5 comments about Sergeant York: An American Hero.

1. This is a fine book about the legendary Sergeant Alvin York, recounting his whole life from the early childhood in rural Tenessee to the extraordinary exploits in the Argonne Forest and the turbulent years that followed the moment of glory. The author presents a fine portrait of York, with all its virtues and weaknesses and he does not forget to include also the German account of what happened on that fateful day of October 1918 at the Argonne Forest. I think that the most fanciful part of the book was the explanation of the reasons which catapulted York to fame, the life that York led after his return home and his opinions on current political affairs during the next decades. There are some good black and white photographs in the book and also a few maps.



2. After reading the biography on Eddie Rickenbacker, I figured this book would be a good follow-up on the other "hero" of WW-I. However, the book spends little time on Mr. York's military achievements and contains minimal information on battle tactics and strategy of that time. While the book is interesting and quick to read, it does not rate as a 5-star biography. For those armchair generals who is interested in learning about US history, there are no doubt better sources than this book. But for the cost, its well worth the addition to your library.



3. Lee views the life of World War I hero Alvin York through the lens of a changing society. York represented, according to Lee, the values of 19th century rural American-simplicity, honesty, hard work, Protestantism, and Anglo-American heritage-in an industrializing society. His defeat of German machine gunners came to symbolize "man over machine" as well. York moved from a pacifist, noninterventionist position to accept America's role as a major world power. This acceptance was based on a religious vision of the US as a defender against evil in the world. Lee's book is well written, moves fast, and well argued. He succeeds in demonstrating that an indivdual life can be used to understand American history in the early 20th century.



4. A valuable look at York the man, the times he lived in, and the process of creating a national legend. Distinguishes the myths of York's life from the simple facts of his famous exploits. I especially enjoyed the look back at York's rural background and how those values shaped him as a man as well as an American heroic ideal. WEll-researched and documented, but also simply a good read!



5. If you like to grab a book and take a nap shortly after opening it, this is the book for you. It starts out keeping your interest, but will quickly loose it. If you are looking for a book that really lets you meet York (which was what I was looking for), this is not the right book. This book is a wealth of information, but you will get easily dis-interested, lost, and confused as the author goes into great depths to introduce the men that were involved in York's struggles after the war. I was hoping for a book about York and his family, but was disappointed in this one. He gives very little information about York's family life.

No comments about The Sutras of Abu Ghraib: Notes from a Conscientious Objector in Iraq.

2 comments about Our Country, Right or Wrong: The Life of Stephen Decatur, the U.S. Navy's Most Illustrious Commander.

1. Since his death from a wound received in a duel in 1820, the US Navy has named five ships the USS Decatur. At least 46 cities and counties in the United States have been named Decatur. Stephen Decatur is probably the United States greatest naval hero.
   
   Decatur was one of those people who just seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and then to have the ability to do exactly what was required to make the best possible advantage out of the situation. He was cool and audacious in combat, loved by his men. Then of course, he was plotted against by rivals in their competition for glory that led to the duel.
   
   The title comes from an after dinner toast that Decatur made at a social gathering: 'Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.'



2. Mr Guttridge has written a fine addition to the library of naval history. Stephen Decatur's life is a veritable "Who's Who" of early American Naval History: Preble, Bainbridge, Barry, Perry, Porter, Hull etc. He was there in America's first war with Islamic extremists (Barbary Wars) and was an early proponent of steam propulsion with Robert Fulton. He was friends with Presidents. Many cities, as well as ships, have been rightfully named after him. Guttridge makes it clear in the book that Decatur's life was overshadowed by his apparently irreversible journey to a tragic end in a duel. The magnitude of the tragedy reminds one of the epic battle of Achilles and Hector in Homer's Iliad; Why didn't someone stop the madness? The book reads easily and quickly. I couldn't give it five stars for a couple of reasons. First, the editing grows shaky at points. In the very first sentence of the book, Decatur's famous burning of the frigate Philadelphia is placed in 1807 rather than 1804. It is clear that the author knows the correct year from the rest of the book, making this a typo of some magnitude. We are also told repeatedly that Decatur hates to write. Once or twice is enough, thank you. Second, as is too often the case in military histories, the book suffers from want of any geographical maps or diagrams of sea battles. These gripes aside, the book is a good read.

3 comments about Stars in the Corps: Movie Actors in the United States Marines.

