5 comments about Red Baron.

1. "During my whole life, I have not found a happier hunting ground than that in the course of the Somme River." That famous sentence begins the chapter on the Battle of the Somme in Manfred Von Richtofen's autobiography, The Red Baron, first published in 1917 and available in a reprint by Pen & Sword with additional new material. In this edition, Norman Franks summarizes Richtofen's air battles and gives us a fine summary of the life of Richtofen. N. H. Hauprich presents a list of the aircraft flown by Richtofen.
   
   That this work is of historical value cannot be denied. It is, after all, the autobiography of one of the truly great flying aces of World War I. That it is a fascinating portrayal of a gentleman officer in a world long gone cannot be denied. That it is a very entertaining read cannot be denied.
   
   And yet, to the modern reader there is something uncomfortable in Richtofen's describing combat in such a way as to read like the adventure books for boys so popular in his time: "I advised him to fly around the smoke cloud. Holck did not intend to do this. On the contrary. The greater the danger, the more the thing attracted him. Therefore straight through! I enjoyed it too to be together with such a daring fellow."
   
   Richtofen died young, of course, and he died in a fight in the Valley of the Somme, his happy hunting ground. We are not likely to see his type again, and that may not be a bad thing.
   
   --David Lang at Advance Book Reviews



2. I saw a biography about the Red Baron on tv and thought that he had an exciting life so I wanted to read his book that way I could read about it straight from the person that lived these events. The book is fairly short and you could easily read through it very fast without any trouble. He writes about his childhood,entering the cavalry and the war, then how he became a piolet and the rest of the book talks about his many victories as the best fighter piolet. There are a bunch of black and white pictures of the Baron, other German aces and a few planes. There is also a list of all his victims including the plane type, date, times and piolets and there is also a list of the planes he flew and which victims he shot down in which plane.
   
   I liked the book because it's an easy read, it has some funny parts and exciting moments and in a way you get a feel for the man himself. However there are some things I didn't like such as he doesn't go into much detail through the book it's like he just breezes through some of his fights in a few sentences or so which kind of makes it anti climatic. One example is how his brother just shows up out of nowhere and is fighting along side him and not much is said about him. I'm also sure that there was some propaganda thrown in since this book was released during the war. I bet he would have wrote a far better book after the war had he lived but as we all know he was shot down.
   
   This isn't the book to read if you want to know everything about the Red Baron but if you want to read what he experienced first hand then get this autobiography because it's a good read and it's coming straight from the horses mouth that.



3. I wonder if some of the fatherland stuff was added by one of the Kaiser's goons. This guy is a wild boar hunting nutcase. A great book if you wonder why Germany keeps starting wars.



4. This is a fantastic autobiography, because Von Richthofen was an amazing person. Very real (he devotes as much attention to his cousin and him climbing the spire of the local church, as he does to some of his aerial battles), full of good-natured humor and a zest for life. I particularly loved how the early fighter pilots were known as "Knights of the Sky", and kept to the chivalric code, including following downed pilots to ensure that they were all right.



5. Great book! Great photos and an amazing life told by The Red Baron himself (translated into English, of course!).

2 comments about ERWIN ROMMEL (Commanders in Focus).

1. General Erwin Rommel was able to do the most with the least. Against great odds he earned the name "Desert Fox" by those he fought against; the British and their allies. Code of honor was important to him to where he cut the limited water rations of his own troops so that their prisoners would not die of thirst. The irony is that he received less respect from Hitler and the German high command than from the British and French. If there was a Nobel Prize for military genius he would have won it. He was loved by his troops and when he was recalled from North Africa hated to leave them. One of the British commanders, in a memo to his troops, referred to him as "our friend Rommel".



2. Part of the oustanding "Commanders in Focus" series from Brassey's, Eriwn Rommel 1891-1944 by Karl Hoffmann is an in-depth analysis of one of Germany's most famous and celebrated military leaders, a gentleman warrior also known as the "Desert Fox". Black-and-white photographs and military diagrams highlight this critical assessment of Rommel's strengths, weaknesses, character, and service - dissecting his engagements in World War I and II, and analyzing him both as a military commander and as a manager of men. A must-have for lay readers and military historians alike with a keen interest in learning from Rommel's brilliant life, which ultimately ended far too soon at the hands of his own side.

5 comments about In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story.

1. I just finished Ghada Karmi's captivating autobiography. She is honest, poignant, funny and reflective. She takes you back to pivotal moments in history, while at the same time drawing you into her and her family's personal struggles. Many readers who have also grown up with traditional parents, whether they be Catholic, Muslim or Jewish, will be able to relate!
   
   But more importantly, she offers an insightful view of a much misunderstood dilemma. For anyone who has wondered, "Why don't the Palestinians just stop fighting?", you owe it to yourself to read this book!
   
