No comments about An Infantry Lieutenant's Vietnam: Jan 1967 to March 1968 with the 4th Infantry Division.

5 comments about Unknown Soldiers: The Story of the Missing of the First World War.

1. This is an excellent non-fiction account of three soldiers who are buried in no known graves. The three men are brought back to life through their letters home and their accounts of the war. The author has put a human face on the many thousands of men whose bodies were never recovered from the battlefields of France. The story of the German soldier is of particular interest because we are not exposed to many such stories from the other side of the front line. The book also contains a great deal of information on the conduct of the war, much of it new to me. I highly recommend this book. Bill Miller



2. The beginning epitaph is strong enough but Mr. Hanson never falters throughout. I have read many military books...often with slight sense of guilt. Should I even try to be recreating this in my mind? Understanding this? The horror of WW1 is transcendent. Mr. Hanson does an outstanding job of making that known to any reader who dares venture there. It should be required reading as another reviewer has said. It seems like WW1 made all things possible that followed. Civilized nations that could send millions into that and for what? The war aims were so pitifully small and deceitful. The aftermath is beautifully handled. I thought I would get bored with the details of the ceremonies to the Unknowns...but it was ultimately more meaningful and made the book great. The tableau from France and then in London on 11 November 1920 is amazing...he recreates every hymn and the incredible impact on the populace. Truly it should have ended all wars. I only wish we could have seen what the defeated did...of course by then Austria-Hungary was gone and Russia Bolshevik. Did they ever create an Unknown Soldier for those suffering peoples?



3. This is a fascinating book. It is by turns sad, gross, uplifting, and a constant reminder of what can go wrong. While some may find the details a bit overwhelming, they are part of the whole, and for me, could not be left aside. The author crafted a memorial to this era, and to this war.



4. This was an excellent book , well researched and beautifully written. I felt I knew each of the soldiers , Paul, Alec and George and I grieved at their deaths and the waste of their young lives as though they were my own sons and not just men who died over ninety years ago.
   I was fascinated by the History surronding the burial of the unknown soldier , the building of the Cenotaph and indeed the story of the first Rememberance Day.
   I highly recommend this book to any who want to learn more about this period in history.



5. `The Unknown Soldiers' revealed how a brilliant and simple idea gave the families of those killed in WWI, but not located or identified, an opportunity to center their grief at a tangible location and get a measure of closure. Thousands of families suffered even the loss of the fallen bodies of their loved ones; then after the War, someone's mother had the idea of an unknown grave to symbolize ALL the missing. Though it was a little slow to catch on with the hierarchy, once it did, there was a ground swell of support and ceremony that was unprecedented in England, and the idea spread as well to their allies. The outpouring of the general population of the warring countries toward their `unknowns' was amazing and very moving. It was apparently an idea just waiting to happen. It reminded me of our experience of visiting the Vietnam War Memorial a couple of years ago on Memorial Day; it felt like being in church as families left notes and some cried at the wall, even though the Vietnam War had been over for more than 30 years!
   
   The book follows three very brave and articulate soldiers through the War until their deaths. An American, a Brit, and a German corresponded with their love ones about the hell that they were in, and gave some detail of what they were going through. It frankly made me angry when I read of the commanders well behind the lines feeding thousands of men in some cases to almost sure death for territory that could be measured in yards. Sometimes, the territory that thousands died for switched hands several times during the War so that their deaths were for naught. At some point for each of the three soldiers, the letters stopped, and the families knew that the worst had happened. It was heart-breaking to read about. It is hard to imagine what the vets went through, and for so long; and the vets were often very young, late teens or early 20's.
   
   This was a good, sobering book about a noble idea that came out of a terrible time in our modern history.
   
   
   

5 comments about Vespasian.

1. I am incredulous that one reviewer would term Caligula, Claudius, and Vespasian as "boring." There are dozens and dozens of boring Emperors. But these guys? Caligula, dressing up as a Pharoh (or a woman) and parading the streets of Rome with a fake falling-off beard. Claudius, proclaimed Emperor by the Praetorian Guards as a joke--that backfired. Except for his choice of wives, such as his niece Agrippina (too bad about that. It gave the world Nero. Oh, and Messalina, the party girl!) he did rather well. And Vespasian himself, who would have thought! He brought stability to the empire, paid off the debts, put a tax on urine, and got to sleep with Antonia Caenis as well. These guys were anything but boring. And given the paucity of solid stuff on Vespasian, I'll take what I can get.



2. The previous half dozen reader reviews of this book (mostly lukewarm) have fallen into two catagories: quibbles by other period specialists and complaints from those who wish Levick would try to impart some readability to her scholarship. Of course the specialists beg to differ, that's what specialists do. No two would ever make the same choices in attempting to capture the same complex period. Those who assert that this book is very "dry" are right, but those who dub it "boring" have missed the point. Try to find another booklength biography of Vespasian in English! If one wants to learn about this man, this is an essential book and for that reason it deserves more than three stars. Levick is a scholar emerita. We can regret that she did not learn her craft in an era when some historians recognize the value of writing for a wider audience than the tiny circle of their fellow cognoscenti, but we do her wrong if we fail to credit her with writing a work that is the first of its kind.



3. I have read all of Barbara Levick's works and find them consistently dry, ponderous and distorted with one-sided theses. To be fair, the work is well researched and intricate, yet is at the same time lacking the spark of fascination so characteristic of Roman history but so difficult to describe. Because a book is devoid of imagination, spirit and narrative for an emphasis on sheer exegesis does not neccesarily make that work particularly "scholarly": in fact, it makes that work boring. More's the pity for Roman studies.



4. This book is better termed a history of the Flavians rather than a biography of Vespasian. Despite a glowing review (in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review), I have reservations about the achievement of Barbara Levick in writing this book.

   I was looking forward "Vespasian" since, until now, there has been no biography in English about this emperor. Aside from a history of his reign, I was hoping this new book would provide some insight into Vespasian's personality and his relations with Titus and Domitian. To an extent, Professor Levick fulfilled this expectation but not on the level I was hoping. For example, I was interested in a broader assessment of the fortunes of the Flavians, particularly their rise under Caligula and Claudius and Vespasian's fall from grace. I would have liked more about Titus' education with Britannicus and his presumed presence at the poisoning of Claudius' son. I think the latter instance is pure Flavian propaganda.