1. STARS IN THE CORPS. is a most entertaining and informative book. Well written and researched, it deals with the military service of a number of movie stars that served in the Corps through America's wars. Among the stars profiled, readers will find the opening chapter particularly interesting, since it relates the life and service of a much-decorated Vietnam Marine, Dale Dye. In case the name is not familiar, he was the military advisor for the movies, PLATOON, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, AND THE THIN RED LINE. He has also acted in a number of movies and television specials. The chapter about Lee Marvin is riveting. In every sense of the word he was a Marine throughout his life. His burial marker at Arlington reads, LEE MARVIN, PFC, U. S. MARINE CORPS. Many of the subjects and stories will surprise readers. What I liked about the entire read was the avoidance of tabloid innuendo. True to the theme set by authors Wise and Rehill in STARS IN BLUE, they focus on the service contributions of these men, which are often unknown to the American public.



2. This badly written book about men who served their country well will disappoint those who care about the language as well as those looking for depth in the reporting of what 28 Americans who happened to be associated with the entertainment industry did when they were in the U.S. Marine Corps.

   That is not to say that it is not worth reading, however. It's a quick read, and the reader will recognize the cotton candy style of the motion picture press release. But the surprises will keep you going, as you discover that Ed McMahon was such a good pilot of the Vought Corsair (the airplane that Pappy Boyington flew) that he became an instructor in World War II. When he finally flew in combat, it was in unarmed Cessna 180s flying observation over Korea -- extremely hazardous duty. You will also find out how Lee Marvin "got his ass shot off" in the World War II invasion of Saipan -- literally.

   One thing any reader will recognize is the almost universal feeling on the part of the subjects that the "Corps made a man out of me" and the emptiness most of them felt when no longer a part of Corps.

   In short, it's worth the money just for fun, but history it ain't. It's a nice little book about a few good men.




3. Thank you for making my father John R. Post so happy to have someone care about something that consumed a great deal of his young life. He was so thrilled to receive your book and share it with me and all his military friends. It was a time to be remembered - for the friendship - not the death. And he may be different but he remembers every name of every person he spent time with during WWII and the Korean Conflict. Thank you for acknowledging his memory and caring about his fellow man. Thank you.

4 comments about The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest (The American Crisis Series).

1. We all know that some fictional characters become "real"...James Bond...Sherlock Holmes...heck, you'll never convince me that Nero Wolfe isn't real, and that if I go to 918 West 35th. Street, I won't find him. Conversely, sometimes real people, who lived real lives, become so shrouded in myth and legend that they become "fictional"...Houdini...Babe Ruth...Patrick Henry [a Nurse once engaged me in a hot arguement about him; I never did convince her]... Nathan Bedford Forrest......
   
   This book is an attempt to show him in both aspects. This is NOT a biography of the greatest Cavalry officer who ever lived, and doesn't pretend to be. There is a good, basic, sketch of the high points, and that's sufficient here. Forrest was well and truly real, but a lot of myths have grown up around him. A good portion of those are addressed. For example, the stories of his semiliterate English are exaggerated. Unlike Yogi, he really said the things he said, but not nearly as badly as we've been led to believe. Several novels have used him as a fictional character, but, interestingly, he's never made it to the silver screen. [the portrayl in "Birth of a Nation" is so far off as not to count].
   
   The Civil War continues to generate passions; many of us think if its personages as a living presence. Nathan Bedford Forrest remains controversial, and real, to this day. If you want a full biography, there are several good ones. If you want to look at some aspects of his life that you hadn't thought of before, this volume is a good place to start.



2. Let me attempt to tell you something about this book without trying to make it yet another episode in the continuing (after 140 years) saga of the Civil War, which, obviously, in some minds (the world's bloodiest battlefields by far) still rages as ferociously today as it did, say, on a hillside outside a once-peaceful little town in Pennsylvania on a warm July afternoon in 1863.
   
   The book tries to explain how Nathan Bedford Forrest, the man and some of his exploits, became mythologized by various forces (newspaper accounts, biographies, personal reminiscences, popular histories, novels, and movies) down through the years[...]
   
   The first half of the book is by far the best. Where the first half looks carefully at how Southerners and Northerners both looked at Forrest and took from his life-story what best suited them (the South: his fearless personal bravery, his victories in battle, his backwoods reputation and man-of-action personality, his defense for the Lost Cause; the North: his racial butchery at Ft. Pillow, his hate-filled association with the KKK, his guerrilla warfare tactics rather than the "manly, honest" standard tactics practiced by the "better" generals), the second half becomes just a cursory summary of all the books and movies that featured Forrest as a main character.
   
