Book Description
In every band of brothers, there is always one who looks out for the rest.
A soldier. A leader. A living testament to the valor of the human spirit. Major Richard D. Winters finally shares his amazing story.
They were the Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Army Airborne, the legendary fighting unit of World War II. And there was one man every soldier in Easy Company looked up to-Major Richard D. Winters.
Here, for the first time, is the compelling story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary hero-from Winters's childhood in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, through the war years in which his natural skill as a leader elevated him through the ranks in combat, to now, decades later, when he may finally be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on D-Day.
Full of never-before-seen photographs and the insight that family, friends, fellow veterans of Easy Company-and only Winters himself-could provide, Biggest Brother is the inspiring life story of a man who became a living testament to the valor of the human spirit-and America.
Customer Reviews:
A must-read for Band of Brothers "Buffs".......2007-09-05
This is a very well written book about Major Winters' life.
Reading this book has also been a fantastic exercise in having multiple perspectives on historical topics. I'm happy to have read it, because it shows how important it is to get multiple perspectives on any situation if you seek full understanding.
For example, from Band of Brothers, during the "Crossroads" charge in Holland, where Winters faces the young SS soldier (and then shoots him...and others). This book puts Winters heroism in more proper perspective. He did not simply scale the embankment to find a surprised (and unarmed) soldier on the other side. In reality, the two had already exchanged grenade tosses. Winters forgot to remove the tape from his grenade lever. The German was still cowering from a grenade that never exploded, and it gave Winters the advantage. This is quite important to know.
This book demonstrates how Ambrose had to "cut corners" in order to condense the memories of many men into one singular tale. I believe this book should be required reading for anyone in academia that is doing research on the 501st and their activity in Europe. I also suggest you read "Parachute Infantry" by Daniel K. Webster.
Gripping biography of a 20th century warrior.......2007-08-25
After seeing the HBO Band of Brothers series a couple of times, I ran across this book about Major Winters. This is an engaging and well-written account of a true American hero. However, if you have read Ambrose Band of Brothers book (that started the recent surge of interest) or have seen the HBO mini-series, you will find much of the content here matching those accounts. In fact, you will be able to predict what aspect of the story will come next through about 80% of this book as it tracks Easy company from Tacoa to The Eagle's Nest. It tracks Winters throughout his whole life, up to the present.
Easy company is fascinating for many reasons, but historically because they were at the tip of the spear for so much of the European theater of WWII. The stories here are told from Major Winters perspective however, and that tends to personalize them more than I experienced from the HBO mini-series. For example, in this book, Winters writes many of his experiences to a lady named DeEtta. These letters and the long distance relationship, forlorn romance etc. add a very human dimension to the crazy things happening as he was leading Easy company. He is very transparent with DeEtta in the letters.
There are other interesting personal observations Winters makes throughout the book. For example, the arrogance and ineptness of many high-ranking officers is repeatedly described. Winters gives names and accounts in this area. Their aloofness and inability to admit they aren't well suited for war is placed in contrast to Winters, who is practically tailor made for the job he is thrust into by the needs of history and his own capabilities. He also generally holds a low opinion of British soldiers in the field of battle, finding them repeatedly impractical and detached from what is important. One aspect of this book that is also present in the mini-series is Winters approach to leadership. Winters is friendly with his subordinates, but not actually friends. This is a tricky line to walk but it seems natural to him.
Winters conveys an unwritten, and unpopular, theme about war in the book, especially in the area of death. It is this: Don't be foolhardy. Many soldiers will die due to no fault of their own. But, many others will die due to lack of clear-headed thinking or foolhardy/misplaced bravery. Winters is frequently brave, but he is always deliberate and calculating in his actions. That doesn't guarantee survival, but it certainly helps. I've never been to war, and I'm glad of it, but I think there is a life-lesson there for all of us.
Some other interesting observations about Winters I like:
- Underachiever in high school.
- Became very disciplined physically and mentally during college.
- Grew up in a Mennonite community. When the war seemed inevitable, he could wait for the draft to start, or
"beat them to the punch and enlist, and satisfy his one year military obligations to his country. Winters chose the latter... At one point he considered drawing on his Mennonite background...Winters soon realized he was not a conscientious objector and to say so would be a lie." p29
Later chapters of the book cover Winters occupations after the war, becoming older and essentially acting as the historian for Easy company for decades while hardly anyone seemed to care. The book then comes closer to the present and talks about meeting Ambrose, reunions with surviving Easy members, Tom Hanks and others for the HBO mini-series. This is pretty fascinating material not found in the Ambrose book, or the TV mini-series.