   The Judean War is related as a recitation of the facts with little elaboration. We do not get a full picture of Titus's role in the war. He was an inexperienced commander and showed this in more than a few mistakes he made. If Vespasian allowed him the glory of capturing Jerusalem he made sure that his son has a seasoned professional to advise him: Tiberius Julius Alexander. Titus' pivotal role was in handling the delicate negotiations between the parties involved in the Flavian rebellion met with scant attention. Without his traveling from person to person, Vespasian's rebellion would never have happened. The role Queen Berenice in these negotiations is not brought up. Since her brother, Agrippa II, was in Rome until after the Flavian rebellion began, and she was romantically involved with Titus it would have been interesting to have more insight into her role.

   A discussion about Nerva from Professor Levick is sorely wanting. He is briefly mentioned, which I think is odd for such a pivotal Flavian supporter. I would like to know her ideas about his mysterious contribution to the Flavian cause that earned him an ordinary consulship with Vespasian, the only consulship he did not share with Titus.

   The best parts of the book for me were the last two chapters (Vespasian and His Sons and Conclusion) where Professor Levick brilliantly sums up the Flavians and their impact on history. However, Vespasian does not emerge from this book as a flesh-and-blood personality. Some of the chapters, particularly Restoration of the Roman World, which deals with events in every part of the empire, would have benefited by adding headings in the text. This would provide easy access to the information. I was perturbed over Professor Levick's shorthand in referring to ancient sources. The Annals of Tacitus, for example, are abbreviated TA and the notes are crowded. The source is not immediately identifiable and I wish more intuitive abbreviations were used.

   I cannot agree with other reviewers that Professor Levick selects "boring" emperors. Tiberius and Claudius were anything but boring, and their reigns were pivotal in the history of the principate. I think that there is room for another biography of Vespasian, written in the form of a true life of the subject, and including chapters dealing with the state of the empire, army, art and literature. Ms. Levick's book is not the last word on her subject.




5. There is no fault to be had with Levick's attention to detail, or her painstaking research. Where Vespasian falls flat, however, is in style and organization. Levick eschews the narrative, and spurns a chronological approach to her subject. She chooses instead a subject-oriented organization; not bad in and of itself (Michael Grant largely pulls that off in The Severans), but her dry style and over-attention to obscure details and constant quarrels with other scholars make the absence of a narrative approach nearly fatal.

   Levick also buries any hint of her own voice or feelings. Obviously, she must have a keen interest in Vespasian to have invested such a large amount of work in the book. Yet none of her interest comes through. Contrast that with historians such as Norwich, Tuchman, or Runciman - a passion for their subject shines through each of their works. The best historians set out with the mindset, "This is a fascinating era of history, and I'm going to show my readers why they should think so, too." Levick seems to have other priorities.

   Perhaps academics can appreciate Levick's work (and perhaps the Italian translation is more gripping); for the amateur, however, looking for an enjoyable, educational foray into Imperial Rome, Levick's Vespasian is best avoided.

5 comments about Behind Japanese Lines: An American Guerrilla in the Philippines.

1. There are some better books covering this subject, but this book is still a decent read and I recommend it for those interested in this theater of war. Hunt's story of survival from the Bataan death march and his eventual work with a guerilla detachment were very good and include many personal aspects. But if you are looking for a lot of "combat" recollections, those are not here. This is a more general and personal account of survial. In addition, at times, the author's main purpose in writing this book seems to be to respond to and challenge other US-led guerilla leaders who have either written their own accounts or were considered rivals to Hunt and his leaders. This detracted from the overall story in my opinion, but perhaps this is important contribution from a purely historical aspect.



2. Ray Hunt has turned out an informative book of his World War II years, first as an American soldier in the Philippines, secondly as a prisoner and escapee from the Japanese, and third as a guerilla fighting the Japanese until the American army finally re-captured the islands.
   
   Personal accounts of guerilla war are likely to be replete with fabrications as the participants build themselves up, tear others down, and exaggerate their exploits. Hunt seems more honest than most. He doesn't sugar-coat his actions, nor portray himself as the second coming of Napoleon. The book alternates between describing his personal experiences and putting them in context with descriptions of the various guerilla movements in the Philippines, including the Communist Huks, local politics, an account of the American invasion, and his own role as a guerilla leader. He strives to be fair and balanced and comes closer to achieving that than does Fox News.
   
   The best part of the book, in my opinion, were the several chapters in which he described his life on the run from the Japanese, the hardships and disease he suffered and overcame, and the assistance he received from Filipinos. My criticism of the book would be that Hunt never really describes in detail the military operations the guerrillas undertook. Thus, it is somewhat difficult to evaluate the contribution guerilla groups made to winning the war.
   
   Hunt's story of his three years as a guerilla in the jungles, mountains, and rice paddies of Luzon is vivid and credible. This is probably one of the better books you can read about the Philippines under Japanese occupation.
   
   Smallchief



3. We received the book promptly however preferred hardbound copy, which Amazon may not have had in stock. We are still seeking hardbound copy although this extra paperback will suffice for our research.
   This should be required reading re WW2 history in schools and colleges; and should be in all libraries.
   jdm



4. What I wanted out of this book was not really what I got. I wanted a personal memoir filled with interesting anectdotes, recountings of battles the author fought in and guerilla operations, in short: adventure. Perhaps you will think that a little bloodthristy of me, but it is what I bought the book for.

   However, I found these things to be few and far between. There are a trifling amount of these kinds of episodes, but mostly Ray Hunt and his ghost writer gloss over these points of interest (for me, anyway) to comment on generalities of guerilla life in the Philippines and "to set the record straight." Though this was the first book I have read on guerilla operations in the Philippines, it quickly became clear that there are several camps with opposing views about what really happened during the war among US/Filipino guerilla forces, and each tries to get its version of events to be taken as history. Mr Hunt makes an effort to give his side of the story throughout the book from mostly personal information, so in this respect I think he did a good job.

   He also takes the opportunity to unapologetically wax patriotic. He is unflinching in his thoughts that the US and MacArthur are always doing right, a tone which sometimes was too strong for me to take seriously. At one point he claims that the best thing for the Philippines after the war would have been to make it "the 49th state,"(this was before Hawaii and Alaska were admitted) presumably because America was and is the best thing going anywhere.

   In short, this book is not one of men in battle and the hardships they undergo. It is one man's first person view of a seemingly ongoing argument about this particular bit of history, as well as providing a wealth of general background on the subject. I suspect that there are other, better books to buy on all these categories, and would recommend this book only to those who are deeply interested and want to read everything they can find on it.