   I admit to fact checking Karmi because I assumed since she was Palestinian, that some of the information she gave could have been exaggerated. She mentions the massacre at Deir Yassin, the bombing of the King David Hotel, and the booby trapping of the dead body of a British soldier. I was shocked to learn that armed Jewish groups did indeed carry out these and other acts of violence before 1948. What we are usually taught is that Israel always respects human rights, but the Arabs do not. Karmi gives another point of view.
   
   Yet she does not paint all Jewish people with the same brush. She differentiates between her Jewish friends she holds dear, the Jewish faith she respects, and the state of Israel which has robbed her of her homeland.
   
   This book is well worth your time!



2. In Search of Fatima is a beautifully written story, a true story, written by a woman with a real gift for writing. The whole experience of the Palestinian Catastrophe, know as the Nakba, comes alive in this book on a very personal level. The fear of the Palestinians as the events unfold during the years leading up to 1948 are so vividly expressed that you feel that you are there too, sharing the feelings of foreboding and horror.
   The second section of the book describes the difficulties in settling in a new country, with totally different customs, language, weather, everything. Her mother, incapable of adapting to a new life, makes a truly pitiable figure.
   
   Although this is the story of one person,the experience of the 1948 Nakba was shared by three quarters of a million others, yet we rarely hear about the terrible suffering inflicted on so many. This book fills a huge void.



3. This is truly an outstanding work. The search and confusion of identity is made even more difficult when one is a Palestinian refugee. Add to this the issue of gender and Ghada Karmi assertion of herself and her rights and you get a fascinating indeed thrilling mix. The first third of the book deals with the exodus from Jerusalem ..it is very moving and sad to see the events rushing to make little Ghada and her family refugees. In the next part we see Ghada the British emerging and finally with all the contradiction between home, school (with mostly Jewish friends) and the society at large especially with backdrop of the 1956 Suez war. The third and final part is the return and the contradictions of identities and the battle to assert herself as a single woman working for the cause. Ghada's move from the completely apolitical to the activist as part of her search of identity is very well nuanced and gives us a great insight into the meaning of being a Palestinian refugee.
   
   Ghada Karmi is a gifted writer. This work is fascinating enough even if it was given as bullet points in a PowerPoint presentation, but this is hardly the case. Karmi has a facility with prose and is able to get into great detail to transform the readers into her life; this was very much the case in the fist part of the book, the exodus from Jerusalem. You can almost picture Ghada abandoned dog as their car sped away from the house never to return.
   
   This is a thrilling work on par with Leila Ahmad Border Passage. Leila Ahmad an Egyptian American was not a refugee but here Tri-cultural experience in Egypt, England and America and her search of identity and issues of gender are very interesting and highly developed. Another highly recommended work of a Palestinian American is Nadia Captive of Hope, deals with exodus and gender issues and less so of identity.



4. This book is like a narrative of two different lives: the end of one and the beginning of another. Two lives that are not independent of each other though, as remnants of the one may not be overpowering to the point of eliminating the other, but are certainly powerful enough to haunt it, shape it, give it its final form.
   
   Although in essence totally overwhelmed by emotions, Karmi manages to almost detach and distance herself from her own being, leave her body and float above everything and everyone. That way she describes people, situations and feelings in a detailed and factual fashion, devoid of the empathy that would crush the reader, immerse him in a whirlwind of unfulfilled expectations and unrelieved tension, and ultimately leave him feeling nothing short of miserable and exhausted.
   
   Throughout the entire book, there's a marked emphasis on Karmi's relationships with other Jews, the friendships she formed and her refusal to see them in any other way than as individuals with traits that were or were not compatible, likable or acceptable to her. She almost goes out of her way to make clear that Jewishness never hindered her from befriending someone and not only that, but in an unfamiliar environment such as London was in the aftermath of the second World War, Palestinians and Jews that found themselves stranded there were entities that shared the misfortune of exile, and as such could indeed relate to one another. Moreover, the fact that Judaism was as much a respected as a familiar religion for Muslims, much more so than Christianity, played a role. As did the writer's initial stance, adopted by her parents and passed onto her from an early age, that it wasn't so much the Jews that were responsible for the Palestinians' fate and the violent takeover of their country, as ultimately the British, who as custodians of Palestine had the obligation to protect and safeguard the interests of the indigenous population. Instead, they forsook and betrayed them, and disposed of the Palestinian land -that was never theirs to dispose of in the first place- as served their purposes at the time.
   
   Karmi experiences an internal conflict, wavering between her British identity and her Arab origins, desperately longing to be accepted by and fit in either society. She often describes the war that rages inside of her, the opposite forces pushing and pulling, on the one hand the need to put everything behind her and lead as normal a life as possible, and on the other the need to seek out her roots and fight with all her might the injustice that was meted out to her.
   
   This book is so much more that a simple memoir, as it goes deep inside the mind of people who experience exile and dislocation, and gives a picture of the psychological turmoil they find themselves in and the void they will probably never be able to fill.



