1 comments about The Life & Times of Herod the Great (Sutton History Classics).

1. Stewart Perowne's classic "The Life and Times of Herod the Great" offers a different look at this ancient king of the Jews. Having penned the book first in 1956 it was republished, as a paperback, in 2003. This biography is well resourced with maps, chronological tables, and a helpful family tree graph (one does wish for more end notes than the provided 2 pages).
   
   Through much of history Herod the Great is considered an evil, vicious, family killer (a view, probably, originating with early Christianity's abhorrence of his infanticide order in Mathew 2) whose only interest was power. Perowne, knowing this herodian tradition, proffers considerable suggestion that Herod has been misunderstood. The author forthrightly says that Herod's subjects were often "grateful to him" (page 111) and that he did much for the humanitarian benefit of his kingdom.
   
   Using 1st century sources (Josephus, Tacitus, Strabo, Dio Cassius, etc.) the author reviews Herod's life, family, rule, and history. Perowne considers the king's accomplishments, conquests, treaties, architectural constructions, and legacies. Readers learn of Herod's rise to power with Roman support, his Idumean familial origins, his ability to charm the most powerful politicians of his day, his refusals for Cleopatra's romantic invitations, his ability to make vast sums of money (Herod was, perhaps, the wealthiest person of his era), and much more. Perowne also speaks to Herod's vast building enterprises across Palestine and Syria. He witnesses Herod's personal friendships with Rome's leaders and his animosity for fellow Arab rulers.
   
   Herod built a new fresh water system for arid Jerusalem. He began a third construction era on Jerusalem's temple (a grand project which continued into Christian times). As king, he constructed a busy seaport on the shores of the Mediterranean at Caesarea. In the famine of 24 BC, Herod sold all his palatial furniture and princely mealtime equipment for the purchase of Egyptian grain in order to feed his populace.
   
   It is true that Herod the Great executed all his political enemies included several in his family (one wife and her mother, his uncle, and two of his sons, etc.). This was shocking even for the turbulent and murderous times in which he lived. Perowne speaks to these events bringing clear insight to each episode.
   
   "The Life and Times of Herod the Great" is an interesting and helpful book. It's brief chapters (averaging only 6 pages each) make this 186-page text a quick read. It is recommended to everyone interested in the Herodians, middle Roman history, the century before Christ, and those curious about Herod the Great.
   
   Amazon.com's price is good. Order your copy soon.

1 comments about The Life of Alexander the Great (Modern Library Classics).

1. I was impressed with this translation of Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. The prose was very clear and readable, and I finished the book very quickly. You shouldn't expect a detailed treatment of military or historical topics; the book is less than 100 pages in length, and such was not Plutarch's object anyway. Plutarch's Lives are really discussions of morality and character as evidenced in the lives of great men, and the history surrounding these men is really only a backdrop against which these things are portrayed. Use this book to begin to get a picture of Alexander the man; use other books to flesh out your understanding of Alexander the soldier, the king, and the politician.

3 comments about DOWN TO EARTH: A Fighter Pilot's Experiences of Surviving Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day.

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R5JV95AYGGEXM Here is a brief video insight into the remarkable story that is "Down to Earth". The amazing life of Squadron Leader Kenneth Butterworth McGlashan AFC.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed 'Down to Earth', the war memoirs of Squadron Leader Kenneth Butterworth McGlashan, AFC, co-written with Owen Zupp. Mr. McGlashan has the distinction of having been in the 'right' place---'right' being a relative term, I guess, as he had to do a lot of fighting-- to take part in many of the major battles of World War Two, from Dunkirk through The Battle of Britain, Dieppe, and D-Day. He then has more adventures flying transport aircraft. His story is told in the way most World War Two veterans tell of their exploits, as if these herioc deeds were just another job and no big deal. McGlashan's humility makes his story all the more readable and enjoyable. Even his wooing of his future wife takes time and effort as the quiet charm of the young pilot grows on the lovely girl he courts.
   
   McGlashan is now retired and living in Australia, and a fitting end to this book sees him paying a pilgrimage to his old Hawker Hurricane, crashed on the beach during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
   
   I think the thing I enjoyed most about this book is McGlashan's conversational style, his disarming modesty, and his humor. I felt after reading it that this is the kind of chap I'd like to sit down with and have a few beers, and just listen to him talk for three or four hours. These men truly were 'The Greatest Generation', and I applaud co-author Owen Zupp for helping bring this important story to light.
   