5. This book is one of those excellent works by the University Press of Kentucky. They publish a great number of WW II personal narratives concerning the more obscure activities and less known theatres. I recall one written by a bandsman, the only one such I ever saw.
   This review is based on the 1988 Pocket Book newstand edition of the 1986 hardback original.
   The book is well written, quite thorough, and extensively sourced and noted, in contrast to many such works in which all that is set down about the author is in the blurb on the cover. There is also a handy map of Central Luzon printed on the inside back cover, a really great idea so that one can easily find it. Why don't other publishers do that? There is also a very useful index which covers not just personal names, as do so many, but has also subject listings to various topics.
   As contrasted to the original book published during WW II, with the title "American Guerilla in the Phillipines", this one does not whitewash the dirty and brutal aspects of the war and its aftermath. All in all, a very interesting and well written work which deserves a place on the shelves of Spec Ops, "grunt" history, and personal narrative collections.

3 comments about Jarhead Movie Tie-In: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles.

1. Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other BattlesExtensive narration, but ultimately boring.



2. "Jarhead" written and narrated by Anthony Swofford, is basically about being a Marine, his combat experience having been in the "first" Gulf War. He is a terrible narrator, curiously uninflected and sometimes he seems embarrassed to be reading his own material. Also I suffer from wanting my Marines to sound like Marines and his voice his a little thin. 
   And yet the writing is good enough to overcome his deficiencies as a narrator. There is a section where he describes his sister's mental illness and his own suicide attempt that was a bit intense and overall I have to say the work is enlightening as far as what the psyche of a Marine is like. "Jarhead" is not about politics or political correctness nor is it a pro-war manifesto. It is "simply" about being a Marine, about being Anthony Swofford. Contains adult language and crude sexual references. But I like it. I really like it. Perhaps because it is not overly dramatic. Perhaps because it provides insight. Perhaps because it is honest. If you think of it as a memoir as opposed to an autobiography, I do not think that either the audio recording or the hard copy will disappoint.



3. 'Jarhead' by Anthony Swofford is bound to make some people angry. A Marine sniper (STA) during Desert Storm I in the early 1990s, he recounts his experiences there with vivid emotion, weaving in his experiences of boot camp, adolescence, and civilian life after the Corps in the process. This is now a major motion picture.
   
   Swofford has a chip on his shoulder - something he'll most likely readily admit. He has a 'bad attitude', and in fact revels in it. One wonders if this is a product of his war experiences, his Marine Corps training, or his upbringing. At one point his mother, who never really liked the idea of her son being in the Marines, but who wouldn't stand in her son's way, said 'I lost my baby boy when you went to war.' She described Swofford as being sweet and gentle prior to that, and angry and unhappy afterwards. One wonders how much of a change is there - if one can take the stories at face value, this is the same boy who had a fist-fight with his father over going in the Corps at the age of 17, and who had Marine Corps decals put on his shirts as a child. One of his drill instructors even gave Swofford what he considered a great compliment - 'you'll be a great killer someday.'
   
   I make the caveat that one might not be able to take all of this at face value, because like many men in this kind of situation, Swofford is likely to exaggerate - making some pieces more dramatic and other pieces less so. Swofford recounts many tales of men in his sniper platoon who had adjustment problems after the war; one can but wonder if that is true for Swofford, too. Also, Swofford admits to being willing and able to lie if the cause is, in some internal sense, justified - his dealings with brother, in the Army in Germany who later died of cancer, is a case in point.
   
   Regardless of the details which may or may not be completely true (and, as with many autobiographical pennings, some of the details are necessarily changed), the emotion certainly is. Perhaps the strongest point that comes across is a sense of disappointment and cynicism - that Swofford has ideals and goals is not at issue, although he does downplay these (he doth protest too much sometimes); but his experiences in the Corps and in the war were not what he dreamed. He mentions at various time the recruiting posters and campaigns - while it is true that Marine Corps never promises an easy life (quite the opposite), rarely does one learn prior to entry that one might end up being on the stirring end of the latrine clean-up detail; of human-refuse dump ablaze and blowing all over the place.
   
   One gets a sense of some of the problems that the 'average' grunt faces in combat situations. This war was very different from Vietnam, of course, but some of the issues are the same - interminable waiting, equipment malfunctions (if it isn't just plain missing), fear and bravado in a strange mix, questioning and ambiguity as to the value of the war, the cause, and even their own lives. The Desert Shield/Desert Storm situation is reflected in the page numbers of Swofford's book - fully four-fifths of the book deals with the Desert Shield portion, the hurry-up-and-wait aspect; only a few sections deal with Desert Storm, as it was on and over so quickly, relatively speaking.
   
   Again, while there is undoubtedly exaggeration here, and one must take some of Swofford's tales with a grain of salt (or, perhaps sand), there is realism and truth in the feelings these situations engendered. I can understand the anger of Marines and other military who read this and feel a sense of betrayal, but I can also understand those who feel that Swofford is saying what others can't or won't say. This is a tough book. While I would never want the Marine Corps or military to be judged by this one volume, it is a perspective worth including in the overall mix. Snipers have a reputation for being a bit on the fringes anyway, and Swofford in that regard is very true to form.

5 comments about Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs.

1. This book is the product of many documents written by Albert Speer during his incarceration in Spandau Prison which he served from July 18, 1947 through September 30, 1966.
   I read this book in 1973, and was taken back by the way Mr. Speer described his vaunted rise as a young man in the Nazi movement. His eloquence as a writer describing his actions and responsibilities in promoting the Third Reich through his architecture and his planning of the Nuremberg Nazi Party rally in 1933 actually read as a fiction novel.
   As time rolled on, Speer describes his relationship with Hitler. In fact Hitler considered Speer a kindred spirit for whom Hitler always maintained the warmest human feelings.
   The ambitious Speer was thus named the First Architect of the Third Reich. Speer's duties included Hitler's revision of Berlin with Speer drawing up the plans for the new Capital of the Thousand Year Third Reich.
   Once the War started Speer used his assets in helping the Wehrmacht. Later, he was appointed the Minister of Armaments. It was in this capacity that Speer was most useful to Hitler. His use of foreign labor and his gift for planning sustained the Nazi effort for more so than can be reasonably estimated in a lost war effort.
   Speer admitted his guilt and involvement in the Nazi Party during the Nuremberg Trials. His 20 year sentence was carried out to the last minute at Spandau Prison in Berlin. He describes in his book how he survived the tedium of everyday prison life by reading, writing and walking. His stay at Spandau was described in great detail. Speer told of how each of the Four occupying powers ran the prison during their respective shifts.
   Speer's book is an insightful study of Nazi Power as seen by a penitent Nazi leader.
   I respect his honesty and his insight of the Nazi government as seen by one of them. In retrospect this version of what Speer had experienced is the complete oxymoron of the Diaries of Victor Klemperer.
   It wasn't until now that I can compare and contrast two German individuals on opposite sides of the German spectrum and see the utter madness of it all.
   Maybe this is why I write these reviews. I've found a new thesis of this terrifying World event. I know of no one else who has expostulated this theory.
   This is a must read if you really want to know about the ultimate World tragedy. In fact make sure to also read Victor Klemperer's complete diaries. After that, you'll see the light!!