5. This is a wonderful book that shows the humnan tragedy of becoming a refugee. In this case, the book talks about a refugee of the 1948 war for Palestine. While the book explains how the creation of the state of Israel have shattered the lives of three quarter million palestnians, it tells the story of one of them. The story of personal conflicts that face any palestnian refugee now, then and in the future:
   - Can I return to Palestine and where is it now?
   - How can I stay palestnian and at the same time contribute to my current non-palestnian community?
   - Do I have the capacity to forgive israelies for what they did to my family and country?
   
   While Ghada's responses to these questions were positive, and she insisted to find an answer to these questions, it is the role of each palestnian to find his/her own answers. Also, it is the role of non-palestnians to understand the palestnian refugee before addressing their plight. Therefore I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory "Pappy" Boyington.

1. I'm not sure why Bruce Gamble chose to write a biography about Major Boyington as his disdain for the man is apparent throughout the book. When he actually writes something positive about Boyington, it comes as a complete surprise and out of nowhere. The book is well-written and fairly well researched. However, it is boring and too long. He also gives too many details at times. The author's irritating habit of taking the word of the enemy as Gospel while continuously discounting nearly everything our own pilots said and did is incredible. Personally, since he wasn't there, I feel that he has no right to publicly discredit those who were.
   
   He cannot accept anything at all at face value. And, I'm not sure why he gave people names of his own that they didn't go by themselves. For instance, he kept referring to Boyington's son as "Greg Junior" when that wasn't his name. Although his first name was Gregory, he wasn't a junior, and he went by Bobby.
   
   I had to force myself to finish the book. I do not recommend it.



2. First off let me say that I really enjoyed reading this book. Pappy has always been a child hood hero of mine. Having grown up watching "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and reading the autobiography of the same title. It was a very well researched and well-written biography. That opened this reader's eyes to the real story behind LtCol Gregory "Pappy" Boyington. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



3. Bruce Gamble deserves great credit for dealing with a mythic and controversial hero who laid claim to be the leading USMC ace in World War II and won the highest award in the country. His introduction to combat and first claims came from his stint as a member of the famed American Volunteer Group (AVG) known to most as the "Flying Tigers". He was summarily dismissed from the AVG for his abuse of alcohol and disrepect for authority (both of had which led him to abandon his USMC flying career to join the AVG along with chronic financial woes). World War II offered him an opportunity for another chance to fly and serve his country that he might not have gotten in peacetime. Arriving in the Solomon Islands, he continued to abuse alcohol and raise a ruckus, but he eventually got his own squadron, the "Black Sheep" which he led to great success against the Japanese. There is no doubt that he was a gifted aviator despite flying under the influence or at least hung over. Some of the aerial victory claims may be disputed (certainly his AVG claims are), but these type claims have been controversial by antagonists in all conflicts since aerial combat began. Gamble deals with all of this in great detail particularly the virtual clinical examination of Boyington's alcoholism so many years after the event. Gamble's research could have yielded a good book, among the best written, on the Black Sheep and Boyington, but he superbly wrote the Black Sheep story as its own subject and then dealt with Boyington as a biography andproduced a truly unique study of a tragic hero, flawed on several levels, but just as laudable on others. The author deserves great credit for deep research, sensitive and accurate writing and weaving a very readable treatment of Boyington, truly the best on any shelf.



4. Being a military history buff and a Boyington fan, this book was a "must read" for me. This book shows the human side of Boyington. While Boyington may have seemed a larger-than-life war hero (which in many ways he was) he was an ordinary man with his own demons. His worst enemy was himself.. and his addiction to alcohol...an addiction he never totally defeated. One wonders what Boyington may have accomplished had he not have been an alcoholic. His alcohalism cost him a lot.. several divorces, alienation from his family, and quite possibly a polital career.

   Boyington was way ahead of his time in the area of air combat tactics. Sometimes his propensity to deviate from regulation got him into trouble with superiors, but no one can deny the combat victories the Blacksheep attained under his leadership. No Marine Squadron has ever attained the success VMF 214 had in those two combat tours then or since. His military combat record speaks for itself. Boyington's tactics were unconventional, in the sense he never employed the same tactics for long. He was constantly evolving, a theory that never allowed the Japanese to catch on to his tactics.

   This is an excellent book to learn about Boyington the man, how he thought, and what made him tick. In spite of his faults, he will forever be remembered as the greatest Marine Ace of all time. This book does him justice. I highly recommend it.




5. I hate biographies with their authoritarian tones, time lines, dates and obscure facts, and get bored before finishing them. I do, however, prefer to be historically accurate rather than politically correct, so when my children started watching Black Sheep Squadron on the History Channel, I figured I had better learn more about Greg Boyington.

   Having seen Mr. Gamble's commentaries during breaks from the show, I expected the typical pompous biography with a military cadence to match the author and subject. When I began to read it, I was floored: I couldn't put it down and I finished it. Mr. Gamble's prose was lyrical, and his treatment of Boyington was fair and meticulously researched.