   It's obvious that Forrest still has the ability to touch nerves in this country, especially in the South. The authors attribute Sherman as saying there would never be peace in Tennessee until Forrest was dead; maybe there's still some truth to that. Forrest had very little impact on the outcome of the war (ironically, his own generals shunned him), and the claim that if Forrest had been leading the Southern Armies instead of Lee, the South would have won is wishful thinking that borders on the ludicrous. But that's what myths can do to people - give hope where no hope has any right to exist. Of course in a negative sense myths can also house and comfort bad decisions and poor choices. Forrest's mythology continues to do both, good and bad.



3. New Yankee Doodle
   
   Yankee Doodle had a mind
   To whip the Southern traitors,
   Because they didn't choose to live
   On codfish and potatoes.
   
   Yankee Doodle, doodle doo,
   Yankee Doodle dandy,
   Aand so to keep his courage up,
   He took a drink of brandy.
   
   He was the best Confederate general of the entire Civil War, according to his superior. Born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, into a well-to-do family, he was a Southerner born and bred for greatness. After the war, he had ties in Memphis, (a world away from the values and customs of Middle Tennessee) where a park including a statue of him is in existence. There is an unusual statue of him outside Nashville on I65; look for the Confederates flags and you'll marvel at this site created and paid for by a prominent lawyer. This slanderous book (all Myths) was devised by two UTK English professors with false information from Memphis sources.
   
   I can't fanthom why this review was not listed on my site. It is a sore spot for me as I personally told one of the writers that what they had researched is not true. After the book was printed anyway, I told the other one on the phone the same thing. He said the nasty part about Fort Pillow which they based their myth on was in Memphis documentation. That does not make it right or true. None of us at the meeting had heard about what happened at that place, and yet they based a slander about what might not have happened.



4. Let me see if I can clear up some of the misinformation floating around about this book:
   
   1. This book is not, nor does it claim to be a history of Nathan Bedford Forrest. It is an always-compelling, often-convincing retelling of the emergence of an American myth. The authors are at places concerned with "facts" and "truths," but more to the point they focus on how something seemingly as concrete as "fact" or "truth" morphs into mythology. In this quest, they've chosen their subject well, as hardly a figure in American culture lends itself so favorably to such an effort.
   
   2. The authors use well-known literary devices to draw out their subject. They do not call Forrest a comic book character but use the analogy to illustrate a point. They do not liken him to Forrest Gump but merely note the power of NBF's legacy, a legacy so enduring that many a Southern lad has been named "Forrest" in tribute.
   
   3. There is no "bias" against Forrest in this book, nor is there a "bias" for him. For many Southerners, this is a cardinal sin in and of itself. An earlier review claimed the book is full of "manufactured lies." To the contrary, Ashdown and Cawdill are deft in their handling of "facts." They are careful to note where historic information on Forrest is conflicting and describe how this disparity is used to feed competing myths. But, full of lies? Such a claim should always be accompanied by direct quotes from the book.
   
   4. The first-half of the book is indeed the better half, as the second part seems rushed and largely superfluous. Forrest's fame and infamy prevail. We hardly need a laundry list of books and movies to confirm this fact.
   
   Anyone who comes to this book with an agenda - to either praise or bury Forrest - is likely to be disappointed and possibly even incensed when they find nothing to feed their zeal. Objective readers, however, will be well-rewarded.

5 comments about A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia: The Civil War Memoirs of Private David Holt, With a New Appendix of Excerpts from His 1865 Diary.

1. It was difficult for me to put this book down and I finally stayed up all night and finished it. Holt's description of the hardships endured by Southern soldiers are so realistic and makes us appreciate their dedication. I was able to understand what my ancestor endured by reading this account. I recommend this book for Union and Confederates alike. It brings out the very best and the very worst in all of us. I have read many soldiers accounts of the war but this is the best and also the most entertaining. After reading this book I have revived my interest in the WBTS.



2. I've read about a dozen or so soldier memoirs/diary accounts, and this one ranks as one of the poorest. I find most of these have a generic nature to them - seems like if you've read one, you've read them all! Mr. Holt wrote this in his latter years, so Goodness knows how the years have treated his memory of things, although a fine editing job by Cockrell and Ballard keep things on the straight and narrow. Much of the memoirs involve Holt's escapades that have little to do with the war effort. Lot of it reads like a Mark Twain tale, with Holt often relating some of the hijinks and sit-com like situations he experienced as a soldier.