2. Albert Speer had a front seat to the machinations of the Third Reich. He was an architect by training, seemingly intelligent and rational - which puts him at odds with the evil eccentrics like Himmler, von Ribbentrop, Goering, etc., While Speer delves into his early life, the book primarily deals with the years between 1933 and 1945 when the Third Reich rose to power. Speer was at first an architect and designer but quickly rose in the ranks due to his organizational skills. Ultimately he became Minister of Arms and Munitions. Supposedly, despite intense Allied bombing of their factories, Speers efforts increased arms production, prolonging the war. Speer wrote this book while in prison for 20 years after the Nuremberg Trials.



3. The purpose of all memoirs is to lie. Or, more gently put: the purpose is to portray the past in a light favorable to the author. Even accepting that basic truth, memoirs can be very useful. ItTR is history as portrayed by Albert Speer, who was much more than just "Hitler's Architect." The book is an effort by Speer to portray himself as, alternately, a hapless victim of circumstance or a noble dissident, trying to undermine the Hitler regime from within. I imagine there may be some measure of truth to both of these claims but, as I said, the purpose of a memoir is to lie. Especially unimpressive is his great moral conviction to stand up at Nuremberg and take responsibility for everything. It's easy to do the right thing when you have no other real choice...
   
   That aside, ItTR is still worth reading. The most interesting aspect of the book is its insights into Hitler's personality. For much of the pre-war regime, up until maybe 1942 or so, Speer was probably once of the few people who might arguably be called Hitler's "friend." At times, one is almost tempted to feel sorry for Hitler, given his obvious personality disorder(s).
   
   It's also interesting for what Speer leaves out. There is surprisingly little mention of the Holocaust. The fact that this topic is so consistently avoided undermines the notion that Speer was the moral icon he tries to pretend to be. There is absolutely no way he, in his position, could not have known about the camps and what was happening. After all, he was partially responsible for importing slave-labor to German factories during the war. This omission is very telling, IMO.
   
   In all, ItTR is a valuable book, assuming you can read it with the several grains of salt necessary. Speer the historian is acceptable; Speer the "Good Nazi" is absurd.
   
   Recommended.



4. Contrary to my preconcieved ideas this memoir offered little insight into a world war II stricken germany. Speer instead focuses mostly on his work as an architect and later his duties as Armaments minister. However, Speer does elaborate throughout the book on his ever changing relationship with the fuhrer. As a first hand account this book offers incredible insights into many of the top nazi officials and i also found his architectural projects intriguing. His portrait of Hitler is worth the read in itself as he turns the image of omnipotent dictator on its head. In the end your likely to find Speer's tragedy a sympathetic and fascinating one.



5. Reich Marshall Albert Speer was in charge of Germany's armament production, and this is the main subject of my review (based on the original 1970 English-language edition).
   
   A major advance in military production had been achieved by the Germans long before WWII: "The real creator of the concept of industrial self-responsibility was Walther Rathenau, the great Jewish organizer of the German economy during the First World War." (p. 249)
   
   Allied WWII strategic bombing failed to knock out crucial German military manufacture, notably ball-bearing production, because the Allies couldn't know if and when the dispersal of this manufacture had been achieved (p. 341). Moreover, aerial photos were often misinterpreted (by both sides), leading to an exaggerated sense of success regarding the destruction of industrial targets. For example, "ruined" factories turned out to have surviving sections which enabled the revival of full production in as little time as two weeks (p. 341). Bombed railroad tracks could often be repaired in a matter of hours (p. 337). (This clarifies complaints about the Allies not bombing the tracks to Auschwitz, and of the Polish Underground not dynamiting other tracks; apart from the fact that the Polish Underground wasn't significantly organized until the latter half of 1943, by which time the Germans had already murdered most of Poland's 3.3 million Jews).
   
   Owing to these and other difficulties, the outcome of Allied precision bombing was not surprising: "But the enemy had always demonstrated a lack of consistency; he switched from target to target or attacked in the wrong places." (p. 412)
   
   Now consider Allied area bombing. It has fallaciously been attacked as ineffective. In actuality, the disruption of urban-industrial function caused by area bombing caused more lost productivity than the actual destruction itself. Following the Hamburg firestorm, Speer reported to Hitler that armaments production was collapsing, and that six more such raids would bring German war production to a total halt (p. 338). So area bombing didn't bring Germany to her knees not because area bombing didn't work, but because it wasn't pursued with sufficient focus: "Fortunately for us, a series of Hamburg-type raids was not repeated on such a scale against other cities." (p. 339)
   
   Allied bombing succeeding in forcing the Germans to divert crucial frontline resources: "Had it not been for this new front, the air front over Germany, our defensive strength against tanks would have been about doubled, as far as equipment was concerned. Moreover, the antiaircraft force tied down hundreds of thousands of young soldiers. A third of the optical industry was busy producing gunsights for flak batteries. About half of the electronics industry was engaged in producing radar and communications networks for defense against bombing. Simply because of this, in spite of the high level of the German electronics and optical industries, the supply of our frontline troops with modern equipment remained far behind that of the Western armies." (p. 332)
   
   Finally, Allied bombing practically insured that Germany would not develop an atom bomb. Speer commented: "For it was not only superior productive capability that allowed the United States to undertake this gigantic project. The increasing air raids had long since created an armaments emergency in Germany which ruled out any such ambitious enterprise." (p. 273)

5 comments about Terrible Terry Allen: Combat General of World War II - The Life of an American Soldier.

1. Gerald Astor's "Terrible Terry Allen" is a good but uneven treatment of one of the most enigmatic American commanders of World War II. Because Terry Allen never rose higher than a division commander, in one way it is unusual that a biography was written about him; but after reading this book, you'll understand why this man (who commanded two separate divisions in the European Theater and was a true fighting general) deserves a biography.
   
