War Books - Page 5

Quiet American

Graham Greene

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 103 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I was a reporter, I had no real opinions about anything 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

So said the main character (and narrator) Fowler about himself in an attempt to thwart his promotion to the position of editor, away from the French war in Indo China, and his mistress Phuong.

And a true assessment of himself it may have been, if things had remained as they were. But once Pyle, the naïve, quiet American with his eye on the selfsame Phuong, and his dangerous political meddling enters the scene, Fowler ceases to be a mere spectator, and enters the real world of action with all that it entails. This, then, is the factual gist of, for me, Graham Greene's greatest novel.

It contains everything one has come to admire in Greene: an absolute economy of words, character developed through action and terse dialogue rather than descriptive language, all set within (what has seemingly become an unavoidable cliché when discussing his novels) an intriguing moral dilemma. So he breaks no new ground here, but rather perfects that which he does well to an exceptional degree.

And as always, nothing is ever simple. Ambiguities attach to everything we do, as Fowler discovers, when he does what he considers to be the expedient, just thing re the quiet American. Public and private morality dovetail in Pyle's fate, which Fowler suddenly can determine in one single act, which he does. So the world-weary Fowler ceases to be a mere reporter, and attains everything what he wanted in one fell swoop. And then, in a breathtaking turn-around the jaded, cynical observer Fowler is brought to this in the last sentence of the novel;

..but how I wished there existed someone to whom I could say that I was sorry.

which, when I read it for the first time, carried me over the threshold of the Christian Faith, in the joyous realization that such a Someone does exist.

Editorial Review:

While the French Army in Indo-China is grappling with the Vietminh, back in Saigon a young and high-minded American named Pyle begins to channel economic aid to a "Third Force."

Caught between French colonialists and the Vietminh, Fowler, the narrator and seasoned foreign correspondent, observes: "I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused." As young Pyle's policies blunder on into bloodshed, the older man finds it impossible to stand aside as an observer. But Fowler's motives for intervening are suspect, both to the police and to himself: for Pyle has robbed him of his Vietnamese mistress.

"No serious writer of this century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination than Graham Greene." (Time)

Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th

Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Fresh from their series on the American Civil War, bestselling authors Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen now launch a new epic adventure by applying their imaginations and knowledge to the “Date of Infamy”---the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor covers the full spectrum of character and events of that historic moment, from national leaders and admirals to the views of ordinary citizens caught in the chaos of war. From the chambers of the Emperor of Japan to the American White House, from the decks of aircraft carriers to the playing fields of the Japanese Naval Academy, this powerful story stretches from the nightmare slaughter of China in the 1930s to the lonely office of Commander James Watson, an American cryptographer, who suspects the impending catastrophic attack. It is a story of intrigue, double-dealing, the horrific brutality of war, and the desperate efforts by men of reason on both sides to prevent a titanic struggle that becomes inevitable.

A compelling, meticulously researched saga, Pearl Harbor is also a novel of valor about those who took party in this cataclysmic moment in world history. It inaugurates a dramatic new Pacific War series that begins with the terrifying account of the day that started it all.

To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War

Jeff Shaara

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 85 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jeff Shaara has enthralled readers with his New York Times bestselling novels set during the Civil War and the American Revolution. Now the acclaimed author turns to World War I, bringing to life the sweeping, emotional story of the war that devastated a generation and established America as a world power.

Spring 1916: the horror of a stalemate on Europe’s western front. France and Great Britain are on one side of the barbed wire, a fierce German army is on the other. Shaara opens the window onto the otherworldly tableau of trench warfare as seen through the eyes of a typical British soldier who experiences the bizarre and the horrible–a “Tommy” whose innocent youth is cast into the hell of a terrifying war.

In the skies, meanwhile, technology has provided a devastating new tool, the aeroplane, and with it a different kind of hero emerges–the flying ace. Soaring high above the chaos on the ground, these solitary knights duel in the splendor and terror of the skies, their courage and steel tested with every flight.

As the conflict stretches into its third year, a neutral America is goaded into war, its reluctant president, Woodrow Wilson, finally accepting the repeated challenges to his stance of nonalignment. Yet the Americans are woefully unprepared and ill equipped to enter a war that has become worldwide in scope. The responsibility is placed on the shoulders of General John “Blackjack” Pershing, and by mid-1917 the first wave of the American Expeditionary Force arrives in Europe. Encouraged by the bold spirit and strength of the untested Americans, the world waits to see if the tide of war can finally be turned.