   Rob Morris, Author, Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crewmen over Europe in World War Two, Potomac, 2006.



3. I usually rave and rave about wartime aviation memoirs because, to me, they are such a privilege to read. However, Down To Earth is more than that. Sure, it's great that the author has shared this story with us but, at the end, you come away feeling like you know Mac and wishing you could shake his hand.
   
   Kenneth McGlashan flew over Dunkirk and, through self-admitted inexperience, walked its beaches after his Hurricane was shot down. He is young, 19, but mature. Further trips over Dunkirk follow and he evolves into an effective single-engined fighter pilot. The Battle of Britain follows during which Mac's squadron is posted for an intriguing interlude in Ireland chasing German Condor long-range maritime patrol bombers. Here, his desire to pass on his knowledge surfaces and his commitment and drive to better himself as a leader and pilot is evident. He returns to England and flies cats' eye night fighter ops where he has to rely on his skill, eyesight and a lot of luck. Over time, Mac finds himself working with searchlight-equipped Boston/Havocs, the next great idea in night fighting to prove unsuccessful but nevertheless exciting when flying close formation with a bomber at night. Finally, though, he finds himself posted to a Mosquito night fighter unit and, at last, an effective way to hunt at night. What follows is a love affair with the Mossie, a harsh lesson on single-engined flying that sees him in hospital and determined to learn and teach what he can about "assymetric" flight, continuing anecdotes of the great men he flew with, an amazing sojourn with BOAC in the Middle East, flying during the invasion of Europe, training, raising a family, the end of the war, successful command of a Mossie squadron, award of the Air Force Cross, transfers, time in Cyprus and living around the world. What a life!
   
   The writing is relaxed and so easy to follow. It is casual but evocative, regularly amusing but equally poignant. Mac certainly made the most of his scrapes over Dunkirk, his lucky escape over Dieppe and his serious crash in the Mossie. He learns from his mistakes and adventures as indicated by the fact he flew operationally for more than four years, more or less. His revisting the scene of his Dunkirk incident brought a lump to my throat as he relived the events of that day surprised he could remember such minute details. Mac's stories are supported by excellent memories from his wife, Doreen, adding a very personal aspect to the reading.
   
   The author comments that the restoration of Mac's Hurri, R-for-Robert, is a fitting tribute to the man. I think it is fair to say, so is this book.

5 comments about Love And War in the Apennines.

1. Eric Newby knows how to tell a story. This is one of the few books that I started over again immediately after finishing it the first time. The insight into the minds of these extraordinary Italian farmers who hid prisoners of war without thought to their own lives and safety is one of the great adventure reads to come out of World War II. Having passed through this countryside so many times traveling between Milan and Florence, I know first hand how rugged it is. Just to get through these mountains by train is an adventure, as there are dozens of tunnels to pass through after one leaves Bologna. Newby brings the setting to life for the reader, and we walk in his footsteps as he falls upon adverture after another. There is almost an unreal quality to this story, expecially his meeting the wonderful mountain men who live in the most remote parts of these mountains. If you want a really good read, grab a copy of this book. You will not be disappointed.



2. Newby's writing can be rather dry, but in this recounting of his escape from the Germans in WWII Italy, he strikes a fine balance between mawkish sentimentalism and tough-guy posturing. An engrossing narration about the extraordinary measures ordinary people can and will resort to, to stay alive and to do what they think is right. Encouraging, inspiring, and highly recommended.



3. During World War II, the rural citizens of northern Italy vowed to assist Allied soldiers on the run in their mountainous region. They were operating on an informed heart, on the Golden Rule, wanting to give aid to those who opposed the hated Fascists and Nazis as they would hope someone would help their own sons. And while the Allies were protected by the Geneva Convention should they be captured, the citizens were not and they were subject to less humane punishment, sometimes torture and death, if their actions were found out. But they did it anyway. It is these people, who otherwise lived a pastoral, ancient way of life, whom travel writer extraordinaire Eric Newby profiles in his memoir, LOVE AND WAR IN THE APENNINES.

