Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan Review

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(More customer reviews)Three veterans of the First Marine Division have written accounts of WWII. E.B. Sledge in "With the Old Breed," William Manchester in "Goodbye Darkness," and Robert Leckie in "Strong Men Armed."
"With the Old Breed" and "Goodbye Darkness" are personal reminiscences, but "Strong Men Armed" is a scholarly study. It doesn't dwell on personal experiences, but gives the vast panorama of the Navy/Marine Corps island hopping campaign, and helps to put Sledge's and Manchester's personal memoirs into the context of the whole war in the Pacific. Leckie does give his chronicle a personal touch by occasionally stopping to pay tribute to some of the matchless individual deeds heroism and sacrifice. One arresting theme is his account of each and every Medal of Honor awarded to Marines who threw themselves onto live hand grenades to save their comrades. ("Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.")
Sledge's book ("With the Old Breed") is a plain spoken account of one man's view of the horrors of the war in the Pacific. Manchester's book ("Goodbye Darkness") reads something like the out-loud ruminations of a mental patient working through unresolved issues on the psychiatrist's couch. Leckie's book is an epic account of a titanic struggle.
For the Big Picture of the war in the Pacific, "Strong Men Armed" can't be beaten. For a more personal look at the war, read "With the Old Breed."

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Written by Robert Leckie, whose wartime exploits will be featured this spring in the upcoming Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific, Strong Men Armed has been a perennial bestselling classic account of the Pacific theater in World War II. As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, Leckie fought in all its engagements until his wounding at Peleliu. Here he uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles of the Pacific campaign.

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Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned Review

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(More customer reviews)Like a great baker, a great writer can turn even what might have been stale into something not just digestible, but delicious. Clever turns of phrase and crisp, engaging writing style (in an easily referenced question and answer format) allow historian Kenneth Davis to chart American history and debunk many of its myths in this exceptional update of his 1990 best-seller.
Drawing on reports of the period and on revisionist histories, Davis concisely shows the humanity in American icons known only by one name: Lincoln's views on race relations, Washington's at times bawdy sense of humor, Franklin Roosevelt's thirst for power and gift for political (and apparently, personal) compromise, Ford and Lindbergh's disquieting bigotry and animosity. (Robert E. Lee's quote on slavery's positive effects show him, despite honors afforded him in the Civil War's losing cause, very much a man of his time.) Davis also provides short biographies of historic's outstanding black voices, from Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois' passion to the Mohammad Ali's athletic urban poetry.
Davis also shows a refreshing desire not to be objective, a rarity in books like this. He attacks the nation's great shames (treatment of Native and African Americans, Japanese-American internment during World War II), targeting history's cynics and opportunists whose names still ring of American royalty: Vanderbilt, JP Morgan, Rockefeller, even the Kennedys. (Davis' coverage of the reasons and results of 1898's Spanish-American War will disturb those always thinking Americans fought defensively and for the right causes.) Davis also explains the interlocking events which started WWI, which (should you choose to read the book cover to cover) pour into every other tragic conflict which followed up to and including September 11.
Davis misses some steps covering the last 30 years. He covers Watergate in depth, including an events timeline, which he does for every war covered in the book. But he glosses over Richard Nixon's historic trip to China and for that matter, much of the Ford-Carter years. He again retells Monica Lewinsky's affair with President Bill Clinton but fails to capture (in fact, hardly mentions) the Whitewater and Travelgate scandals inspiring Ken Starr's investigation and staining Clinton's administration and legacy.
Davis` summary of American tragedies tying into September 11's horror is heartfelt but forced. But he also explains Electoral College and US Constitution, charts the US presidents, and provides an exhaustive list of referred readings to complete an exceptionally exciting retelling of history. "Don't Know Much About History" is a title only true until the book is completed; it is exceptionally helpful as a primer and essential as a supplementary history book.