   Astor tells the story of Terry Allen's life, from a brief introduction with his parents' background (his father was also an Army officer), briefly discusses his childhood, and then focuses on Terry Allen's military career - which included service during the Mexican incursion and truly heroic service as a battalion commander in World War I. Of course the majority of the book discusses Allen's World War II service. In World War II, Allen served as the commander of the First Infantry Division (from which he was relieved during the Sicily campaign, a move that has been discussed at length but never fully explained) and then the commander of the 104th Infantry Division during its train-up in the United States and its campaign in Europe.
   
   Astor sometimes tells this story by quoting from letters that Allen wrote him while at war. At other times he is notably silent on what Allen was thinking or feeling. Sometimes, the book is more of a chronicle of the units that Allen was leading than of his actions. This is of course is the result of writing about someone who was only a division commander: his papers were not preserved like others were; his aides and staff did not keep their own detailed memoirs; and he was not a prolific letter writer and diarist the way some commanders (such as Eisenhower and Patton) were.
   
   Also of note: this book had a good collection of maps (very important in any military history work) but the paperback binding was beginning to separate during just one reading.
   
   Despite these drawbacks - many outside of the author's control and a natural product of writing on someone without a large body of documentary evidence -- there isn't another good resource on the life of Terry Allen. For this reason, I recommend this book to anyone interested in World War II.



2. First, full disclosure. Had my father been home when I was born, I'd likely have been named Terry Allen Aubrey. But my father was fighting with the 104th (Timberwolves) at the time. The first platoon sergeant he'd had was wounded and home in time to name his son Terry Allen Hodges. There is a Viet Nam memorial in Ionia, Michigan, carrying, among others, the name of Terry Allen Towne.
   Astor does not tell us why men would name their sons after their division commander.
   The reality is that the Timberwolves knew what fighting was, and they knew the cost they paid, and they knew how much worse it was in the other divisions. Terry Allen saved their lives.
   Part of it was night fighting. Night fighting, particularly before the development of night vision devices, is not like daylight fighting but in the dark. When I was at Ft. Benning, the introduction to the extensive block of instruction on night fighting was a lengthy reading from the Timberwolves' after-action reports. During a break, I told the instructor that I didn't need to be sold. I'd learned it at my father's knee.
   The instructor told me that there's always somebody in each course who tells him that. The Timberpups' fathers can tell their sons.
   But Astor doesn't tell his readers. Generals can worry themselves sick about casualties, but Terry Allen did something nobody else did and got enormous results. The connection is, I think, inadequately made.
   At one point, Allen, dismissing his prospects for promotion to something above division level, says he was jumped past well over a hundred more senior officers to get the First Division and, implicitly, has that many enemies. Logically, that means he's at the end of his career.
   What Astor misses completely is what caused the highest levels of the Army to reach past well over a hundred senior officers, all of them well qualified, and pick Allen.
   In the small, interwar club of the old professional Army, everybody knew everybody. Talents, weaknesses, vices, and baggage were all common knowledge. Astor tells us that Allen was occasionally reprimanded for sloppy personal appearance. That is practically inexcusable. Turning out immaculately in the prescribed uniform is reflexive in any private, and doubly so in officers who've passed through the demanding, detail-oriented, infuriating inspections of various commissioning schools. Not looking "right" is almost unimaginable.
   Allen was known to have a drinking problem. In the Army, this is not as bad as having a hangover problem. A company commander I had once remarked that there used to be "twenty-seven day" sergeants, but then (1970) no officer could afford to indulge a three-day drunk following payday. Allen, for whatever spectacle he might have made of himself, apparently showed up for work.
   During the interwar period, Allen spent some time in the Southwest in the cavalry, and some time at the Infantry School at Ft. Benning.
   Like many of his colleagues, he was loth to see the end of horse cavalry, and even drew up a table of organization and equipment for modern cavalry. He specified light automatic weapons not then existing. I have no idea how this was received by those to whom he showed it. They may have seen it as an exercise in nostalgia (and perhaps shared a laugh or two), or they could have thought Allen was hopeless. Due to an imprudent investment, Allen was trailed by a debt problem which he did not completely pay off for many years. Taking care of this was a constant worry in an era where bouncing a check could get an officer dismissed from the service.
   Commanding a peacetime unit of any size offers the officer in question a great opportunity. He may--must--let his subordinates do the work. "Work them hard but let them work," is a piece of advice that goes back a very long way. He must keep track of results, keep track of details, but keep a distance from the day-to-day work. With the time freed from the grind, he must, if he is to progress, look at a bigger picture. How can he improve his unit? What other ideas can he put into useful form and "sell" to his commanders? What contingencies can he foresee and plan for?
   Allen had that opportunity and apparently made the most of it. For later on, Marshall and others reached past scores of more senior officers, officers who did not worry about debt, who did not drink to excess, who were impeccable in their dress, who were also well qualified, and picked Allen. But we have no idea how Allen showed himself superior in potential to so many colleagues, or how much better he had to be to overcome his faults.
   As an idea of the scale, the Timberwolves were the 104th Infantry division. There were a few more, possibly up to about 110. There were a dozen armored divisions, and with everything, possibly almost two hundred division-equivalent formations, not counting the Air Corps.
   So Allen jumped over a number of officers sufficient to command more than half the two-star commands available.
   WHY? WHY?
   HOW did he impress Marshall and company?
   We have no clue.
   I find that the biggest disappointment in the book.
   However, Astor gives us a glimpse of what it means to be a professional officer when he relates Allen's WW II burdens. It might be thought that commanding an Infantry division in combat is enough. But Allen still had his occasional ventures with booze and his debt. His wife, not surprisingly, was more and more concerned for him, like millions of others, and needed reassurance. His son needed encouraging letters. His sister, an Army nurse, was undergoing a slow nervous breakdown and Allen was trying by letters to manage as best he could her situation.
   That Allen could be a superb division commander during this time is testament to the hard, almost brutal, mental and emotional control a professional officer must have over himself.
   As another reviewer noted, general officers whose highest command was a division in World War II are rarely the subjects of biography. What set Allen apart is not shown.
   Yes, Allen was a good commander, according to Astor. Why men would name their sons after him is left to those men and their sons. Those not in that privileged group are not enlightened by Astor's book.
   Having said this, I must say that it is an excellent book about the career of a fine officer, a good look at part of our history, and a lesson that personalities matter, even in the structured climate of the military. Men, as one of Heinlein's characters remarks, are not potatoes. They are not interchangeable. And which one of them happens to be at a particular nexus of events makes a huge difference.
   In this, Astor is crystal clear.