   Those familiar with Newby's other books will find his signature wit, self-deprecating humor and descriptive powers at work here, but his curiosity and appreciation of other people and cultures is in highest gear. He comes to meet the peasantry of northern Italy after fleeing a prison during the chaos following the ouster of Mussolini in September 1943. He is helped by a succession of individuals and families, including the woman who would become his wife and companion in later adventures, the estimable Wanda. The book ends with his unfortunate recapture by the Germans and in an epilogue he revisits the people who took him in ten years after.

   Newby is a hugely gifted writer, his sentences are knowing and clear as a bell. He orders information rhythmically, always knows when less is more and more is more. He never bows to sentimentality, never sells anyone out. He does a remarkable job of expressing the fear and dispiritedness that politics and war heave on a people, at the same time revealing their resilience. There is much to admire in this book.




4. The Italians Newby depicts in this memoir (and also in his "A Small Place in Italy") are often funny, but never buffoonish. Newby's warm admiration for country folk is always evident, as in this passage where a retired stonemason helps remove an enormous boulder from the hideout the locals are making for him:

   "He went over it with his hands, very slowly, almost lovingly. It must have weighed half a ton. Then, when he had finished caressing it, he called for a sledgehammer and hit it deliberately but not particularly hard and it broke into two almost equal halves. It was like magic and I would not have been surprised if a toad had emerged from it and turned into a princess who had been asleep for a million years."

   Readers familiar with Newby's travel writing will find all his strengths here: his eye for detail, his warmth of character, his humor (mostly self-deprecating). They will also find a love story -- one made all the more poignant by Newby's craftsmanlike selection of few but telling scenes.




5. The Italians Newby depicts in this memoir (and also in his "A Small Place in Italy") are often funny, but never buffoonish. Newby's warm admiration for country folk is always evident, as in this passage where a retired stonemason helps remove an enormous boulder from the hideout the locals are making for him:

   "He went over it with his hands, very slowly, almost lovingly. It must have weighed half a ton. Then, when he had finished caressing it, he called for a sledgehammer and hit it deliberately but not particularly hard and it broke into two almost equal halves. It was like magic and I would not have been surprised if a toad had emerged from it and turned into a princess who had been asleep for a million years."

   Readers familiar with Newby's travel writing will find all his strengths here: his eye for detail, his warmth of character, his humor (mostly self-deprecating). They will also find a love story -- one made all the more poignant by Newby's craftsmanlike selection of few but telling scenes.

3 comments about AIR COMBAT AT 20 FEET: SELECTED MISSIONS FROM A STRAFER PILOT'S DIARY.

1. I am not a big fan of war stories at all. I was skeptical when my grandfather handed me this book as a must read. Not only did it give me a better understanding of my bomber-pilot grandfather but it has also granted me an insiders view into war and the type of American courage it takes to be a hero and success in our armed forces. As a late-twenties/early-thirties it is a must read to understand war in the past and future tense.



2. I couldn't put the book down! It is almost unimaginable the narration Garrett Middlebrook shares in this book of incredible stories taken from his personal journals, written during his tour of duty in the South Pacific during WWII. One of America's unbelievably tenacious and youthful pilots, at the age of 23, he heroically flies his plane against all odds, with a youthful crew, some in their teens, to defend and protect the freedom of America against a relentless and unmerciful enemy, and in riveting detail he puts you in the seat of his B-25 Stafer to experience the pressure, fear and tragedy of war. It will absolutely mesmerize you.



3. Garrett Middlebrook has written a detailed, gut-wrenching tale of the amazing feats of his B-25 strafer unit and their long and dangerous missions over New Guinea in 1942 and 1943, before Guadalcanal! The heroism of these men, flying under dangerous conditions with battered equipment, is simply remarkable. Middlebrook does not tell you this, however. He shows it and you feel like you are in the plane with him.

4 comments about Flightpath: A Biography of Frank Barker.

1. This was an interesting biography about a pilot turned pastor. It was a bit choppy to read, but the sentiment was nice.



2. Two weeks ago, Frank and Barbara Barker spoke at our Mid-Winter Conference. They love the Lord and His people, and they also love those people who are seeking God's guidance in their day-to-day lives.
   
   Flight Path contains actual events that God has used to guide Frank all of his life - even when he resisted! I recommend this book, because it is direct and honest - just as Frank and Barbara are. Thank you, Janie and Mary Lou, for writing it.



