What a great book, and refreshing in a way. First off, I have no military experience and very little knowledge of such things outside of the Civil War, which I've read a ton about. World War II and the War in the Pacific are fairly recent interests of mine, and I'd really recommend this book for someone like me who is just starting or who wants to get a look at day to day life for a soldier in one of these island battles.
The book is an account of one man's experience on Iwo Jima. That man, Jim Craig was a platoon commander in the US Marine Corps. Craig and his platoon spent much of the first 27 days of the battle right in thick of things, ferreting out Japanese defensive positions well established in caves and underground. Indeed, of the 60 men under Lt. Craig's command on Iwo Jima, only 10 walked off the island with him. 20 of them had been killed and 30 had been wounded and evacuated. In fact over a third of the Marines killed in WWII died on Iwo Jima.
The story itself is presented as various accounts from Craig to his nephew, John Shively. Some are long, some are shorter, all of them have something to say about the overall battle and the life the Marines experienced during the "36 days of hell." The book is not an overview of the entire battle. It is not a military text or an evaluation of the tactics used in the battle. It very much is exactly what it claims to be, "A foxhole view of the epic battle for Iwo Jima." Anyone who is interested in the subject matter would be better for reading it.
Lt. Craig survived the battle and was awarded the Purple Heart. After rehabilitation in Maui, he participated in the US Occupation of Okinawa as an MP. He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1946.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Book Thughts: "Fall of Giants," by Ken Follett
This was the first book of Ken Follett's that I've read, and I found it to be very enjoyable. His reputation for great historical research and detail is well deserved, and that is clearly the strong point of "Fall of Giants."
The book kicks off in 1911-1914, with a meeting of political minded folk at a dinner party for the king of England in Wales. From this meeting, strands go out into the story that cover five different families and their experiences during the World War I years. One family is a Welsh mining family, one is an English nobility, one an American high society family from Buffalo, one a German noble family, and the other a family of Russian workers.
Through the eyes of these characters we witness the dangerous lives of Welsh miners, inside looks at both the British and American governments during these critical years, the events that lead up to World War I, the Great War itself, the aftermath and horrific effects of the treaty of Versailles on the German people, and the Russian Revolution. It is an epic truly sweeping in it's scope.
First, the strong points. As I mentioned earlier, Follett's historical research and his ability to immerse the reader in time period is unmatched in anything I've read, and I've read a lot of historical fiction. The scenes are vivid and alive, from the royal halls of London, to the trenches in France, to the slums of Petrograd. The characters are also very vivid and believable. Follett makes you feel the emotion of love turned away, family betrayal, grief over war deaths, and the inflamed passions of revolution. His style in all of this is as smooth as silk.
Unfortunately, this smooth style makes the major weak point seem even weaker. I'd say the weak point is this: At times, Follett seems to fancy himself as an erotic romance writer. Generally speaking, when he tries, he doesn't pull it off, and the contrast between these horribly awkward scenes and the wonderful prose of the rest of the book is stark. These scenes are real clunkers, but thankfully most of them come near the beginning of the story. As it progresses and the characters themselves progress, the love scenes later in the story fit in much better.
In the end, the story is epic and well written. The action moves quickly, and it would be hard to notice that the book is nearly 1000 pages long. "Fall of Giants" is the first in a 3 book series and I can't wait until the next one comes out, according to Follett, it will cover World War II.
The book kicks off in 1911-1914, with a meeting of political minded folk at a dinner party for the king of England in Wales. From this meeting, strands go out into the story that cover five different families and their experiences during the World War I years. One family is a Welsh mining family, one is an English nobility, one an American high society family from Buffalo, one a German noble family, and the other a family of Russian workers.
Through the eyes of these characters we witness the dangerous lives of Welsh miners, inside looks at both the British and American governments during these critical years, the events that lead up to World War I, the Great War itself, the aftermath and horrific effects of the treaty of Versailles on the German people, and the Russian Revolution. It is an epic truly sweeping in it's scope.
First, the strong points. As I mentioned earlier, Follett's historical research and his ability to immerse the reader in time period is unmatched in anything I've read, and I've read a lot of historical fiction. The scenes are vivid and alive, from the royal halls of London, to the trenches in France, to the slums of Petrograd. The characters are also very vivid and believable. Follett makes you feel the emotion of love turned away, family betrayal, grief over war deaths, and the inflamed passions of revolution. His style in all of this is as smooth as silk.