   Heroes aren't necessarily bums, and biographies aren't necessarily dull, boring and omnipresent.

5 comments about Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words.

1. This is the story of men who won the Congressional Medal of Honor. If you ever wondered what kind of men they were, this is the book for you. Each man's life is profiled, up to and beyond the event that defined their military life. The book ends with the actual words used when they were presented with the Medal. If you don't shed a few tears while reading this book, you don't have an ounce of patriotism.
   
   I thought it couldn't get better than the Medic who wouldn't bear arms, yet saved over 100 men single handedly in WWII, then I read the stories of ordinary men and real foul ups, who showed moments of profound bravery in the frozen Chosin Reservoir in Korea. I read the story of the longest held prisoner of war in Vietnam, horribly tortured, and of his wife, who led the crusade to finally get the men released. This is just an awesome book. You owe it to yourself and to your children, to read about the kind of people who have upheld this country against those who would destroy us.



2. Beyond Glory is a book full of the memoirs of Veterans. The Veterans are Medal of Honor recipients who are telling their stories from WWII to Vietnam. This is a book for anyone interested in war related things. Since I like that sort of thing, I found this book to be excellent and worthwhile. The genre of this book is Non- fiction since it is real stories from real people. The author, Larry Smith, went to many living recipients and personally interviewed them to get their stories literally in their own words. That is another thing that makes this book so good. He also used great detail and seemed like he was really there telling you the story. I thought this book was excellently written and very interesting. I would rate it 5 stars out of 5 stars. This, in truth, was one of the best books I have ever read and recommend it to everyone, especially if you are a history buff and like to read about War.



3. Larry Smith's book brings you the reality of true heroes in their own words, just ordinary folks doing their jobs. Actor/writer/director Stephen Lang's theatrical production of "Beyond Glory" may bring you to tears as you join these men "just doing their jobs" in a most extraordinary way. Lang's transition from character to character is as fascinating as each character's endearing story. The play is currently running in Arlington, VA, at the Women's Memorial Theater now, but Lang hopes to take it on the road to colleges and community theaters across the country.



4. The book is wonderful...especially if you want to read about just people who through circumstances become- whether they want to or not---heros.

   If you want to see some of these stories brought to life---from now through May 2, 2004 you can see Stephen Lang (Stonewall Jackson "Gods and Generals") portray eight Recipients interviewed for this book at the Women's Armed Forces Memorial at Arlington Cemetery. (go to www.beyondglory.org) You will witness a performance that will leave quite an impression




5. The interviews are ace and remarkable in their clarity and insight. These are let down by the lack of context as to the battle within the wider campaign and a map or two would have enabled the reader to see the landscape and the positions, both would have added to the understanding of the action taken by each of the medal winners. Another example is the cover photo, listed as US Army coming ashore on Tinian Island in the Pacific Islands, which is sort of correct but Tinian is one of the northern Mariana islands (next to Sapian which was a major Marine victory) and was the home of the 509th Bomb Group which lead the atomic raids on Japan, a small detail yet one that would context this good book even better.

1 comments about One Step Forward: The Life of Ken Dahlberg.

1. One Step Forward The life of Ken Dahlberg
   
   
   I was not to sure what to expect from a WW II veteran's life. The story kept me interested thru out. The book is about Ken Dahlberg life from childhood to the founder of company called Miracle Ear. Oh, by the way, he was a triple ace in WW II, shot down three times and held as a prisoner of war in Germany. Ken Dahlberg is now over ninety years old with no signs of slowing down!
   My favorite part of the book is his military career. He tells about how he almost did not graduate flight school. What he thought was his last day he snapped a barrel roll in his plane. The instructor asked and Dahlberg replied he thought he failed and wanted to try it in his last day of flying a military aircraft. The instructors made him a flight instructor and finally sent him to combat.
   The description of his becoming a triple ace is remarkable. I know there are only a few triple aces. Dahlberg is pretty humble in his skills as a pilot. When he was shot down, during the Battle of the Bulge he was rescued by a tank crew. Dahlberg and the book writers went to visit the soldier who saved him sixty years later in the hospital . The soldier told his story of the rescue and later passed away from cancer.
   Dahlberg went back to France and revisited the French family that hid him from the Germans after he was shot down. In the book, there are photos of the villa, and Dahlberg with the wooden stick hut slept in.
   Most of the book is about WW II combat experience and there are parts on how he got started in business after the war. I found it amazing that Dahlberg had started with nothing and worked hard and sacrificed to become a successful business person. He never forgets the sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers made to this country.
   Reading One Step Forward the life of Ken Dahlbeg will make you understand why World War II Veterans are called the greatest generation because they gave it all for this country. The book is very excellent reading and captivating.
   