3. A biography is an account of a person's life written by another person. An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by that person. We would assume that a biography would be written in the third-person and an autobiography would be written in the first-person. Through reading hundreds of books, that has been my experience. Or it has been until I read Flight Path, A Biography of Frank Barker Jr.. A biography of Frank Barker written by Janie Buck and Mary Lou Davis, it is written in the first person. In the final chapter the authors explain this innovation: "Writing the life story of Frank Barker has been a process of 'slash and burn.' So much material that could, and probably should, be included was left out. There is no way to record all the great things God has done in and through him. Therefore, I have written about the man and not his voluminous accomplishments. After two years of collecting information and praying, God led me to write as if Frank was telling his own story."
   
   I had never heard of Frank Barker until I read this book. Yet it seems that I probably should have heard of him. Barker founded Briarwood Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Birmingham, Alabama--a megachurch long before America was littered with hundreds of them. It must surely still be one of the few Presbyterian megachurches. As surprising as it is that, what is more surprising is that a man like Frank Barker would be the one to begin and nurture such a church. Born into a believing home, Barker fled from the Lord. He lived hard during his teenage years and eventually joined the Navy, becoming a fighter pilot. He continued his hard living until he was radically saved by the Lord and felt called to the ministry.
   
   In the summer of 1960, Frank Barker agreed to help the Birmingham Presbytery start a church in Cahaba Heights. Just a couple of months later, Briarwood Presbyterian Church was officially chartered. Barker led the church for four decades before retiring near the close of 1999. Flight Path is Barker's story, beginning with his childhood and ending with his post-"retirement" career as a speaker and leader.
   
   John MacArthur says of this book: "The story of Frank Barker is an amazing account of how God uses the faithful and the humble. In a marvelous way Christ sought him, saved him, and made him an effective instrument for the building up of the church. What a remarkable and encouraging legacy!" I was struck as well by the way Christ sought Barker, how He saved him, and how God raised him up to begin such a great work. So often it seems that God chooses the most unlikely people to do great things for Him, whether it be in choosing Moses, who was terrified of public speaking, to be His mouthpiece; choosing Paul, who persecuted the church, to be the one who would relay the theology of the New Testament; or Frank Barker, a man who lived for his own pleasure and satisfaction, to be the man who built a church that God used to save so many.
   
   An interesting book that tells a fascinating life-story, Flight Path was an enjoyable read and one I am glad to recommend.



4. If you can get a copy of this book to read, do it! It's one of the best biographies I've read in a while. It's succinct and densely loaded with good and encouraging stuff about how Frank finally understood salvation is a gift (Rom. 6:23), how he remained faithful to God's Word, and how God has and is using him even though he's made mistakes and remains a sinner. Is a testimony to God's faithfulness to build the church.

5 comments about Legion of the Lost: The True Experience of An American in the French Foreign Legion.

1. This book was a disappointment. Over and over again, Salazar tells us how much tedium is involved with the Foreign Legion. If transferring an event to the page in a way in which the reader experiences it, Salazar is a master writer--I was just as bored as he was. One wonders as he recounts the endless tedium, why it was an experience he thought worthy of writing a book about. He also seems to have a great attraction to the Legion he can't escape. The reason for that was lost. There must be far better books on the French Foreign Legion than this one.



2. An amusing study in narcissism and delusional self-flattery. Jaime Salazar is absurd. He seems to fancy himself a cultured, intellectual, gentleman soldier but the bullsh** in this book is so shamefully thick that instead he comes across as a rather pitiful, self-conscious and insecure man-child. Seriously, this book is a farce.



3. This is the story of a bored, Generation X-er, who after reading too many adventure novels, decides to test his manhood and seek adventure in the military. Lacking military experience, he had not yet developed the healthy skepticism necessary for assessing military recruiters' promises of excitement and adventure. But instead of making a small mistake by enlisting in the U.S. Army and ending up peeling potatoes at Ft. Benning, he makes a bigger mistake and joins the French Foreign Legion for a five year tour.
   The book is at its best when it describes the sadistic treatment of new recruits. Drunken NCOs savagely beat the recruits on a whim. Training is Spartan, equipment third-rate, and the rations kept near the starvation level. The other aspirants of the kepis blancs, unlike the author, have few opportunities in life. Some are refugees of Eastern Europe or North Africa, some veterans of other countries' military units. To them even the meager pay of a legionnaire is welcome. The author finds himself at a disadvantage with his civility and pampered upbringing. Those readers with military experience will find themselves comparing and contrasting their own basic training to this tortuous ordeal.
   The author writes well and does a fine job inserting historical anecdotes about the Legion Etrangere. However, the publisher could have done a better job catching the many typos throughout the book. The author is obvious proud that he earned his kepi blanc. The book is at its worse in the latter phases when he describes, with obvious pride, his female conquests while on leave. The Paris bistros serve as the only battlefield for the drunken bravado he has acquired in his few months of training. In the end the author deserts before his first year is out. No tales of adventure or combat here. One wonders what took him so long.