From Blackjack Pershing to the Marine in the trenches, from the Red Baron to the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille, To the Last Man is written with the moving vividness and accuracy that characterizes all of Shaara’s work. This spellbinding new novel carries readers–the way only Shaara can–to the heart of one of the greatest conflicts in human history, and puts them face-to-face with the characters who made a lasting impact on the world.


From the Hardcover edition.

Killing Rommel: A Novel

Steven Pressfield

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

***
To watch videos featuring the story behind Killing Rommel, visit www.KillingRommel.com
***

Steven Pressfield’s quintet of acclaimed, bestselling novels of ancient warfare— Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons, The Virtues of War, and The Afghan Campaign— have earned him a reputation as a master chronicler of military history, a supremely literate and engaging storyteller, and an author with acute insight into the minds of men in battle. In Killing Rommel Pressfield extends his talents to the modern world with a WWII tale based on the real-life exploits of the Long Range Desert Group, an elite British special forces unit that took on the German Afrika Korps and its legendary commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, "the Desert Fox."

Autumn 1942. Hitler’s legions have swept across Europe; France has fallen; Churchill and the English are isolated on their island. In North Africa, Rommel and his Panzers have routed the British Eighth Army and stand poised to overrun Egypt, Suez, and the oilfields of the Middle East. With the outcome of the war hanging in the balance, the British hatch a desperate plan—send a small, highly mobile, and heavily armed force behind German lines to strike the blow that will stop the Afrika Korps in its tracks. Narrated from the point of view of a young lieutenant, Killing Rommel brings to life the flair, agility, and daring of this extraordinary secret unit, the Long Range Desert Group. Stealthy and lethal as the scorpion that serves as their insignia, they live by their motto: Non Vi Sed Arte—Not by Strength, by Guile as they gather intelligence, set up ambushes, and execute raids. Killing Rommel chronicles the tactics, weaponry, and specialized skills needed for combat, under extreme desert conditions. And it captures the camaraderie of this “band of brothers” as they perform the acts of courage and cunning crucial to the Allies’ victory in North Africa.

As in all of his previous novels, Pressfield powerfully renders the drama and intensity of warfare, the bonds of men in close combat, and the surprising human emotions and frailties that come into play on the battlefield. A vivid and authoritative depiction of the desert war, Killing Rommel brilliantly dramatizes an aspect of World War II that hasn’t been in the limelight since Patton. Combining scrupulous historical detail and accuracy with remarkable narrative momentum, this galvanizing novel heralds Pressfield’s gift for bringing more recent history to life.

Tom Clancy's EndWar

David Michaels

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

It was OK for commute reading 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This was an OK book. I read it on my daily commute and it served the purpose of helping that go a bit faster, but I'm not going to sing its praises. I felt like it bounced around too much, especially early on. There is very little back story to provide you any kind of context on events. It's kind like jumping into the middle of a larger story. If you crave action, you definitely won't be disappointed. There's plenty of death and mayhem.

OK book 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The book had significantly fewer typos (0-2 max) than David Michaels most recent books. The action was for the most part highly scattered over a wide character base. Scenes would jump in the Clancy-esque style but often in the middle of the action, making it difficult to develop characters or even follow a character's involvement in the story. I suppose that was necessary to convey the image of a massive all-out war between 3 superpowers. There was no problem understanding what was happening in the scenes though. The writing paints a vivid picture of several front lines, describes futuristic technology quite well, and puts the reader in the action through massive amounts of dialogue. Overall this book would be excellent for a light yet fun reading for those who enjoy war video games and futuristic battle.

Editorial Review:

A new phenomenon begins.

Created by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Clancy

Based on the bestselling video game, this new series will take readers onto the battlefields of World War III with the technical savvy and explosive action that Clancy fans have come to expect.

The Winds of War

Herman Wouk

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 98 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Kindle edition sloppily formatted 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was thrilled to find The Winds of War on Kindle just days after I'd been thinking I'd love to reread it -- there's nothing better than reading a really long book on a Kindle, for weight reasons alone.

But the formatting seems to have been done either in haste or with no oversight whatsoever -- it's full of typos, missing letters and even the occasional missing phrase or sentence.