   MAJ (ret) Eric Shuler NJARNG
   OIF 2004-2005
   
   
   

5 comments about Da Nang Diary: A Forward Air Controller's Gunsight View of Combat in Vietnam.

1. I bought this book here on Amazon aeons ago, then just to boost my total to get free shipping. I thought "Neat, OV10s!I'll read it someday..." Had I only known what awaited me, I would have read it first and maybe thrown the balance of my order in the trash! It seems an awful lot of really visceral writing has come out of the Viet Nam war, maybe it's proximity to so many of us, I don't know what, but this is a truly moving, exciting, action-packed and emotional reading experience! I would put it on par with "Chickenhawk" and "Flying Through Midnight". Buy it, read it, recommend it to others, love and read it again! Thanks for writing it Colonel Tom!



2. Really great read, a real page turner, funny. About a newby covey pilot who turns into the old man. His crew chief cringes every time he takes off because he brings back more ruined planes than anyone. One of the best FAC books out there.



3. A rare combination a true warrior, who survived some of the most dangerous flying of the Vietnam War and a highly literate author. One wonders where our nation finds the quiet Paladins of the 20'Th century.
   
   At one level a warrior's story of near hand to hand combat from the air with a fully committed enemy. The evolution of the author's transition from a member of the Air Force to his very close identification with the Special Forces who operated under his wing adds to the story. Live at the Muff Divers Club also brings color to the tale. As a war story it has the same ring of aggressive sacrifice of other great warriors.
   
   As a psychological study it is a great story of the magnetism / repulsion of war and the warrior culture.
   
   Finally, it is a story of flying on the very edge. As a pilot what is so stunning is the difficulty of the conditions under which they operated. Operating under ceilings a fraction of that required for civilian pilots while performing a difficult mission and finally trying to stay alive stretches the reader's ability to understand. Most non pilots will take for granted the brief description of descending into cloud covered valleys, far from navigation facilities as another day at the office. Far from it, some of the most dangerous and challenging things a pilot can be called upon to do. But that's just for starters; those of us in civilian life almost always have the ability to climb back though the clouds to sunshine when we are overloaded. However, it must be a totally different experience to be flying against a dedicated enemy while trapped under the overcast. The equivalent of fighting on the edge of a cliff.
   
   .The reader is fortunate that the author brings a great story and the skill to tell the story. Even more of a gift is that the author lived to tell the story of those who did not return.



4. Tom has done an outstanding job of telling the tales of FAC work in Vietnam and the secret war in Laos. This book is a must read for anybody with a sense of patriotism and who is a pilot and really cares abot "getting the job done". Excellent book and story.
   
   Thanks Tom



5. Tom Yarborough (TY)has written an exelent book about his time as a FAC with the 20 TASS in Da Nang during the vienam war.
   It is well written, very exiting and I had a hard time putting it down, the author dos a great job putting the reader in the backseat and you can almost taste the adrenelin and smell the sweat.
   Go buy this book, you cannot miss out
   Bo Hermansen

5 comments about A Secret Life: The Polish Officer, His Covert Mission, and the Price He Paid to Save His Country.

1. Move over, James Bond! Instead of repeating other reviewers, let's focus mostly on the intelligence-gathering aspects of this thriller.
   
   Imagine that you're Ryszard Kuklinski. The best way to avoid excessive surveillance by Communist counterintelligence is to make your daily routine as predictable as possible. You get a dog so that you can stroll around the neighborhood naturally. You give and receive signals to and from your contacts with chalk marks on the pavement. (These sometimes get washed away). You use your wife's iron to reveal messages in invisible ink, and take up hobby photography as a cover for photography of another kind.
   
   You dislike dead-drops because, for one thing, someone else might stumble upon them. You use the brush pass. As you walk per your usual routines, you turn into one of those impossible-to-predict labyrinthic streets so that you are out of prying eyes for a few precious seconds. During this time, you exchange packages with another agent.
   
   The brush passes go uneventfully--until one night. No sooner is it completed than you are hit by the headlights of a car. You try to duck into a side street but your move is anticipated. Finally, you shake off the pursuer. Were you seen well enough by the driver to be positively identified? You think/hope not. But just in case, you get a haircut. Luckily this time, you are safe.
   
   Even little slip-ups can be killers. At one point, your son finds a secret note that you had carelessly taped too lightly on the underside of a piece of furniture. You cannot account for a roll of film, and your colleagues speak of the discovery of a "spy film". (It later turns up in the pocket of your seldom-used shirt). At another time, you are in another world, and you crash face-first into a pillar while carrying sensitive information. Nice way to be unobtrusive!
   
   Picture yourself (pardon the pun) getting caught red-handed, by an officer entering the room, taking surreptitious photos of classified documents. You act normal, but cannot get over the fear that the officer has seen exactly what you were doing and will report you. Then, when nothing seems to happen, you still fear that you are being carefully monitored so that the Communist counterintelligence can trace your contacts and then trap everyone.
   