4. Salazar could'nt finish what he started and appears to have written a book with the hopes of turning it into a movie. Much of what is written is not necessary to the story and serves no purpose other than to prop up Salazar's ego after he failed to serve with Honor and Fidelity. Every other book about the Legion is better reading. Buy Simon Murray's book instead.



5. I wouldn't go so far as to place blame upon the author; however, the story telling is heavy skewed in the writers favor. Please do not consider this book to be representative of life in the Legion or the 2°REG.

5 comments about Doing Battle: The Making of a Skeptic.

1. Unless you enjoy seeing the US Army trashed save your money. Very twisted view of the WWII Army and those belonging to it. I agree with a previous writer that had the author been a officer doing his job his men would have been trained properly. As a retired Army officer and combat veteran I found the book offensive to say the least.



2. "Doing Battle: The Making Of A Skeptic" By Paul Fussell
   Little Brown And Company, Boston. 1996.
   
   An exceedingly well written biography of an intellectual of the last half of the 20th Century. Well written, as to be expected of a person with so many degrees in English. I do not think that he likes "vocational" degrees, such as engineering degrees, but I suspect that he enjoys using modern word processors that engineers have developed. However, this well written book presents the life story of person, who appears, sometimes, as an anarchist, or perhaps a nihilist, and sometimes a hypocrite, and sometimes as a loner.
   
   For example, on page 97, he describes the members of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) as very angry young men "...who had been luxuriating in colleges." Of course, Paul Fussell had not been "luxuriating" in Pasadena where his father was building a new house while the rest of the nation was selling apples on corners during the Great Depression. While at Pasadena, he attended Pomona College, (of the Claremont Group of five colleges ... one of my daughters graduated from Scripps College), snuggled in a New England look-alike green belt in brown California. Because Paul Fussell was privileged to attend such a fancy college when most Americans did not go on to "Higher" education, the author had the opportunity to become an officer in the United States Army. From this seat of wisdom, he was able to judge the combat performance of the 29th Infantry Division, a National Guard Unit...which, in turn, prompted a reply in Joseph Balkoski's book "Beyond The Beachhead".
   
   Most of Fussell's book, "Doing Battle", deals with his career in academia. I do not think that the author was ever happy. At the beginning of his career, the author was "...condemned to an atmosphere of insignificance and ineffectiveness..." at a mere girls' school. (page 213). Interestingly enough, the comments of that famous (infamous) Senator from Wisconsin are confirmed in Fussell's book. Universities were godless places. Fussell reports that a Catholic professor was surprised to find so many atheists.
   Page 203: "...what a pederastic paradise for some graduate students Harvard had been." Heidelberg was more efficient than American universities. After I finished his book, I could only think of the comment I learned in the United States Navy, "My heart pumps purple panther piss for him."