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Colony Review

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(More customer reviews)That is the way a friend described this book to me and I have to admit it is certainly a diamond among the stones. This is an author who takes you to the place that lies deep between the pages or soul of her book. The main character is reflective and strong with undiminished courage. Maude is one of the most memorable characters I have ever come across.
The book begins as she arrives at Retreat, also know as The Colony, her in-law's summer home in Maine. A staunch and uppity "Blue Blood", the matriarch Mother Hannah, is not quick to take to a southern belle of the French persuasion. Maude with her husband Peter by her side, is going to show these Bostonians her strength for decades to come.
The book covers nearly 70 years of her life along with the family and friends that grow close to her heart as well as yours. There are times where the author's language is shear poetry. I place this book on my best books of all times list. It's not one to be missed. Kelsana 10/29/01

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An unforgettable story of love, acceptance, and tradition. When Maude Chambliss first arrives at Retreat, the seasonal home of her husband's aristocratic family, she is a nineteen-year-old bride fresh from South Carolina's Low Country. Among the patrician men and women who reside in the summer colony on the coast of Maine, her gypsy-like beauty and impulsive behavior immediately brand her an outsider. She, as well as everyone else, is certain she will never fit in. And of course, she doesn't...at first. But over the many summers she spends there, Maude comes to cherish life in the colony, as she does the people who share it with her. There is her husband Peter, consumed with a darkness of spirit; her adored but dangerously fragile children; her domineering mother-in-law, who teaches her that it is the women who posses the strength to keep the colony intact; and Maine native Micah Willis, who is ultimately Maude's truest friend. This brilliant novel, rich with emotion, is filled with appealing, intense, and indomitable characters. Anne Rivers Siddons paints a portrait of a woman determined to preserve the spirit of past generations--and the future of aplaice where she became who she is...a place called Colony. "An outstanding multigenerational novel...We are hooked from the moment we meet Maude." The New York Times

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The Greatest Generation Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this book for my children. I am so thankful that someone told this story. This Greatest Generation is slowly slipping away. I am a baby boomer and my father [their grandfather] was an Italian immigrant. He was very aware of the freedom he enjoyed in this country and was willing to fight against the tyrrany of a very sick dictator! Their other grandfather fought at Pearl Harbor. Their future wives worked hard here at home for the war effort. Both men thankfully survived to go on and help rebuild this country where their families could grow up safely and with more opportunities than they knew. These dear family members have now passed on. I wanted my children to understand what their grandparents endured and to be very proud of the unselfishness of that Greatest Generation. They didn't have state-of-the-art everything, but they had loyalty, integrity, determination and grit that far overshadowed any doubts or fears. Their example of selflessness was an honorable trait. We should all strive to emulate their noble character.

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Odd Hours Review

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(More customer reviews)Dean Koontz is one of my favorite genre writers, and the original ODD THOMAS novel is my second favorite of his books, right after his 1987 novel WATCHERS. Given the enormously favorable response to ODD THOMAS, Koontz decided to turn the book into a series, and now plans to write six or seven novels featuring the character. ODD HOURS is the fourth book in the sequence, and is probably the best of the sequels so far.
If you've read ODD THOMAS (and you MUST read the four novels in order to properly enjoy them) you know that these books are a unique combination of suspense, dark comedy, and spiritual uplift. Odd is a character with a very unique voice, one that I very much enjoy listening to. The pleasure of the Odd Thomas novels is not really the plots, which are often thin and unrealistic. Instead, the pleasure is in watching how Odd wryly reacts to all the insanity taking place around him. The results are often hilariously funny, yet at the same time emotionally moving. There are no other books quite like them.
In ODD HOURS, the story involves a terrorist plot to smuggle nuclear weapons into a small California coastal town. This plot is in no way believable. But again, Koontz simply uses this rather silly storyline as an excuse to allow Odd to have another wild adventure, encounter another cast of eccentric characters, and pontificate about the absurd yet wonderful nature of life. After a slightly slow start, this novel works wonderfully well at this level. The end result is the best Koontz book I've read for quite some time.
Admittedly, ODD HOURS isn't for everyone. Some readers I know have lamented Koontz's new style of writing, often proclaiming that his books aren't as well written as his horror novels of the 1980s and early 1990s. I respectfully disagree. Koontz, like any other good writer, has evolved with age, and has become more philosophical and spiritual in his storytelling. Still, if you dislike Koontz's newer books, there is an excellent chance you won't like this one either.
But if you're new to Koontz, I hope you give his ODD THOMAS novels a try. Koontz is the exact opposite of a nihilistic writer: he believes there is a moral purpose to life, and that people must understand that purpose and act consistently with it. In our cynical age, I find that perspective refreshing, and I enjoy the Odd Thomas novels for that reason. I look forward to the fifth installment in this great series.