   You had better not carry a gun because, if you use it and then seek refuge in the US Embassy, the Communist authorities may have legal grounds to have you turned over to them. You fully realize that, if caught, you will be tortured into divulging information, and then be executed. Besides, the Communists will make a spectacle of you for propaganda purposes. For this reason, you request a suicide pill from the CIA. They at first refuse, fearing that an agent may take it in a moment of panic, or that the discovery of the poison could itself be used for propaganda purposes. But in the end the CIA provides the pill--inside a pen.
   
   In any Soviet-NATO war, Poland would be the route for 95% of the Soviet military advance. Poland would then get hit with 400-600 nuclear bombs in an attempt to stop the Soviet advance without escalating the conflict into a full-blown Soviet-US nuclear holocaust (p. 16). No wonder Kuklinski realized that Poland was doomed! (Some conspiracy-minded Poles suggested that the Polack joke syndrome had been a concerted effort to demean Poland so that the American public wouldn't protest too much the future destruction of Poland).
   
   Kuklinski's achievements were staggering: Tens of thousands of highly-classified Soviet documents passed on to the US (p. 300). And that was just the beginning. After his flight to the US, Kuklinski provided much information during his debriefing. May he be forever honored, and rest in peace!



2. "A Secret Life" is a gripping read for two key reasons. First and foremost, it is a suspenseful espionage tale with unpredictable twists and turns. To me, it even stands among the best fictional works of that genre by Le Carre and Ludlum.
   
   The second reason is more holistic. The author, New York Times journalist Benjamin Weiser, has gotten at Kuklinski's heart and managed to successfully explore his motives and ethical dilemma for providing intelligence to the CIA. Kuklinski did not make this decision lightly. He felt morally obligated to do so, and his reasons for doing so are clearly spelled out in the book. When you read about these reasons, it's very difficult to disagree with him. (I do not understand the reviewers who call him a traitor.)
   
   I would recommend this book regardless of whether you are pro- or anti-CIA. Some reviewers here claim that Weiser's purpose was to naively lavish the agency with biased praise. In his introduction, however, Weiser references the "justified criticism" that the organization has endured due to its activities over the years, and goes on to say that Kuklinski's story demonstrates that human intelligence operations can succeed brilliantly, and should serve as an example for such future operations.



3. Gen. Kuklinski's efforts against a communist system controlled by an outside power seems commendable on the outside, but what everyone here seems to forget is that the same CIA that worked with Kuklinski, supposedly to 'fight communist tyrrany' was the same one involved in overthrowing legitimate governments, repressing independence movements, funding terrorism, assasinating foreign leaders who did not see eye to eye with US government policies and interests as well as many other unpleasant acts that sadly too many people either do not know about or do not care to remember.
   
   What Gen. Kuklinski did or did not do is known only to him and his CIA handlers. But things in this book must be taken with a grain of salt. In the cold war, the CIA was notorious for anti-Soviet false flag operations and disinformation propaganda. I only read half of the book and did not bother finishing it. Some of the events might have been outright fabrications.
   As far as whether Gen. Kuklinski was a traitor or patriot in the end really depends on which side one is on. To Gen. Jaruzelski, Kuklinski is a traitor while to some CIA official Kuklinski is a hero. But let's take it from another angle: Suppose Gen. Kuklinski's espionage efforts resulted in a covert CIA Op which ended up killing a bunch of Polish civilians? How would that be seen?
   What is Gen. Kuklinski's legacy? It is one of selling out one miserable SOB to another miserable SOB, for a price.



4. Weiser's detailed and measured tale of Kuklinski's historical contribution to Cold War espionage is to be read and enjoyed. His story is taut and thrilling and reminds one of a good John Le Carre novel. Beyond the issue of whether Kuklinski is a hero or traitor to the Polish nation [which is fairly raised and detailed by the author], Weiser never loses control of the subject matter, and, of the abundant documentation he uncovered in his unique access to CIA records. He instills Kuklinski with humanity and sense of Polish nationalism. A fine work to be read and enjoyed.



5. "Sometimes it's not enough to do what is right, sometimes one must do what is necessary." Ryszard Kuklinski knew what was right, did what was necessary...and paid a terrible price.
   
   Benjamin Weiser's riveting work A SECRET LIFE, on Polish hero Ryszard Kuklinski, is an enlightening look back into the dark intrigue, personal danger, and moral dilemmas surrounding one military officer's private battles to liberate his country from totalitarianism. Most importantly, this work shatters the left-wing's liberal illusion of "peaceful coexistence" with a communist system whose very raison d' etre is the destruction of freedom, democracy and enslavement of the West.
   