3. I'm actually surprised Terry Allen was promoted to general. He didn't graduate from West Point, his discipline of his troops was lax in comparison to other generals, and he obviously wasn't in the club with Bradley, Ike, and Patton. While Patton did stand up for him in the invasion of Sicily, Ike wanting to can him, Patton insisted he remain in command of his Big Red One. Patton would do things like pee into Gen Allen's slit trench in front of Allen's men, effectively calling him a coward in not so many words. Two of Allen's men took their tommy guns off of safe into fire mode with an audible click at which point Patton left. I would recommend this book to any WW II buff.



4. "The Greatest Soldier of World War Two" - This is one of the many accolades said of Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen by other Generals who knew him. He has also been credited with being the best U.S. combat commander of WWII. There are quite a few similarities between General George S. Patton and Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen in that they both:
   · trained at West Point (Allen did not graduate, but finished his education at the Catholic University),
   · served in the U.S. Cavalry during World War I as officers,
   · became generals during World War II,
   · were aggressive in their campaigns and always attacked,
   · lost commands for "political" reasons,
   · and both were very controversial.

   There were also definite differences between the two:
   Whereas Patton loved the limelight, and never missed an opportunity to distinguish himself, Allen was very low key, shied from publicity, and who liked his liquor.
   Patton graduated from West Point, Allen flunked out twice.

   Known as aggressive fighters, Patton was not terribly concerned with casualties but Allen was continually looking to keep the casualty rate as low as possible.
   While Patton and Allen were both outspoken, Patton tried to play the "Army" game...Allen did not play the game, which irritated his superiors.
   
   Allen was loved and respected by the average "G.I." in both Army Divisions. He was considered the enlisted man's General. Terry Allen was the only American WWII general to train and lead into combat two Army Divisions:
   The 1st Division (a.k.a. the famous "Big Red One"), and the 104th Infantry Division ("The Timberwolves"). Under his command, the 1st Division helped conquer Sicily. Later, the 104th Division, led by Terry Allen was the first Army Division to make contact with the Russian Army (they met somewhere between the Mulde and Elbe Rivers).
   The 104th Division under Terry Allen, set a record of 195 days of consecutive combat contact against the German Army.

   While Gerald Astor has corrected a historical oversight by writing Terry Allen's biography, he definitely fell short of the excellent mark of a great book. I found the book to be slow moving during the first few chapters of "Terrible Terry Allen", and dwelled too much on minute details (such as the letters to his wife), while completely skipping over very important events in his life. While it is still a good book in that it describes a very controversial and brilliant military man, it comes up short describing "the total man". I would normally rate it at 3 stars, but give it a 4th only because it is the only book of its kind on Terry Allen.




5. It should not be surprising that a book written by someone who is trained neither as a soldier nor a historian, about a consummate warrior like Major General Terry Allen, disappoints. It is most unfortunate, however, as Allen was one of the real characters among the US Army leadership in World War II and his life must have been a fascinating one.
   This book reads like a first draft --one that cries out for a firm, knowledgeable editor who will cut the extraneous material and force the author to answer all the questions that could make this a great book. As only one example, before World War I Allen was sent as a new 2nd Lieutenant to the 14th Cavalry Regiment on the Mexican border. What was a cavalry regiment in 1914? How was it organized, trained,equipped and led? What was life in the 14th like? Where did the 14th Cavalry go and what did it do in the years Allen was with it? There is plenty of secondary material out there to answer these questions but scarcely a word in this book.
   Allen claimed he participated in the last mounted charge with sabers by the US cavalry. This is a STORY. What happened? When? Where? Why? How? The author makes a silly try at connecting Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa's attack on US troops in Columbus, New Mexico, with inflated body-counts in Vietnam but the writer passes up another STORY and one relevant to Allen's development as a combat leader. Was Allen at Columbus? What happened there? What did Allen do?
   Throughout we get page after tiresome page of Allen's letters to his wife, but little context. Why? What is the point? Before taking over the legendary 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red One, in the early days of World War II Allen commanded the all-black Second Cavalry Division which included 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments -- the famous "Buffalo Soldiers." What effect did Allen have on the 2nd Cavalry Division? What effect did the division with its strong cadre of long-service, regular Army, African-American troopers and NCOs have on Allen? We are never told. Finally, for reasons that elude this reviewer, we get the full story of Allen's son's defeat by the Viet Cong as a battalion commander in the 1st Division in Vietnam. This in a book that gives us little of the important detail of when, where and how The Big Red One fought across North Africa and Sicily under General Allen. Why? Where is that editor?
   We are left with a pradox: a polo-playing, loud-mouthed, combative drunk, who did not study his profession in peacetime, and refused to instill and demand discipline in war. Yet this officer trained and led into battle two of the best US Army combat divisions in World War II? How could that be? Sadly, we get few insights from this book.

4 comments about The Genius of Robert E. Lee.

1. Al Kaltman has assembled an interesting and refreshing book about issues General Lee faced during his entire life. More of the documented letters featuring opinions and Lee offered others during his military adventures through Mexico and the Civil War are intriguing. Kaltman takes Lee's approach to subjects on managing people or conflicts and offers advice on how to handle similar circumstances in business and personal life situations. This book is rather a quick read as topics such as preparing one's self, taking command, continuous improvement and the winning image are just a few of many that are featured.

   This book is one you can jump from chapter to chapter on and not read from start to finish if you wanted as it deals with leadership approaches for various subjects. This book I recommend to anyone involved in business be it a salesperson or manager looking to better themselves with great thought. Also it can be a book one could keep with them at work as a helpful guide to reflect back on for insight on how to deal with situations that arise. Lee's style of handling issues is usually the correct and friendly non-confrontational approach which many could benefit from reading. On another side of this great book, Lee's failures or mistakes are also covered and Lee offers his thoughts on how he should have handled things differently.