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FDR Review

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(More customer reviews)FDR, by Jean Edward Smith, proves that no highly significant historical figure or event is beyond a great writer's ability to improve a particular body of literature. Indeed FDR is a towering work of both writing and scholarship. Smith again proves he is one of our foremost biographers and captures, in a very evenhanded way, the very essence of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Indeed, this writing is up there with David Herbert Donald's Lincoln. Both took on truly larger than life topics and did so with energy and vigor.
The footnoting in FDR is highly extensive and the curious reader will look at many of them and make notes to read on additional topics as Smith piques the interest of any with any significant interest in Roosevelt. He, like Lincoln, was the President in a time where it is difficult to imagine, even for his critics, another person assuming the role. Smith explains and documents almost all of FDR's life and gives very plausible reasons for his rather radical views at the time, especially for one with his Hudson River pedigree. He tackles his many physical challenges, his relationship with his peripatetic wife Eleanor (see Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time) , his affair with Lucy Mercer Rutherford, his intimate relationship with Churchill (see Jon Meacham's Franklin and Winston) and his reliance on a cast of eclectic personal and political operatives over the years. All of his public years are well covered, perhaps even more so his early years in New York politics.
There is very little, if nothing to criticize about this book. One could make an argument that Smith tried too hard to keep it a readable 636 pages with and additional 221 pages of notes and an exhaustive bibliography. Maybe two volumes would have improved this work, but that is sheer conjecture. This book must be read by all with more than a passing interest in 20th Century American history. Simply sublime.

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Frommer's Hawaii 2011 (Frommer's Color Complete) Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent source for information about Hawaii. If you are going to travel to Hawaii this book will give you all the information you need for your trip. If you are an arm chair travler and just like to read about the beautiful state of Hawaii you will love it too.

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Hundreds of color photos

Free pocket map inside,plus easy-to-read maps throughout

Exact prices, directions, opening hours,and other practical information

Candid reviews of hotels and restaurants,plus sights, shopping, and nightlife

Itineraries, walking tours, and trip-planning ideas

Insider tips from local expert authors

FULL COLOR INSIDE

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The Twilight Warriors Review

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(More customer reviews)By the spring of 1945, the Japanese had been driven west across the Pacific by the ever-increasing strength of the American Navy. Okinawa, only 350 miles from mainland Japan, was to be the final battle leading up to the invasion of Japan. Okinawa would serve as a major staging area as well as a base for aircraft. But before these preparations could be made, the Japanese garrison needed to be defeated. On April 1, 1945, the Americans stormed ashore. What laid ahead was the most costly naval battle of the war. Author Robert Gandt describes the naval aspect of the battle for Okinawa in "The Twilight Warriors".
I've read several books about the battle for Okinawa, and this one is unique from the previous ones I've read. This book focuses specifically on the naval aspect of the fighting, while only mentioning the land battle in broad terms. Gandt pays particular attention to the kamikaze attacks, the suicide mission of the battleship Yamato, and the numerous air battles that took place in the area. The pilots who flew the planes were called "Tail-End Charlies", due to their status as late-comers to the war. These men also flew at the back of formations, stood at the end of chow lines, and even had their own sleeping quarters called "boys' town".
Perhaps the area of greatest danger was the destroyer picket stations. These ships would intercept incoming kamikazes and radio ahead to the main fleet. The Japanese were soon setting out to destroy these ships, and many American destroyers were lost as a result of the kamikaze attacks.
I felt Gandt did an especially good job of describing the suicide mission of the Yamato. He devotes several chapters to this story, and I was amazed at the possibility of this ship actually reaching the beaches at Okinawa, beaching itself, and firing on the American soldiers and ships. Fortunately, the "Tail-End Charlies" and other flyers sank the ship before it was too late.
This is a fine work of World War II history. The writing is very good, and Gandt has done a thorough job of researching the aspects of the battle. Highly recommended.