The book tells about the strange tensions, sacrifices (both large and small), horrors, and insanity of war through the eyes of a genuine American hero. If it were about anyone else, I would find the combination of integrity, heroics and insight into difficult situations hard to believe. But, the Easy company story and Winters are well documented and have living testimonials to back them up. There have to be some feet-firmly-on-the-ground heros that actually help win giant wars, and Winters is one. If you like Major Winters and want to learn a lot about him, this is your book.
A great read about a great man.......2007-08-08
It's refreshing to read about someone with principles in a leadership position. The book was well written, uses sources that weren't available in the Band of Brothers (112 letters) and paints a picture of what Major Winter's and Easy Company went through. It also talks about after the war and the process of writing and later producing the Band of Brothers. If you liked BofB, you will like this...great book!
Outstanding soldier and leader...yet a humble man.......2007-07-27
What a fantastic biography this is about Richard Winters the leader of the 506th Easy Company. This starts off with the hair-raising account of his encounters over Normandy on June 5th and 6th 1944. This quiet yet focused man from Pennsylvania led a bunch of hardened steeled soldiers thru the thick of the fighting in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in 1944 and 1945. After the war the book recounts Dick Winter's troubled transition back into civilian life and how he started a family yet kept correspondence with his soldiers after WWII.
The book also pays attention to Major Winters contribution to HBO's "Band Of Brothers" mini-series, the recoginition this outstanding series got, and what Major Winters is doing today (as of 2004).
I salute Major Winters for his leadership, compassion, insight and focus.
Excellent Read!
Curahee!.......2007-07-09
For anyone who follows or is interested in the stories of Easy Company, Company E/506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, this book is a must! It is a treasure. Thanks to Larry Anderson for writing this book on Major Dick Winters and the men of Easy. Anyone reading this will be deeply moved and never forget what the "Band of Brothers" of Easy sacrificed on D-Day up to V-E Day. Get to know the man behind the leader/hero so many were willing to follow without a blink. An timeless story. A must for any book collection!
Book Description
Many who saw the 1990 Hollywood movie Memphis Belle think they know the story. But the real story had nothing to do with the movie-and it is told for the first time here, by the pilot who lived it. An emotionally moving tale, and a heartbreaking love story, this is an unforgettable memoir of a man who was born into a life of ease-and tested in the hardship of war.
"Bring[s] a new perspective to World War II literature. Written in a chatty style that is easy and exciting to read, this book is recommended." (Library Journal)
"A book that needed to be written while the best man to write it still could." (Booklist)
Customer Reviews:
A Complex Friend, Terrific Read.......2007-02-22
Bob Morgan was a friend of mine. His lovely wife urged him for years to write a book, yet he always seemed to sluff it off. At speaking engagements, he always pointed out that he was no hero, giving full credit to the other members of his crew, and the many other crews that flew the skies of Europe. Very typical of his generation, and traits that later ones seem to have lost. The crew of the Memphis Belle was thrust into fame by accident, circumstance, chance, or whatever fate chose, much like the flag raisers of Iwo Jima. It forever changed their lives to some extent. Bob almost waited too long to write this, and he couldn't have found a better co-author than award winning Ron Powers. Bob wasn't your average pilot in the air, there was this unruly side of him that was able to express itself somewhat before the bond tours, but certainly was turned loose afterwards. I remember once when he came by to see me and handed me a picture of him flying a B-17 at Oshkosh when he was well into his 70's. He'd run the plane down the runway in front of the crowd, then turned it on it's side, leaving the wing tip only slightly off the ground. Some things never changed. The book would be a great read just for his WWII and war bond experiences, but Bob was a unique individual, no actually a complex individual, and much to my surprise, he held nothing back in his book. Perhaps this is why he waited so late in life to do it, but I'm glad he did. This is probably the most honest and personal WWII memoir that you will ever read, and nothing was held back. The complexity and struggles of Bob as a man would have made this a fascinating book had he never sat at the controls of the Memphis Belle. But he did, and as a result, you get the unique insight into a very unique, and complex man, and this is the treat that you will come away with in this book, long after the story of the Memphis Belle.
The Man who.......2006-04-23
All 8th Air Force veterans are heroes and special, few are self absorbed in their own life. This is a story that deserves to be told but the me, me, me gets in the way. Morgan loses his mother and spends the rest of his life trying to find her in a marriage. As far as the story, he still dodges the fact that Irl Baldwin and the 303rd Bomb Group B-17 `Hell's Angels' was the first to fly 25 missions in the European Theatre of Operations. Good book but would have been better without such a self centered perspective. Not everyone came back from the ETO, we will remember them.