2. Obviously, Kaltman found in Lee's management strategies and tactics relevance to the contemporary business world. The book's subtitle reveals Kaltman's primary theme: "Leadership lessons for the outgunned, outnumbered, and underfinanced." That is probably true of almost all of the companies now struggling to survive. The material is carefully organized within 11 chapters which correspond in chronological sequence with the various stages of Lee's career. Kaltman has identified 260 specific "Lessons" each of which he summarizes within an appropriate context and is accompanied by a Lee quotation, followed by a brief "Advice" mini-commentary. Unlike so many other books which purport to draw such correlations between the battlefield and the marketplace (e.g. The Military Genius of Daffy Duck), this one is sensible. Granted, many of the "Lessons" are rather obvious and much of the "Advice" is somewhat simplistic. However, the content is quite substantial. I think this would be an excellent gift for someone about to begin or who has only recently begun a business career. Here are Kaltman's concluding comments: "Robert E. Lee led armies in battle, helped reconcile a people to their defeat, and built a great educational institution. Lee never worried about his legacy; he focused on the job at hand. He believed that our legacy is the work we do to improve the human condition and bring about better times: "We may not see them but our children will, and we will live over again in them." You may also wish to check out Kaltman's Cigars, Whiskey & Winning: Leadership Lessons from Ulysses S. Grant, Crocker's Robert E. Lee on Leadership, and Hilton's Leadership Lessons from Robert E. Lee: Tips, Tactics, and Strategies for Leaders and Managers.



3. I never read a book in this style before. It is not a history of Lee, but a list of lessons illustrated by events in his career.

   The lessons are laid out chronologically in Lee's career. They highlight as much about his strengths as his weaknesses. More importantly for me, they give an insight into the Civil War that is uniquely from the perspective of General Lee.

   This is a book that can appeal to Civil War readers, or it can appeal to those interested in Management.

   It is an easy read, I like the style, and it is a book that you can stop and start as you like. No need to plough through it all in one go.




4. Al Kaltman has done us a great favor by writing, "The Genius of Robert E. Lee." His subtitle grabbed my attention immediately, "Leadership Lessons for the Outgunned, Outnumbered, and Underfinanced." Kaltman divides his work on leadership based on the chronology of Lee's life giving the reader 260 brief vignettes delving into the personal and professional life of this great American. The 260 entries gives the busy reader a kind-of "daily devotional" Monday through Friday for all 52 weeks of a single year. Also helpful is Kaltman's use of putting Lee's actual words in italics in each entry. The index at the conclusion of the work is also a helpful feature for quick and easy subject referencing. Kaltman brings a wealth of information together smoothly, from the idiosyncrasies of the man, and the historial events of the time, to the present day realities of leadership and management in the workplace. Students of Lee, Civil War enthusiasts, and the corporate leaders of today's business environment can all benefit from delving into Kaltman's treasure chest of thoughts, ideas, and principles gleaned from the fasinating life of this great man in history. For anyone who's ever felt like they were outgunned in life, or outnumbered in the cut-throat competition of the 21st century business world, Kaltman's work will introduce you to the genius of a man who was overwhelmed militarily, but who was never conquered in life or in the lasting legacy of leadership that he left to us all.

5 comments about The Flame Keepers.

1. My Dad was a POW in Stalag 17 during the same period of time as Handy. Dad had a hard time of it and it really was difficult for him to talk much about it. I now know that it would have been much better for him, and us, if he had been able to talk about it. He died in 2004.
   
   Many of the things he did tell me in bits and pieces over the years about his experiences Handy described also. The Kregie who killed imself by deliberately crossing over 'the wire', the tunneling efforts, the dirt in the rafters, the sawdust bread, the interrogations, solitary, the bunks, the cold, the hunger, the frightened guards, the end in the forest. Lot and lots of pieces of the puzzle.
   
   Dad was a most devout Catholic and, as it turned out, the only prisoner in camp who had been trained to be an Altar Boy. He gave lessions in Latin to train many other prisoners who were 'getting religion' in those desperate times. Dad described the Christams Mass in great detail, and it was striking to read Handy's account of that sermon. It was erie to read Handy's account of it all and how identical it was to Dad's. It was a very uplifting sermon that Dad and Handy never forgot.
   
   My Mother told me about this book and I ordered it immediatly from Amazon and couldn't put it down until I had read all the way through. It was as if Dad was sitting in the room and describing the whole horror, step by step, and in chronological sequence for the first time which enabled me to put it all together for the first time. Now I have an even deeper understanding and appreciation for what Dad had endured, and how tragic his ongoing suffering had been, what it meant for his life, how much he had sacrificed, not only for those 16 months as a POW - but throughout the remainder of his life. I also got some insights regarding how it impacted mine life and my family's. I wish Dad could have read it him self 50 years ago. Thanks, Ned for getting it out for all of us to understand.
   
   If you have any POWs in your immediate family, especially if that POW is or was your father - or you were a POW and you have children, I would say that this is required reading.



2. Loved this book. It grabbed my attention from the very start and never let it drift...housework and commitments be damned! Knowing it was a true story made it all the more gripping. I highly recommend it.



3. One of the heroes in this book, Gene Meese, is a friend of mine. He no longer talks much about his war experiences but he does say that Ned Handy tells the story with great accuracy. Oh, sure, much was omitted -- some of it quite bad -- but the core and substance is there and treated well.
   
   Knowing Gene and reading the book deepened my appreciation for all the terror our troops, past and present, have endured for our country.



4. It is not hyperbole to say that The Flame Keepers is an excellent, well-paced book that will captivate readers of all ages and backgrounds - from teens to seasoned citizens. Not only about World War II, or even strictly a "war story," the book covers the effects on human behavior of war, imprisonment and defiance of one's enemies -- all well beyond the armored battles that raged.
   
   Author and protagonist Ned Handy tells the unvarnished story through his eyes of a network of men and comrades-at-arms whose sudden imprisonment brought out their individual and collective ingenuity, bravery, stamina and perseverance in ways they could not have imagined. These qualities possessed by so many "ordinary" sergeants came to the fore when they faced the stark choice of surviving or giving up behind a wire, while watched by armed guards, deep in enemy territory, and in spite of brutal weather and a starvation diet. The incredible story of a brash and brilliantly conceived escape attempt from Stalag Luft XVII-B plays a major part in the narrative, and it is spell-binding.
   
   Mr. Handy employs simple but eloquent language that takes the reader on a hard-to-put-down journey through five seasons in the life of a 21-year-old B-24 flight engineer and top turret gunner, who survives a shoot-down only to be imprisoned in infamous Stalag XVII-B. Events inside Stalag 17 are interwoven with interesting vignettes that bring to life Mr. Handy's memories of home, family and early life, which inform his ability to survive the prison ordeal. He ascribes well-deserved credit to his colleagues, from his crewmates to POWs with whom he lived in extremely close quarters for more than a year. He describes how each POW used the talents he had to their utmost, such that they were able to survive, defy the enemy at times, and create a vital internal safety net for their fellows when it mattered most. For a man imprisoned and isolated for a time due to circumstances that are movingly presented in the text, Mr. Handy presents a fair-minded view of the individual human beings behind the generic descriptors, "soldier," "prisoner," "enemy," "guard," and "civilian."
   