3. Holt really conveys the attitudes, feelings, deep convictions, and courage displayed by those who fought in the war. (Not only on the Rebel side, but also on the Yankee side.) He also goes into some of the other reasons besides slavery, that caused the South to secede. Very well written and extremely interesting. It makes you feel as if you're right beside Holt following him as they go down in history. Also shows how life for the Confederate soldier was awfully harsh in the latter part of the war. Holt doesn't have shoes and is walking through snow along with men who are dying of starvation. Holt entertains readers by detailing what he and his group would do for fun, ie., sneaking away from camp to meet girls, etc.

   I knew Holt was in the 16th Miss. Co. K. I was hoping it would mention Co. H where my relative fought, but it didn't.

   Holt leaves for the war as a boy, but returns a man.

   Great book. I highly recommend it.




4. Holt's memoirs are entertaining as well as informative. This book becomes hard to put down as you read. Very good details of life in the Army of Northern Virginia. He gives the "personal" side of the war so often left out by other memoirs. Reading this book was like having Holt tell you the story himself. Excellent.



5. Few memoirs are both as entertaining and informative as this one. It is similar in many ways to "Co. Aytch" by Sam Watkins, the memoir quoted so heavily in the Ken Burns PBS series. One especially valuable aspect of Holt's reminiscences is that they begin well before the Civil War and afford a glimpse a pre-war life among the middle class in Mississippi. The editors have done a fine job of annotating the memoir, identifying individuals and events as well as pointing out Holt's occasional errors. As with most works of its type, the book deals more vividly with the happenings in camp and on the march between battles than with the battles themselves. Its chief weakness is that Holt wrote his memoirs many years after the war, so his recollections are inevitably tainted by things he learned afterward. It is recommended for any reader interested in the Civil War.

2 comments about Thieves of Baghdad: One Marine's Passion to Recover the World's Greatest Stolen Treasures.

1. Excellent book! An interesting read for anyone who wants to understand other facets of what our troops encounter while deployed. JD



2. Matthew Bogdanos' story of the lost antiquities of the Bahgdad Museum is a fascinating and informative account of his experiences with an interagency counterterrorism unit following 9/11. However, its not just about Bahgdad, as he tells us about the challenges he faces growing up in downtown New York, his roots in Greek and Middle Eastern classics, etc. In fact, despite the extraordinary depth of his knowledge of classic literature, arts, and history, there is a certain air of self-promotion throughout the book that the reader just can't overlook. Nonetheless, I found Bogdanos' writing to be sophisticated and interesting and I felt that I finished his book with a better understanding of U.S. efforts to help the Iraqi people help themselves (despite the efforts of their fellow Iraqi's to sell their own heritage to the highest bidders). The beautiful photos add great depth to Bogdanos' account and spark the reader's interest in the history and art of the region. Enjoy this highly unusual account of one man's war time experiences.

No comments about Patton's Forward Observers: History Of The 7th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, XX Corps, Third Army.

No comments about Finding Granddad's War.

5 comments about Revolt in the Desert.

1. If we do not research and invest time in reviewing history, then we are doomed to repeat the same errors as before. This book gives an excellent view on the Arab culture, mannerism, and civil leadership in Middle Eastern society. TE Lawrence led an insurgent based campaign against the German backed Turkish Army. Well written and I found the book filled with interesting pieces that relate to the present. Subjects like the rules of modern warfare vs. insurgent tactics, the notice of Islamic fundementalism within the ranks of his men, the ability to lead lightly armed fighters against fortified positions. Good book that gives some insight to potential issues facing in that region today.



2. Okay, a bold title deserves justification.
   The worst one could say of T.E. Lawrence is that he was an iconic British hero. I won't slather this book review with biographical fodder, but will instead, review said book.
   In "Revolt in the Desert", Lawrence shows his mastery of language that rivaled the greatest English writers of all time.
   This abridged version of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is a glimpse into a shadow of history, if not a brilliant mind.
   Deletions of censored and edited sections are obvious throughout (remember it's abridged!) and make the mental navigation of the story difficult at times, but you'll manage.
   Lawrence's imagery is often painful even frequently comical.
   The average modern reader doesn't have the benefit of drawing on history that, for the book's first audience in 1927, was not distant news. If you know some WWI history, rejoice! If not, get out a Dummy's Guide to WWI or be prepared to stumble through some historical figures, Arab tribes and military equipment scarcely heard of today, although not any less important. American foreign policy in the Middle East would be well served if this were mandatory reading for U.S. State Department officials.
   REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ. AUTHORS, EVEN DEAD ONES, DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS.
   5/31/07
   Having since read Lowell Thomas's book "With Lawrence in Arabia," I cannot begin to put into words the complete brilliance of the personality that was T.E. Lawrence.
   Thomas's book must be regarded as an important foreword to "Revolt in the Desert." Reading Thomas's book will better ground those readers less familiar with the topical information Lawrence's book assumes a prior knowledge of.
   Thomas was a contemporary and, for a time, companion of Lawrence. Thomas's book is an Americanized version of the story of Lawrence's desert exploits and gives a glimpse into the life of a man far to modest to revel in or write about his own well deserved glory.