3. His name must rhyme with tussle else the students he had at Connecticut College were not very good at poetry.
   Very important point: his own description of his book "Class" (see especially p. 280 in "Doing Battle") describes it as straight irony. "Except for a page or two the book is unrelentingly facetious, packed with exaggerations and palpably irresponsible assertions, and I was astonished to find how many readers took it seriously." Beware of taking "Class" seriously!
   I have to thank Paul for a very interesting autobiography. It continues to amaze me that biography makes so much clearer than does an author's straight forward critical work. You certainly need both. But a sense of the person who writes makes what they write so much more sensible. This book is more enjoyable than some other autobiographies. Still, it leaves me in a quandary. Much that PF says strikes home but there is always a sense that PF lives within a particular narrative (by the way, he critiques those that talk in terms of narratology on pp. 212-213 "The all-but-universal worship of science, social science, and analytic philosophy would soon encourage the half-educated to pepper their discourse with terms like narratology, disciplinarity, engendering, and interface." "Half-educated"? I have a t-shirt that says, "The truly educated never graduate." (Of course this places me in a class.) Today there are books with titles like these and I would hardly refer to the authors as half-educated. It feels almost like C.S. Lewis in "Words" critiquing their misuse. But new words are invented all the time and come to mean things by their use. I wonder if someplace PF critiques the concept of "meme". Clearly, PF's classical education is way superior to mine. He would certainly join the defense in the war against grammar. I have a programmable thermostat that I can't figure out how to work.
   But I am partial myself to the narrative I suspect he follows. I was never in battle though I am retired Army. Should I try a book called "Doing Peace"? Imagine having a full career in the military without ever being in battle? Assuming I could talk about the experience would annoy PF far worse than Glenn Gray. At least Gray was within miles of such action.
   As an update years after reading this book and leaving the above as my review I have to point out that I appreciated Paul's participation in the special "The War" and found his experiences especially profound. It certainly made my appreciation of "The War" the greater having read his book years before and seeing the images in "The War" brings home the descriptions from his book. Thanks again Paul.



4. Other reviewers here seem to be approaching this book from the perspective of WW II experiences, or from reading Fussell's war books. I chose to read this book because I had already read two of his other extremely entertaining and thought-provoking books, "Class" and "Bad". This book is never boring. It took me awhile to read it, because every few pages I would have to stop and think about things he had said. One can always depend on Fussell for honesty and frank discussion. I am happily making my way through all his books, and look forward to reading "Uniforms" next. His discussion of the hot summer spent in training near Gainesville, Texas, was especially interesting to me since I grew up in a town 30 miles east of Gainesville. This book is worth reading.



5. Doing Battle is an excellent book for these troubling times. Though obviously a prickly sort, Fussell his kept his critical faculties intact and properly skewers ineptitude, careerists, rationalizers, martinets, and soft-headedness. The center-piece of this autobiography is Fussell's experience as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in France and Germany in WWII. Fussell takes aim at the military - recounting the caprices and cruel arbitrariness of his own service with a scalpel-like pen.

   Fussell also has little use for the beer-fueled sports culture that now dominates the American cultural landscape. He is first and foremost a defender of elitism - not an elitism based on social or economic class, but based on what and how one thinks and comports oneself in doing the tasks of daily life. Doing Battle is about honor and integrity, with Fussell having been lucky enough, or bright enough, to have had a series of teaching jobs that allowed his convictions and sense of honor and self to survive largely intact.

   Fussell writes beautifully and movingly. He also lays himself bare in Doing Battle. It is a rare book in that it is scholarly as well as a good, quick read. The influence of Mencken is clearly felt. You put the book down at the end regretfully. You then begin the processs of recommending it to your special friends - the ones that you think will "understand."

   I recommend the book highly.

3 comments about On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers.

1. Too much glory to the Admiral - seems he had everything figured out and the majority of those who did not agree with him were incompetent or just plain stupid. I did not care to hear of his drinking or womanizing exploits - not certain what those "abilities" have to do with being an admiral. A Navy Patton???
   
   Feel the author spends too much verse in glamorizing Clark and down grading the other Naval heros of the era.



2. This is an excellent book about a great carrier commander. Jocko Clark was the initial commander of the new Yorktown, and a great task group commander as part of task force 58 under Marc Mitscher. In fact, he was Mitscher's leading commander, the one that Mitscher looked to for all the challenges. And, he delivered. This book provides how he did that - his personality traits, including his angry tirades, his physical challenges, including his continual bouts with an ulcer that required a special diet. However, he was a loyal commander and an individual who supported his men. Many a time, he wanted to look for downed flyers when the previous task force commander prior to Mitscher was nervous about lingering in an area too long and the threat of Japanese submarines. If you want a book that provides the panorama of the Pacific carrier war in detail - each minor and major action - Jocko was in the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, through Halsey's typhoons - this is a great book for the WWII enthusiast in the pacific. Highly recommended.



3. The story goes that when the small carrier 'Liscome Bay' was sunk, her airborne planes had to have a place to set down or they would have to crash in the ocean. The man who gave the order on the carrier 'Yorktown' to turn on her landing lights after dark to give them a place to land was Jocko Clark.
   