   Kuklinski saw internal conflict to evict the alien system imposed upon his country by the USSR--as opposed to connivance or the wishful thinking of ideological transformation through "gradualism," favored by some of his Polish General Staff contemporaries, who, for lack of courage or personal gain, fully cooperated with their harsh Soviet task masters--as the only realistic option for peace in the face of Poland's likely nuclear annihilation, had war ensued with the United States. He dared to act accordingly, becoming an agent of change feeding top-secret Warsaw Pact military information to the CIA; thereby, tipping the balance of power in favor of liberty, while loosening the demoralizing death-grip of communist rule over Eastern Europe, as a de facto one-man Polish Underground.
   
   When considering the totality of personal sacrifice and enormity of danger faced by Kuklinski, in his nearly solitary and single-handed struggle against radical, state-sponsored evil--who carried a suicide pill to end his life if caught and was sentenced to death, in absentia, by the Polish Military Court--moral giants like Kurt Gerstein and Aleksander Solzhenitsyn come to mind. It saddens me that former communist collaborators or sympathizers, like Aleksander Kwasniewski, were celebrated or elevated to significant post-Soviet leadership positions and societal prominence, while the country remains bitterly divided over Kuklinski, who has yet to be nationally vindicated, though history has already done so.
   
   Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzesinski said it best when he honored him with the words traditionally reserved for decorating Polish soldiers: "Pan sie dobrze Polsce zasluzyl: You have served Poland well." Rest in peace Colonel Kuklinski.

5 comments about Tomorrow to Be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion.

1. I just finished reading Tomorrow to Be Brave a few minutes ago. What a fantastic book! I couldn't put it down. I will skip summarizing the book because others have done a fine job in doing just that. What I will say is that if you want to read a biography that reads like a novel - a novel that is full of excitement, adventure, and history - then this is a great choice. I had never learned much about the North Africa theater of WWII and it was very interesting to read about it. Especially, the section on Bir Hakeim. A final opinion, I have to completely disagree with a reviewer who said that Susan Travers was sometimes whiny. Ms. Travers was anything but whiny. For any person who has been far from home, far from the normal every day routine (to say the least), who is smelly and hungry and doesn't feel well, they can probably appreciate Ms. Travers fantasizing about a good meal and a hot bath. I honestly don't know how Ms. Travers did it. She wasn't whiny, just honest. That being said, I would strongly encourage both men and women, regardless of whether or not they have any interest in military history, to read this book. It will be time well spent.



2. This memoir of Susan Travers, "The only woman ever to serve officially in the French Foreign Legion" (book jacket) is an intriguing glimpse into the Second World War in North Africa. Travers, who in her younger life admittedly "acquired something of a reputation" (33), found the outbreak of WWII a turning point; determined to use her driving skills for a good cause, she signed up for the Croix Rouge (Red Cross). To be an ambulance driver, however, she had to become a nurse first, something Travers admits was never her strong point. Sent first to Finland, then West Africa, Sudan and the Eastern Mediterranean, Travers' driving adventures are entertaining, and the struggle between Vichy France and the Free French (led by de Gaulle) is riveting. The author does not claim to be a saint, and in fact at one point has one former lover sneaking into bed with her while she is covering up an affair with her employer - all staying in the same house! The great love of her life, according to this book, is General Marie-Pierre Koenig, commander of the North African outpost in Bir Hakeim. This is not an affair of equals, and frankly the picture of Koenig in the book seems to indicate a man who needs to be in power all the time, and will not tolerate any difference of opinion - Travers openly admits this, and by her own admission, is not always happy with the relationship. That aside, the sections on North Africa are illuminating: what the Free French forces were able to do in holding Bir Hakeim is laudable, especially with few supplies and little respect from their allies. Travers later life doesn't take up many pages, and the reader hopes that, after failed love affairs, when she finally marries, she will be happy. For a time, that's true; however, after she and her husband are sent to Vietnam after WWII, things fall apart, and after a brief separation in which he takes ill, their marriage is never the same. I found it interesting that despite her well-deserved heroics, there are many times in this book where Travers is, well, whiny - she complains about no baths or clean clothes, while it's obvious there are more important things to worry about...war is war, after all. I guess you could say these character traits are what makes the book entertaining on another level, but at times, the winging was annoying. Definitely worth reading, you'll learn a lot.



3. I'm a student of military history. I read a good deal of stuff on the Second World War, studying various battles and campaigns. A few months ago I read John Bierman and Colin Smith's book on the battle of Alamein, and it included information about a woman who'd been in the French Foreign Legion, and served during the battle of Gazala as General Pierre Koenig's driver, enduring the bombardment and siege of Bir Hakeim. I was interested in this, and obtained a copy of the book. Whoa! Susan Travers, now in her 90's, has a story to tell.

   The daughter of well-to-do English parents who lived in France for most of her adolesence, Travers spent most of the thirties on the continent, playing tennis, gambling, and cavorting with a series of lovers who were all uninterested in settling down with her. When World War II began, she decided to turn her independant streak (which had led to her learning to drive a car) into an asset, and join the armed forces, fighting for the Allies somehow. She wound up in the French army, trained as a nurse, drove an ambulance briefly in Finland, and then wound up in Africa.

