they could get their next promotion. The constant rotation of new officers on a one year tour meant that for at least the first six months, an officer was learning his job before he became any where close to being proficient. It was almost constant OJT.
   This book resonated with me in terms of reminding me of having many of the same experiences and feelings as Kidder described in his book: misadventures on R&R (I was in Bangkok and Kidder was in Singapore but the experience was quite similar); dislike and disdain for "lifers": a sense of how unfair life could be if you received a "dear John" letter from your fiancee; frustration over the fact that most of one's college friends had been clever enough to avoid being drafted and sent to Viet Nam; the fact that your peers viewed you as a "baby killer" instead of a patriot.
   If you served in Viet Nam, particularly as a REMF, you will enjoy this book. If you have ever wondered what it was like to spend a year of your life mostly bored to death with moments of abject fear when under mortar, sapper or rocket attack, this book will help explain those sensations. It is well written, is a good read, has a good deal of humor, and takes one back to what it is like to be 23 years old, depressed over being rejected by "the one great love of your life," and totally clueless about what you are doing in a foreign country taking orders from people you do not respect and performing a function that seems completely useless. I really liked the book, but I also lived the experience. Maybe you had to be there.



4. I almost met Tracy Kidder on October 10, 2006 because he gave a free public talk as an author participating in the Creative Writing Program of the University of Minnesota. Reading the book was a snap for me because I have been reading about Nam since I bought PAPERS ON THE WAR by Daniel Ellsberg back in about 1972. Putting little pieces of that big puzzle together is one of the things that keeps my brain active as I rapidly approach the age of 60. Probably the best idea I found in the book was "creepy lifer puke." Ain't like a man, when people run for public office and ads on TV smear someone for things that you do every day and salute people when you are not in a war zone, but to hear people in the good old U. S. Of A. complain about hippie freaks is just a bunch of creepy lifer puke, as far as I am concerned. When he was questioned about Iraq after his presentation from things he wrote, Tracy Kidder said some things about the terrible nature of war. The big green machine we know so well is unlikely to solve the kind of problems that people in Iraq have after their door gets kicked in. I also liked a bit about things to do in Singapore on R & R. It did not say you have to be in the army to get away with stuff like that, but who'd want to ?



5. I read a lot of genre books and have rated novels with less merit higher than Kidders 'My Detachment'. The reason I mention this fact is that I am holding 'My Detachment' up to a higher light than I would if Kidder had written a story along the lines of James Patterson or Stephen King. Instead I think that this story cries out to be considered along with other war novels that have shaped the great American novel, from 'Red Badge of Courage', to Norman Mailers, Tim O'Brien, Hemingway, and Joseph Heller's first efforts. And if I stack what Kidder has given us against these masterpieces, it is lacking on many fronts.
   
   On the other hand this is an enjoyable little book in its own rights. It follows the time line of Kidders early years, from his college days to his time in Vietnam. The story repeatedly brings up Kidders first foray into writing... a story that he wrote just after coming home from Nam. This story is portrayed loosely, but I felt as though it were along the lines of John Wayne's Green Berets. Kidder mentions this book often and contrasts the story he wrote to his actual experience which is what he is writing in My Detachment. He looks back at this story as a bit of young foolishness, and he looks back at himself as an ignorant self centered young man.
   
   Part of the problem with My Detachment, or maybe it is what makes it appealing, is that Kidder really pulls no punches when dealing with who he was at that time. He is a wholly self engrossed person, and the character that Kidder presents us with is both loathsome as well as fascinating. Its hard to find an affinity for the young Kidder, the novel gives you little in the way to latch on to personality wise, and you are left removed from events. Also, the story itself is an almost minimalist war story. Not too much happens, and this is kind of the point of this book.
   
   Kidder is a fine writer. I don't think that this story will be remembered as his best. It almost felt as though Kidder were going for a Nicholson Baker effect. Baker is a writer who is at his best when writing about the inconsequential. He wrote an entire novel about a trip up an escalator. It would have been interesting if Kidder had investigated his time with a different edge, by this I think that Kidder approached his time as if he were Hemingway crossed with a bit of our post modern culture, and not himself. I think he wrote for what others were expecting and not for originality's sake.