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AP U.S. History Crash Course (REA: The Test Prep AP Teachers Recommend) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book, I swear, has most definitely earned me a 5 on the 2009 APUSH test.
I personally was probably one of the hardest studiers in my APUSH class (ours wasn't taught well at all), and thus, I developed my own way of taking notes and such. Turns out, I never looked at those notes again seeing as I'm one of those types of people that outline EVERYTHING.
Quite frankly, I'm bad at shortening stuff, however this is where this book came into play. Two weeks before the APUSH test, I bought this book for 12 bucks, and read it through twice. From there I studied parts I needed to know most. It's lightweight, and summarized EVERYTHING into 3-5 facts for every important era/event you need to know. It tells you what you NEED to study, and what you do not, via little side bubbles of notes.
My recommendation, read your APUSH textbook first as to so you can get a general consensus of American history from the beginning to the 1970s (you won't need to know anything past that), and THEN buy this book. From there, start nitpicking the things you know well, and the things you don't know, and try to memorize the things you do not.
This book will really teach you what to study for your next upcoming APUSH test.
I swear, it's what got me a 5.

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REA's AP U.S. History Crash Course

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Battlestations: American Warships of WWII Review

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(More customer reviews)Short and to the point, this book is outstanding in its coverage of ships in WW2. Its very informative and an enjoyable read. Highly recommend it to those who have any interest in the ships of WW2.

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Battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, PT boats and landing craft are all featured in this look back at U.S. Navy prowess in World War II. Rare photos from the war years, illustrate a compelling text that features anecdotes and memories from officers and sailors who served with the U.S. Navy in all theaters of the war.

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Film and Television After 9/11 Review

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(More customer reviews)When I saw the title of this book and ordered it, I thought (as implied by the title) that it was using 9-11 to mark off a time period, and would offer some essays about television and film since then. This is not really what this text is. Published in 2004, but probably written mostly a good deal earlier, the event of 9-11 itself weighs very heavily in virtually all of the essays. I would say 'Film and Television in light of 9-11' would probably be a better title. A couple of the essays in fact deal with how films (specifically 'Manhatta' and 'King Kong', as well as Holocaust documentaries) made before 9-11 appear afterward.
Most of the essays subvert the aura of American exceptionalism (i.e. the mentality that this is the most awful thing to happen to anyone) that surrounds 9-11. Some look at the ways 9-11 was projected into culture, for example the effort to cut the Twin Towers from several projects in the pipeline on 9-11. Whether the towers were cut (incurring the wrath of those who claimed that therefore 'the terrorists won') or not (and thereby eliciting disruptive cheers from audiences when they appeared, as in Glitter) their presence was deeply felt. Another essay describes the way the most disturbing footage filmed on 9-11 has not been screened, and how this footage is slowly emerging on the internet. The author suggests that this will help demystify the event. Relevant, but relatively unknown, foreign films, such as the European collaborative film 9'11''01 (which compared 9-11 to a number of events around the world, practically a taboo in the US) are also described. In the aforementioned essay discussing Manhatta, the way in which the twin towers embodied a sort of monumental modernity that quashed what stood in its way, replacing it with a flat, mathematical order, is noted. This sort of modernity produces targets of terrorism (we might add it finds its opposite in the geography of Afghanistan, where, as Donald Rumsfeld noted, the US military quickly ran out of targets to bomb). The now almost forgotten thriller 'The Sum of All Fears' shows up in several essays, since its depiction of a nuclear bomb detonating in Baltimore makes it relevant. This film made little lasting impact on American culture, suggesting the perils of trying to produce this sort of book so quickly after the event in question. An essay on Malkmalbaf's 'Khandahar' makes an odd reference to NATO troops in Afghanistan as 'peacekeepers' (they are not, by practically any definition of that term), suggesting unintentionally possible complicity of this film with this liberal imperialist mission. One essay describes 24, but only the first season. The show really focused more aggressively on 9-11 themes from the second season on, although the writer's suggestion that the alliance between Jack Bauer and presidential candidate David Palmer echoes the alliance between fire fighters and upper middle class financial workers in the offices attacked on 9-11 is intriguing. The essay comparing the mythology of King Kong-the return of the repressed of the third world, coming to Manhattan, and, in the 1970s version, scaling the Twin Towers--and its relation to Bin Laden was quite good.
The essays in this book are generally interesting. This is a topic it would be worth returning to, now that a good deal of time has past and more perspective can be brought to bear.