Herman Wouk deserves better.

Tolstoyan 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

There's a scene where Henry is taken to Tolstoy's grave and one wonders if this is a conceit by Wouk; but the comparison is not far fetched and maybe this novel is superior to War and Peace- it's certainly more readable.

The Winds of War - hardcover 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was somewhat disappointed with the book. It is obviously a book club edition and not a suitable shelf companion to the other Herman Wouk books that I have. Perhaps a more detailed description concerning size and condition would have been helpful. The cost was acceptable and delivery promt. This is not a complaint against the seller. Since I am a first-time buyer, I will use this as a learning experience and ask more questions in future.

Editorial Review:

These two classic works capture the tide of world events even as they unfold the compelling tale of a single North American family drawn into the very center of the wars maelstrom. These two multimillion-copy bestsellers capture all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of the Second World War.

The Cobbler of Normandy

Otto Berliner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Wow 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

When I first started reading The Cobbler of Normandy I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy this book. Boy was I wrong. I became so engrossed in the book that I read it in one weekend. I found myself identifing with the various characters and imaginging what their life must have been like and what they were feeling. I would hold my breath at times as if it would help the characters escape detection.

Marceau is the pivotal character in this book The author was able to illustrate that one can appear to be an unassuming character and yet be so very important. Marceau was able to coordinate the transmittion of information between Allied Intellligence, the Resistance and Parker and Shaw. Without Marceau the mission of intelligence gathering would never have succeeded.

When I finished reading the book, I was reminded of when I was in high school in the World History class. The teacher was talking about his experiences as a young man during the Invasion of Normandy. I felt the same feelings that I felt then: anger, sadness, remorse and thankfulness that there are people who are willing to sacrifice all for the battle for freedom and the battle of good against evil.

This book is well worth reading.

Editorial Review:

Passionate, immense and deeply moving, The Cobbler of Normandy by Otto A. Berliner is set in the midst of forecasting Overlord, codeword for the invasion of Normandy, the largest sea born invasion in history. With so much at risk, five must prove their true patriotism and valor as they maneuver enemy lines in the name of sacrifice, duty, and survival.

Historical Fiction Winner of NBR.org's Best Book of 2007 Award.

We Die Alone

David Howarth

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 73 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An amazing story. 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I first read this book when I was about eleven, over thirty years later I bought it again, and the story was just as amazing to me as an adult as it was when I was a child. Jan's story has to be read to believed.

Phenomenal, Unforgettable Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My husband and I both read this book after seeing a History Channel documentary of this man's story. It is hard to believe that the book is a true story, though, of course, it is. This book is not only the tale of an incredibly brave man who would defied death again and again, but it is also, and of equal interest, a testament to the people of Norway and their courage during the Second World War. I am buying this book for everyone on my Christmas list this upcoming year.

A beautiful lesson in heroism 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The will of a Norwegian resistance during World War II, who injured will fight to survive in extreme conditions. What lesson of heroism! The victory at the end of suffering is a lesson of humanity. Great book.

An usual mix... 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

There are so many 5-star reviews that I thought I'd add a little detail so potential readers can know more about this before diving in like I did.
The story starts out as a plan for espionage againsts Nazis. This part is brief. The main guy, Jan, ends up almost dead and staggering into a home with extreme frostbite. The interesting parts of this story are the familes that helped him, risking death to themselves. So the parts of the book where the author could interview people that helped Jan are interesting from a human drama, sacrifice, courage standpoint. However, Jan was out of it for most of the story, so the potentially interesting time when he was alone, burried under snow towards the end of the book - we know almost nothing about. Jan doesn't know, and nobody was there. So we don't get a survival tale like Into Thin Air, other than learning about him cutting his toes off. Then near the end of the book, they are taking him with reindeer toward Sweden. They get shot at, and start running toward a big lake (forget the name), but the ice has started to thin because they took longer than planned (it is now Spring, versus Winter) to get there. Then the book ends, except an eplogue about once they got across the border it was some distance until they got him to a hospital. This would have been an exciting part of the story if told. Why tell details of him cutting his toes off and contemplating suicide, only to leave out an exciting chase. So this is not an exciting escape/outwit Nazi WWII story. This is not detailed man against nature because when he is alone, he is so near death he does not remember what happened so that is not told here. It is tidbits told about the people who helped this guy. So 3 stars of interest about their bravery, but this wasn't very exciting (chase scenes, Nazi's close behind), nor was he surviving based on extreme wit, luck (well, sometimes), or training. Enjoyable, but easy to put down. I feel let down by how things transpired - seems the author took too much time on some areas, and skimped on more interesting/exciting areas. At least this one is not fabricated like "The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
by Slavomir Rawicz". So exciting and fake (The Long Walk) or true but only moderately interesting (We Die Alone). What a choice!