   There she served briefly in the campaign in Ethiopia, then was moved to Syria. Here, the doctor that she usually drove for was greviously wounded, and his replacement couldn't stand the thought of a female driver. He complained to his superior, and the next thing Travers knew she was driving for Pierre Koenig, who at the time was a colonel in the Free French army fighting in Syria. Soon the campaign was over, and Travers could set up house with the married Koenig for several months, because the colonel's wife was conveniently absent.

   Their affair, however, had to remain secret for the most part. She stayed his driver when the unit he commanded was transferred to the Western Desert in Libya. Soon, the British ordered all women out of the Front lines, but she contrived to make her way back, and was at the post the Free French brigade held for most of the battle. This was Bir Hakeim, a crossroads in the desert that had been fortified with trenches and bunkers dug in the desert floor. Bir Hakeim was the southernmost part of the Allied position at the Battle of Gazala, and it was an important one. After initially attempting to take it quickly by storm, the Germans bypassed it and left its capture to the Italians, who repeatedly failed. The Germans then returned and also failed, and when the post was finally worn down to the point defense was no longer an option, the garrison surprised everyone by breaking out and escaping in their vehicles.

   The Bir Hakeim battle makes up the middle quarter or so of the book, and it's a marvelous story. Travers was Koenig's driver for the whole battle, which means that when the breakout occurred, she drove the general's car. The car was hit by numerous bullets, but she and her passengers survived without being harmed.

   After the battle, she and the general had to separate (the German propaganda machine made a thing of their affair) and she spent most of the rest of the war driving an ambulance or doctors. When the war ended she managed to enlist in the Foreign Legion, and served several years in overseas posts. Eventually she married a legionnaire, had children, and left the legion herself. When her husband finally passed away, she decided it was time to tell her story. I'm very glad she did.




4. Wow, what a life! Let's be thankful that there were people who kept insisting that Susan Travers' story be written while she was still alive. And thanks to Wendy Holden that story makes such fascinating reading that you find it hard to believe this is the story of a real life. I did not know much about the events of the Second World War that took place in Africa. So, while having been interested in the personal story of this fascinating woman, I got quite a bit more insight into the political events of that time as well. This part is definitely Wendy Holden's second major contribution.



5. You read this book and ask yourself, "Is this true, did this really happen?" But of course it's true. Only an honest person could bare their soul as does Susan Travers, with the brilliantly sensitive prose of co-author Wendy Holden.

   The story is spell-binding as our heroine bounces from battlefield to boudoir with breathtaking élan. So many words fall short- courageous, brave, intrepid, relentless, passionate and others- as she and her fellow Legionnaires take their stand on faraway battlefields, most notably Bir Hakeim in the desolate desert of North Africa.

   But the most appropriate word to describe ajudant-chef Travers is probably "driven". She sums it up on page 267 as she bids farewell to her dying father: "I'd spent so much of my life seeking his approval that having never really obtained it, his death only left me feeling more empty. Any chance to impress him now was gone and I felt cheated".

   'Tomorrow To Be Brave' is a work and a life. It speaks for itself. This woman knows herself and to herself she is true. How ironic and poignant that the "driven" hero of Bir Hakeim was in fact a driver (chauffeur) in the French Foreign Legion. Susan dodges pot-holes and pot-shots as she valiantly drives her paramour, the General, through the desert sands. She is truly an "angel of mercy" as she man-handles her ambulance in the muddy mountains of Italy.

   So much history. So much romance. So much intrigue. So much honest pride. So much heartbreak. It's all there. Who needs fiction with a story like this! A little knowledge of French is helpful but read it anyway even if you don't know what "ma cherie" means.

   Bon courage, La Miss. Merci!

2 comments about Admiral Dan Gallery: The Life and Wit of a Navy Original.

1. This bio covered much of his early life, career and family that wasn't covered in Adm. Gallery's autobiography, Eight Bells. In writing about Adm. Dan's early life, Mr. Gilliand shows how he became the leader that he became. It delves into his defense of the post WWII navy against the politics of those who would have depleted our country of a means to secure the seas with anything less than nuclear deterance and how his continued defense of our Navy may have cost him further promotions. It touches on his struggle against alcoholism. Best of all, it shows how this hero handled the problems of his various commands in war and in peace. This was an excellent book.



2. THIS BOOK HAS BEEN LONG AWAITED FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE FANS OF ADMIRAL DANIEL V. GALLERY. IT FILLS IN THE MISSING PIECES FROM THE ADMIRAL'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY FROM SO MANY YEARS AGO, AND GIVES US A BETTER LOOK AT THE MAN I AND MANY OTHERS HAVE COME TO ADMIRE OVER THE YEARS. EXCELLENT READING FOR ANYONE WHO HAS ENJOYED ANY OF ADMIRAL GALLERY'S BOOKS, BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU WHERE HIS INSPIRATION CAME FROM.