The life and times of the first American pilot in WWII to survive 25 missions over Europe.......2005-10-18
For those who may not know: In the early days of World War II the United States had no long range fighters capable of protecting our bombers all the way to their European targets. Even so, and unlike the British who flew only night bombing raids which were much safer but largely ineffective, the American fliers were tasked to continue flying higher precision yet much more dangerous daylight missions. As a consequence, the attrition rate for American bombers and their crews was grimly and almost unacceptably high. To bolster morale, a policy was initiated such that any bomber crewman completing twenty-five missions without being shot down and captured or killed would be relieved of duty and returned to the United States. The "Memphis Belle" was the first bomber to successfully achieve that milestone.
Having heard about the Memphis Belle for most of my life, I was curious to read the real story of that famed B-17 and its equally famous 25th mission, particularly from the standpoint of the bomber's pilot. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, the story went far beyond that bomber and its mission and was much more interesting. For through the eyes of the book's author you could almost sense what it was like to experience his life and times and know what it was REALLY like to actually pilot a B-17 into combat. . . Ignore the German fighters. Don't drift. Ignore the flack. Don't let your mind wander. Keep your eyes fixed straight ahead. Keep your plane in formation. Try to relax. Don't let your wings touch. Bomber pilots apparently had a very narrow view of the war.
The remarkable thing to me about the book, however, was that Robert Morgan wrote it quite late in his life. To me, that broadened his perspective, lending much more insight to the story. In fact, I don't think a young Captain Morgan could have written a book with such clarity, honesty, perspective and sensitivity. Bottom line: This is a very good book and not just from a historical point of view.
What a Life!.......2005-06-20
This is a grand story of a B-17 Flying Fortress in the 8th Air Corps early days bombing France and Germany in WW II. More than that, it is the autobiography of one of the most interesting men I have ever encountered. The MEMPHIS BELLE was one of the first planes and crews to complete 25 missions and come home to thank Americans for their home front efforts.
Amazingly frank and personal autobiography.......2003-12-25
Leaving aside the question of historical accuracy (this has been touched on ably by another reviewer) except for one comment - I was a little unconvinced by Morgan's soliloquy's on WW II grand strategy, such as his explanations of how the war in Russia was fought, and other things that he as a 23-25 year old bomber pilot would have known little about and perhaps cared even less. These parts of the book come across as forced.
Having said that, however, I have no doubt Morgan felt them necessary to put the overall story into context, and they do that well. This makes the book perfect for youngsters or those with no understanding of the larger picture of WW II history, and thus provide this with a broader appeal.
But the meat of the story is Morgan himself. This is not "just" a story of a WW II bomber pilot, this is a wonderfully told story of Bob Morgan, the man, and a blushingly honest discussion of his many demons - his relationship with his departed mother, his father and siblings, his girlfriends, fiancees and wives, his crew (many of whom were fast friends), his superiors, and a terrific look at how he grew up, trained for war, matured as a commander, lived as a returning veteran, and overcame the evils of a pampered upbringing, and learned the value of hard work.
The details about his tour with the 8th Bomber Command were especially interesting, and his revelations about the WW II documentary about his aircraft will answer many questions for ardent Memphis Belle fans who always wondered how much of the 1943 documentary was real (apparently, not much), and also records what Morgan thought of the 1990 film with Matthew Modine (apparently, not much).
His tour in B-29s is also well discussed. This is very much a terrific human interest story which just happens to take place in flak-filled skies. It's certainly more Twelve O'Clock High, with its introspection, than it is Monte Merrick's Memphis Belle, with its cartoon heroics.
Colonel Morgan is to be commended for his bravery in baring his soul to the rest of us, for trying to make sense of his life in a way that we can all learn, for admitting to the hurt he has caused others, and allowing us to relate to his own hurts. He was a courageous man at 23 - he had to be - but now, of his own accord, I think he is even braver in his 80s for writing this thoroughly inspirational book.
Book Description
Early on a September morning in 1998, David “Gypsy” Chain and eight fellow Earth First! activists went into the redwood forests of Scotia, California. Their loosely organized plan to protest the destruction caused by the logging industry almost immediately turned farcically tragic. A. E. Ammons, a logger for Pacific Lumber, confronted the group, threatening them in an obscenity-ridden diatribe: if they didn't leave "I'll make sure I got a tree comin' this way!" The group retreated, moving deeper into the wilderness. A short time later, just as they were attempting to confront the logger yet again, Gypsy was dead, crushed to death by a tree Ammons felled.