   It is easy to get "lost" while reading this book, and is a challenge to return, during the intervals one puts it down, to the regular and occasionally mundane tasks of everyday living. For it is the ability to do these tasks, and to take advantage of all the small and large freedoms we have today, that was denied the prisoners of war like Mr. Handy and those whom he describes so vividly. And although the author doesn't indulge in self-praise, the reader cannot help but thank God for stalwart men like Mr. Handy and his comrades, who sacrificed so much for the liberty and prosperity we all enjoy today. It's a must-read for all ages.



5. I am a WWII buff as I know had it not been for those who served we would not be here. So reading and appreciating those sacrifices is paramount to me.
   I found this book "disturbing" (in a good way) in that the book literally took the reader inside the walls of Stalag 17.
   It was a fearful experience and filled me with dread and agony for those who lived through that experience.
   Some of the material mirrows what the movie "Stalag 17" depicted but certainly not with the Hollywood context of stalag life.
   Ned Handy is one of countless heros who served all of us. God bless them, each and every one.
   This is a book to cherish and help us understand the horror of war and the sacrifices of so many.

5 comments about Mossad Exodus; The Daring Undercover Rescue of the Lost Jewish Tribe.

1. This was a fun and light read. The chapters are short, making for frequent stopping places. Although the basic story line of the rescue of the Ethiopian Jews from Sudan is threaded through the book, much of the content consists of anecdotes from this period of the author's life. These were often fun stories that made me laugh out loud at times.
   
   There are also a few poignant moments related to the core narrative. It is clear that the author is fond of the people he helped rescue from Sudan and proud of the mission in which he participated.
   
   I was a bit concerned that the book would be unblushingly pro-Israeli given it's Israeli publisher, author, and subject matter. However, Mr. Shimron is very even-handed, often taking Israeli politicians, society, and the government (and other organizations) to task for shortcomings.
   
   Mr. Shimron also does an admirable job of placing the story at hand in its larger international political context. Likewise, he finishes the book with a general survey of the situation of Ethiopian Jews in Israel from then to now.
   
   A couple of weak spots:
   Near the end of the narrative, Mr. Shimron is removed from the team. At this point in his narrative, he is forced to rely upon media accounts. Although this information is pieced together well (and I was glad to have it), it was prevalent enough that it marred the first-hand account that so wonderfully marked the rest of the book.
   
   Although I am familiar with the geography of the events in this book generally, a basic map relating the places common throughout the story would have been great. Israel, Ethiopia, and Sudan are close enough that a page size map should have easily allowed the publisher to mark the relevant locations (Arous, Gedaref and the Airfield, Port Sudan, Khartoum, etc.)
   
   The language was also a bit odd at times. This isn't a beautifully written narrative. I suspect it suffers a bit in translation. Occasionally the choice of phrases is somewhat banal.
   
   This is not a great history book. Mr. Shimron admits as much in the foreword. If you decide to read this book, sit down as if you were drinking a few beers with the author and he is going to relate that time to you one story after another. Occasionally you'll get a bit off track. Sometimes he'll have to stop to explain things. His choice of words isn't going to be well crafted to ring a certain way...after all, after a few stories, he's already going to have a buzz going. Instead, he's just remembering it out loud and you get to join him.
   
   All in all, this was a great read that was worth the few hours. It reminded me of another fun read (that was much less serious) titled Scotch and Holy Water about a man living in Turkey in the 60's and 70's. If you enjoyed the feel of this book, you should try to track down Scotch and Holy Water. If you read Scotch and Holy Water and enjoyed it, you'll likely enjoy Mossad Exodus as well.
   
   Thank you to Mr. Shimron for an fun first-hand account.



2. Great good fun: heartwarming, occasionally terrifying, often hilarious. This true story of how a few intrepid Mossad agents began the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry from the refugee camps of Sudan, proves truth is stranger than fiction. The story: a small band of motivated smart-allecks buy a defunct dive resort as a cover and then, accidentally, make a success of it, bringing all kinds of characters into their midst, while drawing the ire of those in Mossad headquarters who become convinced they're just goofing off and having a big party. Meanwhile, first by the dozens and then by the hundreds, Ethiopian Jews are being rescued, smuggled out first by sea and then by air from remote landing strips, until soon they are being flown out full scale by the thousands. A great adventure, and best of all, a true one!



3. Don't miss this exciting journey with Gad Shimron. The adventurous, true story about the Ethiopian lost Jewish tribe, and the daring act of rescue is brought to us by one of the rescue-team members in a fluent and fascinating style.



4. I have been looking for books and information about the subject rescue of the Etiophian Jews for some time. Finally after browsing at amazon I found the book Mossad Exodus written by a former Mossad agent. I believed now I will get much exact information about the rescue operation, written from one inside.
   
   But no, to be honest I were very dissapointed. This book gives little or no information about the rescue operation unfortunately. The details is totally missing. How they traced the Etiophian Jews in the camps and how did they gather them is only mentioned very, very shortly. How many they were in total and how had they entered Sudan is not mentioned. How did they seperate an Etiopean from a Jewish Etiophian is not mentioned.
   
   Are you interested in the subject of the culture, nature and diving possibilities in Sudan, this is a book for you. One chapter in the book is about the execellent diving condition in Sudan and another chapter is about wind surfing. I can promise this Mossad agent is keeping most of the secrets about the rescue operation in Sudan close to himself.
   
   The book is also suffering of the fact that it is written nearly 20 years after the operation ended. My recommedation unfortunately, find another book



5. This is a must read for anyone who believes in the ideals of righteousness! Gad Shimron's MOSSAD EXODUS provides marvelous firsthand insight into the classified Israeli operation that freed Ethiopian Jews from persecution, starvation, and unspeakable brutality.
   
   What makes this so historically remarkable and relevant, is that the Israeli government without any economic or political gain embarked on a strictly humanitarian rescue mission; risking the lives of Mossad spy agents deep within an enemy country to save the lives of a little known tribe of lost lost African Jews.
   
   Gad Shimron also shares with the reader the little known details of the CIA's cooperation in the final days of the operation, further emphasizing Israel and the United States shared values and strategic relationship.