Unfortunately, this smooth style makes the major weak point seem even weaker. I'd say the weak point is this: At times, Follett seems to fancy himself as an erotic romance writer. Generally speaking, when he tries, he doesn't pull it off, and the contrast between these horribly awkward scenes and the wonderful prose of the rest of the book is stark. These scenes are real clunkers, but thankfully most of them come near the beginning of the story. As it progresses and the characters themselves progress, the love scenes later in the story fit in much better.
In the end, the story is epic and well written. The action moves quickly, and it would be hard to notice that the book is nearly 1000 pages long. "Fall of Giants" is the first in a 3 book series and I can't wait until the next one comes out, according to Follett, it will cover World War II.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Historical Crossroads.
When I got home from work tonight, I was looking forward to tuning into Fox Soccer Channel and losing myself in coverage of the third round of the FA Cup, in which my club, Chelsea plays tomorrow.
However, like all Americans tonight, my attention was drawn elsewhere. It was drawn to Tuscon, Arizona, a place where I've visited many times and a place where one of my best friends lived and went to school. Today it was a place of violence, a place the United States of America will finally look at itself in the mirror and will hopefully recognize a historical crossroad.
Outside a supermarket today a crazy terrorist. Yes, terrorist, walked up to a political gathering being hosted by Arizona Congresswoman Gaby Giffords, pulled out a 9mm Glock, and started shooting. He shot the Congresswoman in the head, he also killed six people, including a Federal Judge and a 9 year old girl. Luckily, people got to this guy before he got to take the coward's way out, so he'll live to stand trial for his crimes.
Assassination. It's a word that people my age and younger are really only familiar with from school. We think of Lincoln, of JFK, of RFK, of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. It's a word we're all now more familiar with, as it happened outside a grocery store today.
What does that mean for America? How do we view ourselves and our political discourse? Surely there will be many folks (saw it quite a bit on Fox News tonight) that will be out to paint the shooter as a screw that came unhinged, as a madman with no political motive whatsoever. Do you really buy that? I'm not questioning whether the guy is crazy or not, I'm sure he is. Still, crazy people have motives too, and the plain fact of the matter is that this man sought out this gathering and the police in Arizona have confirmed that Giffords was the target. Now that we know that crazy people do this sort of thing, does that make us look irresponsible?
It sure does. Was it irresponsible for Sarah Palin to have a map on her website depicting Giffords district with a crosshair over it, urging people to "aim and reload" for democrats? Yes. You'll notice tonight that that particular graphic no longer appears on her site. Was it irresponsible for Giffords opponent in the last election to urge his followers to join him in firing a machine gun at her? Absolutely!
People who engage in this kind of politics need to be held responsible for this.
Can we please stop seeing each other as a devil and start seeing each other as all on the same team again?
Please watch this powerful special comment from Keith Olbermann.
However, like all Americans tonight, my attention was drawn elsewhere. It was drawn to Tuscon, Arizona, a place where I've visited many times and a place where one of my best friends lived and went to school. Today it was a place of violence, a place the United States of America will finally look at itself in the mirror and will hopefully recognize a historical crossroad.
Outside a supermarket today a crazy terrorist. Yes, terrorist, walked up to a political gathering being hosted by Arizona Congresswoman Gaby Giffords, pulled out a 9mm Glock, and started shooting. He shot the Congresswoman in the head, he also killed six people, including a Federal Judge and a 9 year old girl. Luckily, people got to this guy before he got to take the coward's way out, so he'll live to stand trial for his crimes.
Assassination. It's a word that people my age and younger are really only familiar with from school. We think of Lincoln, of JFK, of RFK, of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. It's a word we're all now more familiar with, as it happened outside a grocery store today.
What does that mean for America? How do we view ourselves and our political discourse? Surely there will be many folks (saw it quite a bit on Fox News tonight) that will be out to paint the shooter as a screw that came unhinged, as a madman with no political motive whatsoever. Do you really buy that? I'm not questioning whether the guy is crazy or not, I'm sure he is. Still, crazy people have motives too, and the plain fact of the matter is that this man sought out this gathering and the police in Arizona have confirmed that Giffords was the target. Now that we know that crazy people do this sort of thing, does that make us look irresponsible?
It sure does. Was it irresponsible for Sarah Palin to have a map on her website depicting Giffords district with a crosshair over it, urging people to "aim and reload" for democrats? Yes. You'll notice tonight that that particular graphic no longer appears on her site. Was it irresponsible for Giffords opponent in the last election to urge his followers to join him in firing a machine gun at her? Absolutely!
People who engage in this kind of politics need to be held responsible for this.
Can we please stop seeing each other as a devil and start seeing each other as all on the same team again?
Please watch this powerful special comment from Keith Olbermann.
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