A GOOD FOREST FOR DYING traces the long history of bitter clashes between environmental concerns and economic interests in the American West and shows why these tensions came to a head in northern California in the 1990s. It tells the story of how Pacific Lumber, once an environmentally friendly, family-owned business, became part of a conglomerate whose business practices made it a ripe target for environmental activists. But A GOOD FOREST FOR DYING is also the story of Gypsy Chain, a troubled young man raised in a loving family. A social misfit in his small Texas hometown, he died in a faraway forest before he had a chance to come to terms with himself and his family. His mother never lost faith in her sometimes wayward, idealistic son. After his death, and helped by a team of shrewd, leftist lawyers, she mounted a fight for justice in the name of her son and the cause of saving the redwoods.
A balanced, highly readable examination of complex, emotionally charged issues, A GOOD FOREST FOR DYING will appeal to a wide audience. Its insights into the inner workings of the radical environmental movement and its dissection of corporate greed and misdeeds are reminiscent of such provocative exposés as A Civil Action and Erin Brockovich. The story of Gypsy’s strange odyssey and the disturbing circumstances of his death–seen primarily through the eyes of his mother–is as powerful and as moving as Jon Krakauer’s classic Into the Wild.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Life Lessons - A History Unfolds.......2004-05-07
Many of us live our lives without knowledge of what goes on around us. Truly I was unaware of the struggle to save California's old growth redwood forest until my son, David Nathan Chain died in that war. It is often referred to as the "Timber Wars". We all just assume that our magnificent old redwoods are protected. Many of us also assume that people with corporate power will make good decisions for the welfare of our communities. We live in a time that mandates our interest in what is takes place in our country. If we don't, what will we leave our children?
This book was a complex story to tell. It is documented history of actual events where the human side is exposed for it's good and it's bad. Pat Beach has my utmost respect for telling it from all sides and making it a brilliant piece of journalism.
Average customer rating:
- Great collection
- Short Stories Not Up to Masterpiece Standard of His Novels
- A welcome companion volume to 1992's Black Evening.
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David Morrell's Tales from Nightscape: Front Man, Nothing Will Hurt You, and Resurrection
David Morrell
Manufacturer: Request Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
 Morrell, David | ( M ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Creepers
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Black Evening: Tales of Dark Suspense
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Scavenger
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Long Lost
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The Protector
ASIN: 193329955X |
Book Description
In "Front Man," an aging screenwriter cast adrift in a youth-oriented Hollywood culture finds a frightening way to make it back into the business. In "Nothing Will Hurt You," a father is obsessed by his daughter's murder, and will stop at nothing to avenge her. In "Resurrection," a son is determined to preserve and care for a father frozen in cryogenic sleep. David Morrell is a consummate storyteller, investing his tales with passion, sympathy and irresistible narrative drive.
For more than 30 years, David Morrell has been known as a master of the literate, high-adrenaline novel of action (First Blood, Desperate Measures, The Protector, etc.). But Morrell is equally at home in shorter forms, as these three stories from his splendid new collection demonstrate.
This recording features Robert Forster, the Oscar-nominated star of Jackie Brown and Audie Award-winning narrator Stefan Rudnicki.
Customer Reviews:
Great collection .......2005-10-31
This is a wonderfully scary group of short stories. Morrell is better known for his novels but his roots were always with horror,You wont want to put the book down.
Short Stories Not Up to Masterpiece Standard of His Novels.......2005-03-13
David Morrell is a sensational author of many almost masterpiece quality novels such as The Protector, Long Lost and Burnt Sienna. Nightscape however is not a novel but a collection of short stories and Morrell is not in the same top of the writing ladder league for short stories as he is for novel writing.
I found quite a few of the stories in Nightscape a bit of an effort to maintain interest in and keep reading as they just weren't that good. Resurrection was by the far the best story in here tackling the issues of cryogenics and being frozen until they find a cure and what impact this has on the frozen one's family and ultimately the frozen one once they awaken. If I Should Die Before I Wake was also fairly enjoyable but being that it was set during World War I you knew it was pure fiction therefore losing its believability factor. The final and longest story Rio Grande Gothic about a policeman who is obsessed with finding the perpetrator who keeps leaving a pair of new shoes in the one spot on the highway is also fairly good but the other stories were nothing special. Spend your money on Morrell's masterpiece novels instead of Nightscape and wait for Nightscape to become available at your local library.
A welcome companion volume to 1992's Black Evening........2004-07-15
Except for the novels The Totem, Testament, and Long Lost, David Morrell has chosen the short story as his primary vehicle when exploring the horrific. Many of these outstanding shorter works were collected in 1992's Black Evening. Now, that volume has a welcome companion, Nightscape.