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Hitler's Japanese Confidant Review

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(More customer reviews)Carl Boyd has produced an exceptionally lucid and revealing book that traces U.S. decoding attack on Berlin-Tokyo radio communications of Gen. Oshima Hiroshi, Japanese Ambassdor to the Third Reich, and its impact on the outcome of WWII. According to Boyd, these decoded diplomatic messages, known in the U.S. and Great Britain as MAGIC, were pivotal in Allied decision-making at critical junctures during the war. The author contends that, because the British were unable to read the secret communications of the top Nazi leadership, MAGIC filled a crucial gap in British ULTRA message decoding efforts. According to Boyd, Oshima was covertly converted into "an inadvertent informer of incalculable importance in leading the Allies to victory." Because Oshima had a very close personal relationship with Hitler and foreign minister von Ribbentropp, had their trust and respect, and had access to their higest level secrets, his MAGIC decoded radio messages were especially revealing and valuable for Allied planners. His military experience and analytical abilities also made his detailed characterizations of the disposition and condition of German forces in Europe and on the eastern front especially enlightening to the Allies and critical to planning for Operation OVERLORD. Boyd observes that "The margin of success on the Normandy beaches was narrow, but MAGIC and Anglo-American cooperation made the difference."Boyd's book is the first detailed account of Oshima's role as a primary source of Allied wartime intelligence through MAGIC. He draws heavily on declassified National Security Agency documents recently released to the National Archives. There is more, however, to this story of decoding covertly collected enemy radio intercepts that remains classified, especially in the British archives, which won't be declassified for more than twenty years.This is a thoroughly documented, superbly written, and rich account of the application of communications intelligence during WWII. It should be a stimulating read for all serious WWII historians and an entertaining read for all others.

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What They Didn't Teach You About World War II Review

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(More customer reviews)There is some interesting stuff in this book, but it's not the treasure trove of trivia that the back cover's reviews make it out to be. A lot of the information in the book can be found out by reading one of the large single-volume WWII books. And you get a complete history of the war with those, and without the editorializing.
And the editorializing in the book shows that Mr. Wright must have liberal leanings, since he writes from the perspective of today's political correctness with no regard for the times or for the simple fact that war is messy, and decisions need to be made in the heat of battle without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

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Victory at Sea: World War II in the Pacific Review

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(More customer reviews)I have enjoyed some of the material James Dunnigan has given us about warfare. And I enjoyed this book. But I didn't learn a great deal. If you known almost nothing about World War II in the Pacific, and want a broad, lightweight introduction, this book is okay. If you are looking for an in-depth book, or even a book with some new insights on a few detailed areas, this book probably doesn't fit the bill.

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7 December 1941: The Air Force Story Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't know how many books there are on the attack on Pearl Harbor. All of them talk about the attack at Pearl on the Navy. All of them kind of add as an afterthought, 'Oh yeah, the Air Force got attacked as well.'
Yes the Air Force got attacked as well -- seven hundred of the casualties were Air Force.
This book was put together to tell their story. It first gives some background of the development of the bases, the activities going on at the time, about like what the books on Pearl have to say about Navy activities. Then it moves on to the attack itself.
All of the books talk about the radar site that picked up the incomming planes. It turns out that there were multiple radars that detected the incomming planes. But to no avail. The Air Warning system is described in some length. It was a pretty good plan. But on December 7th most of the little boxes had people in them. Much is made of the officer in the air defense center telling the radar operators not to worry about the blip on there screen. He was a 2nd Lt. He was a pilot assigned there as extra duty, it was only the second time he had been at the center. Would you really expect a 2nd John to wake up the General at 7 AM on Sunday Morning?
This is the Air Force's side of the battle. The result is no better, but it's a side of the story not often told.