   That alone would justify reading more about him, but there is lots more. An indian, he went to the Naval Academy (Class of 1918) while the indian wars were a fresh memory. Early recognizing the value of aircraft, he became a pilot when planes were still wood and fabric. World War II came with the Japanese attack at Pearl. Getting rid of the battleships left the carriers and the aircraft admirals in position to win the war.
   
   Younger than the famous admirals of World War II, he was commander of the Seventh Fleet operating off of Korea. He lived through the transition from wood and fabric through to the time of the jets. Not just lived, he commanded.

5 comments about A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution.

1. Carefully researched and written by two Naval officers, this book is a biography of one man, Charles Stewart, but it tells you almost as much about the Navy as it existed in the early years of our country.
   
   Stewart served in the navy for sixty-three years, from age 19 to 83. He commanded eleven United States Navy ships, more than any other person.
   
   There have been three ships in the navy named for Capt. Stewart. The first USS Stewart (DD-13) was a Bainbridge-class destroyer which served from 1902 until 1919.
   
   The second USS Stewart (DD-224) was a Clemson-class destroyer which was commissioned in 1920. In early 1942 she was damaged by an Japanese air attack. She was further damaged while in dry dock for repairs. Demolition charges were then set off inside the ship and she was hit by another Japanese bomb. She and the drydock sank. The Japanese Navy raised her, repaired her and renamed her Patrol Boat No. 102. She served through the rest of the war, and re-entered the US Navy after the war, at which time there were two USS Stewarts in the Navy. DD-224 was later used as a target ship for aircraft and was sunk in 1946.
   
   The third Stewart (DE-238) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort that served from 1943 to 1947 - She later became a museum ship and was in Galveston, Texas, where she still may be.
   
   But back to the book. These authors have written this book so well that it almost reads like a novel. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that this story is true.



2. Fair, somewhat interesting but rather dull. Not well written, reads like it was patched together, same information restated numerous times.



3. I finally read this book that had been a Christmas present from my son. I was hesitant to read something marketed as a "real life Jack Aubrey" since I'm a fan of that series, but I was pleasantly surprised that it lived up to the book jacket.
   
   I found three minor faults with the work. First, as another reviewer mentioned, there were a few name/date inaccuracies; for example, in a discussion of the gunboat battle of the Barbary War, the book has 1803 instead of 1804. There were a few occasions in the book when the authors actually discuss various sources and their merits and they actually argue through why some sources and dates don't seem right. That leads me to believe it was either minor oversights or a failure in editing. Second, the authors overused the term "old schoolyard friends" when referring to Stewart, Decatur or Somers. Once or twice would have sufficed. Third, in the narratives about Stewart's facing off against two British fleets (Warren's and Collier's), it would have been helpful to have researched and explored the British perspectives more.
   
   That said, I thought this was a very strong biography in a traditional sense. As a retired Navy officer, I also found it refreshing for a naval biography to be written by two naval officers. They used extensive primary sources and they tell a great story. I had only barely heard of Stewart before reading this, but he led an incredible life. I was familiar with the Barbary Wars and War of 1812, but their telling of his time in the Pacific was entirely new to me - in fact I have not seen it told elsewhere except tangentially by Nathaniel Philbrick in "the Tale of the Whaleship Essex" - and the problems Stewart had with a State Department agent and his wife were almost hilarious had they not been so bad.
   
   If you want to read about the first six decades of the U.S. Navy told through the eyes of one officer's career, this book is it.



4. Delia Tudor Parnell, nee Stewart, did not die in 1892 or in Bordentown, New Jersey at Montpelier. She died at Avondale, Wicklow, Ireland (the Parnell home) in 1898 in a terrible accident; her dress caught fire and she died an extremely painful death.
   Charles Stewart, son of Admiral Charles Stewart, did not die in Paris in 1874. He died in Rome, Italy in 1872.
   These factual discrepencies do not give me much comfort that this biography is trustworthy.



5. This book reads like an age of sail novel- but it's all true. It's a very informative and very exciting biography. You'll also learn alot about early U.S. Naval history. It amazes me that we have known so little about Charles Stewart!! The auhors have done a great job. I agree with the other Amazon reviewers- you won't be able to put this one down. Extraordinary!!