3. T.E. Lawrence was an unusual character. The bastard son of an Anglo-Irish baronet and a serving girl, he attended Oxford and earned a degree in history and archaeology. Those degrees led to a position on an archaeological dig in what was then part of the Ottoman Empire. He learned the language, and adopted their mode of dress, and learned everything from customs to how to ride and fight. When World War I started, Lawrence joined the British army (along with three of his brothers, all of whom were killed in the war) and was assigned to British army headquarters in Cairo. He spent two years there in the Intelligence Bureau, working on maps and other things, but was sent to the Hejaz in 1916 to liase with the local Arabs, led by the self-styled Sharif of Mecca, Hussein, and several of his sons, most prominently Feisal. It was this assignment that led to his fame, because he helped lead the revolt of the Arabs for the next two years.
   
   After the war, Lawrence served the British government for several years, and then wrote a long book, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which recounted his experiences. Lawrence was a strange, twisted, odd character, and for reasons that are too complicated to go into, he didn't want the book in wide circulation. He instead had it published in limited distribution; this led to the strange situation of people putting ads in the London Times offering copies of the book for rent. For other strange motives, Lawrence insisted on selling the book at a loss, which led to him incurring a debt from the sale of the book. This led to him in turn editing the book down to about half of what it was before: the result was the present book, Revolt in the Desert, which was released first in England and then America. The English version was withdrawn from circulation once Lawrence retired his debt, though the American version continued to be published and distributed.
   
   Revolt in the Desert itself is a strange, unusual book. Lawrence participated in the revolt itself, and liased between primarily Feisal and the British authorities. During the campaign, he led forces that were very primitive, primarily Arab irregular cavalry, usually mounted on camels, and the most modern forces, fighting from armored cars and airplanes. All of these weapons and their handling is recounted with the usual eccentric British verve and energy.
   
   I enjoyed the book a great deal, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.



4. In 1919 A.D., author T.E. Lawrence wrote out in a 400,000 word book "the whole bitter account of his adventure (in Arabia) and of his disappointment over the conclusion which the Peace Conference seemed to put to it." Lawrence left that manuscript replete with notes and many photographs in a handbag at the Reading railway station which was then stolen from that location. Lawrence tried to recount what he had wrote, but he never intended it for publication. Later, he had it printed on a newspaper press in Oxford, in an edition limited characteristically to eight copies, of which three, were afterward destroyed.
   
   This book is the descendant in furtherance of Lawrence's re-written book, which he himself was never quite satisfied with. It stands as a purely personal record of his account in Arabia.
   
   At the end of his Arabian exploits Lawrence, only 28 years of age, found himself in danger of being politely eliminated as an "upstart," while other men ruined the plans for which he was largely responsible. He recounts (as he planned to re-enter Arabia to aid Feisal):
   
   "Storrs and I then marched off together, happily. In the East they swore that by three sides was the decent way across a square; and my trick to escape was in this sense oriental. But I justified myself by my confidence in the final success of the Arab revolt if properly advised. I had been a mover in its beginning; my hopes lay in it. The fatalistic subordination of a professional soldier (intrigue being unknown in the British army) would have made a proper officer sit down and watch his plan of campaign wrecked by men who thought nothing of it, and to whose spirit it made no appeal. Non nobis, Domine."
   
   This review applies to the original 1927 A.D. edition of "Revolt In The Desert" as the first printing in America by the George H. Doran Company in New York City, NY.
   
   The strange and still mysterious figure of T.E. Lawrence has become legend and has attained nearly cult icon status. Although somewhat different than that which was promoted by the 1962 David Lean movie "Lawrence of Arabia;" "Revolt In The Desert" is a fantastic first person account of an important part of English history which has has substantially affected the United States and the world.
   
   Without hesitation or reservation. 5 stars.



5. Very different that the "Lawrence of Arabia" movie. An exciting and enjoyable first hand account of the arab revolt against Turkey in World War I. Although it's hard to keep track of who is who and what is where, the writing and descriptions of the desert, the arabs and the action make it very worthwhile.