Regeneration

Pat Barker

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Total reviews: 85 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Reality was better 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sorry, but I can't see what this superficial fictional treatment added to the already rich mix of Sassoon's own (internally inconsistent, or just honestly perspectivist?) memoirs and Max Egremont's probing, nuanced telling in his biography of Sassoon. The sharpness and humanity of Egremont's insights make this novel seem banal by comparison.

Insightful WW1 profiles from well researched imagined psychological counselling sessions with the `shell-shocked' 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book covers some of the same ground as Ben Elton's praiseworthy The First Casualty, although in an entirely different way. Both try to retrofit as mainstream largely post-60s values towards homosexuality, pacifism, and atheism (in the latter case by omission in writing as if Christianity was as marginalised as it is today, an historical absurdity), but in their defence it could be reasonably argued that of course homosexuals, pacifists and atheists/agnostics were plentiful. While Elton surrounds his message with action and a crime story, Barker instead goes deeply into conversation and rumination, and in both cases there's so much more to the book than mere preaching.

Barker ambitiously imagines encounters between real and fictional historical figures. Of course once she's imagining dialogue that's not recorded her characters are all fictional, but her painstaking research (and the availability of so much detailed material) makes for some powerfully authentic writing. Moreover she has an impressive ability for informed empathy: she asks herself, "What would Dr. Rivers, or Sassoon have been thinking? How would they have reacted?" and comes up with some fascinating and plausible answers. Plausible? Hang on a minute: they seem plausible to me, a guy who'd never even heard of Rivers or Sassoon before reading this book! It would be interesting to hear reactions of others who had studied (or knew) them.

There is not a standard plot, and much of the book is composed of recreations of counselling sessions between `shell-shocked' soldiers and their psychologist. Barker's version of Dr. Rivers is a real triumph - one of the most developed characters I've probably come across. Hats off to Barker for having the skill, compassion and intelligence to convince us of Rivers' skill, compassion and intelligence by what she has him say and do. He's not a quaint historical curiosity, but clearly someone Barker has read extensively and admires. The way she's immersed herself in writing from the time making her characters not `just like us', but still wonderfully real reminds me of O'Brian's marvellous RN stories (much as the authors portray quite distinct attitudes towards battle).

Editorial Review:

"Regeneration" begins "The Regeneration Trilogy" and is followed by "The Eye in the Door" and "The Ghost Road". The novel has at its centre a real life encounter between W.H.R. Rivers, an army psychologist, and Siegfried Sassoon.

A Good Death

Elizabeth Ironside

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great post WWII mystery! 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I was so thrilled to find a new mystery by Elizabeth Ironside on my library shelf. I read Death in the Garden over the summer and couldn't figure out who did it until the very end, so I was looking very forward to delving into A Good Death.

Set in newly liberated WWII France, A Good Death tells the story of a family broken up by the war and the mystery of a German soldier found dead on their doorstep. Ironside has chosen to jump between the points of view of four characters: Theo de Cazalle, an exiled French soldier; his wife Ariane; his sadistic daughter Sabine; and Suzie, a Jewish girl that Ariane takes in and hides from the Nazis. Ironside uses this device, not only to slowly leak how the murder actually happened, but also to show how WWII affected everyone, from the fighters to those who had to cope on the home front.

What I loved most about the book was how Ironside really captured the atmosphere of desperation and uncertainty in a nearly post-WWII world. Not only did the characters question each other's loyalty, but I did as well, and I couldn't even begin to fathom how they would all be able to pick up their lives again after all they endured.

I agree that this book may be a little grisly for some, and Sabine is, perhaps, one of the most disturbing characters ever written. Some questions are left unanswered, and the end is baffling and leaves you wondering. Overall, though, it's a fascinating historical mystery, and, again, I had no idea who did it until the end.