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The American Battleship Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are new to battleship books or buying one for someone who is new to them, then I would recommed this book. If you are an experienced reader of battleship books and have many like me, then skip this book. You won't find anything new here. The text and most of the pictures are not new. Contrary to the editorial reveiw there are no cutaways and blueprints. The editorial review also described the book as a pictorial history with archival photos. Though the book does contains lots of pictures, most have been published in other battleship books. The Library of Congress Photographic Division and Naval Historical Society have hundreds of beautiful, never before published photos of US battleships. I was hoping this book would show some of them in large format.

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The American Battleship includes More than 200 photos, in-depth analysis of the American battleship's role in all major wars fought in the twentieth century, and a complete history, beginning with the Maine (commissioned in 1894), to the last four American battleships: the Iowa, the Missouri, the New Jersey, and the Wisconsin.

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Under the Blood Red Sun Review

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(More customer reviews)A good book that I recently read is Under the Blood Red Sun. It is a realistic historical fiction book by Graham Salisbury. It takes place on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, before, during, and after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The story is told from the point-of-view of Tomikazu (Tomi), an innocent Japanese-American boy living near Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed. Tomi must deal with racism, bullies, and cruelty.
Tomikazu is a friendly eighth-grade boy who likes to play baseball, and has consequently formed his own team, The Rats. He is loyal to his friends and will even face the crazy school bully, Keet Wilson, for them.
Billy and The rats are Tomi's best friends, being eighth grade and avid fans of baseball like he is. Billy is the friend that Tomi hangs out with the most. He is The Rat's star pitcher and is kind of shy.
From the very beginning, even before Pearl Harbor was bombed, Keet Wilson, the local bully, is a problem. He is a spoiled brat who can take down even Billy's older brother, Jake. His extremely strict father is Tomi's family's landlord, so they cannot do anything to harm him. However, after the bombing, Keet takes being mean to a whole new level. Keet reports Tomi's father and grandfather to the police, falsely accusing them of being Japanese agents. He also tells the police anything Tomi's family does, exaggerating it so it sounds like they are Japanese supporters. He kills Tomi's father's prize racing pigeons, saying that they are messenger pigeons. He also breaks Tomi's family's clothesline and spoils their water supply.
The book starts out several days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It encompasses some of The Rat's baseball games, and their friendship with another team. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed. Tomi's peaceful life erupts into chaos. Everyone is suspicious of all the Japanese, and there are several lynch mobs. His father is shot in the leg by an American aircraft and taken away when coming back from a harmless fishing trip. Many Japanese are being taken the mainland internment camps, which are places that the U.S. government built so Japanese-Americans would not spy. But what will happen to Tomi's family as the only peaceful world they had ever known is crumbling around them?
The largest theme in the book is teamwork. Tomikazu's baseball team sticks together through Pearl Harbor, other baseball games, and bullies. It is a theme that makes you think teams can pull through anything, which they usually can. Another theme is racism. Tomi struggles through the racism directed at Japanese-Americans by white Americans who feared that they were spies following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
I would recommend this book to anyone ages 11-14. It is a very good book, and deservedly won the prestigious Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It is very accurate for that timeframe, and it teaches in an entertaining way. It accurately describes the fear and racism following Pearl Harbor and gives glimpses of life in the internment camps. This book is suited for anyone who wants a realistic historical fiction or a tale with courage and bravery. The author writes this book seriously, staying on topic with very few humorous jokes, although it gives me an almost perfect mindset of where it takes place. It describes almost everything, from the dew on the leaves to the dust on the baseball diamond.


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