Although the stories in each display Morrell's trademark "you are there" immediacy, each book has its own unique qualities. Black Evening is a collection of stories that initially saw print between 1972 and 1992, while most of the stories in Nightscape were published during the past decade. The stories in Black Evening tend toward the supernatural, whereas those in Nightscape are more realistic. Finally, whereas the stories in the former vary in length, running the gamut from short stories to novellas, the pieces in the latter are mostly very long. In fact, "If I Should Die Before I Wake" and "Rio Grande Gothic" are almost mini-novels.
In his intimate introduction, Morrell explains that the stories in Nightscape consider the themes of obsession and determination. While those elements play varying roles in each tale, an even deeper theme, that of individual identity, ties these stories together. It's a prominent theme of "Remains To Be Seen," where the protagonist sees himself as a loyal servant, willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill his promise, "Nothing Will Hurt You," which focuses on a father who feels he has not met his responsibilities to his murdered daughter, and "Elvis .45," in which a rabid fan of "The King" loses himself in idol worship.
This motif presents itself repeatedly in the remaining stories. In "Habitat" and "Front Man," the protagonists struggle merely to maintain their identities. In "Resurrection," the main characters redefine themselves to cope with radically changed circumstances. Finally, in "If I Die Before I Wake" and "Rio Grande Gothic," the characters' professions, physician and lawman, respectively, dictate their responses to extraordinary circumstances.
Writing with clarity and intensity, Morrell uses these tales to explore a wide variety of emotions and behaviors, including devotion, betrayal, grief, joy, and, yes, obsession and determination. Unsettling but also moving, the stories in Nightscape are yet another reminder of Morrell's ability to peer deeply into his characters' psyches, a rare talent that makes his work essential reading for horror fans and general audiences alike.
Book Description
A thorough examination of how to use an aggressive eight-man front defense. Chapters include: personnel: utilizing your assets, stopping the run: choking the life out of your opponent, defending the pass, attacking the option, goal line and short-yardage defense, the stunt package, the adjustment package, and practicing aggressive eight-man front defense. Contains over 100 diagrams and illustrations.
Book Description
Trench art is the evocative name given to a dazzling array of objects made from the waste of industrialized war. Each object, whether an engraved shell case, cigarette lighter or a pen made from shrapnel, tells a unique and moving story about its maker. For the first time, this book explores in-depth the history and cultural importance behind these ambiguous art forms. Not only do they symbolize human responses to the atrocities of war, but they also act as mediators between soldiers and civilians, individuals and industrial society, and, most importantly, between the living and the dead. Trench art resonates most obviously with the terror of endless bombardment, night raids, gas attacks and the bestial nature of trench life. It grew in popularity between 1919 and 1939 when the bereaved embarked on battlefield pilgrimages and returned with objects intended to keep alive the memory of loved ones. The term trench art is, however, misleading, as it does not simply refer to materials found in the trenches. It describes a diverse range of objects that have in some way emerged from the experience of war all over the world. Many distinctive objects, for example, were made during conflicts in Bosnia, Vietnam, Northern Ireland and Korea.
Surprisingly, trench art predates World War I and it can be made in a number of earlier wars such as the Crimean War, the American Civil War, and the Boer War. Saunders looks at the broader issues of what is meant by trench art, what it was before the trenches and how it fits in with other art movements, as well as the specific materials used in making it. He suggests that it can be seen as a bridge between the nineteenth century certainties and the fragmented industrialized values and ideals of the modern world. This long overdue study offers an original and informative look at one of the most arresting forms of art. Spanning from 1800 to the present day, its analysis of art, human experience, and warfare will pave the way for new research and will be of great interest to cultural and military historians, anthropologists, art historians and collectors.
Product Description
There's a truth buried deep in the heart of every war, and reporters Sally Floyd and Ben Urich will be there, uncovering that truth in the midst of the biggest conflagration in the Marvel Universe! In the wake of the Stamford Disaster, the public cries out for Super Hero Registration. Are the costumed heroes of the Marvel Universe protectors or ticking time bombs? Find out here when Spider-Man has his say. And you won't want to miss as one hero makes public a painful secret.
Average customer rating:
- Timeless
- Dead Men Tell no Tales - The Eloquence of Survival
- To The Last Man is good to the last page
- To the Last Man: Spring 1918 - Lyn MacDonald
- Very Engrossing Book
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To the Last Man: Spring 1918
Lyn MacDonald
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0786706635 |
Book Description
In the spring of 1918, as American troops had begun to reinforce the British and French armies, the German High Command realized that if they were to win the Great War, only a massed attack could break the stalemated Western Front. With her hallmark immediacy and vivid detail, award-winning historian Lyn Macdonald brings the March offensive to life in all its glory, horror, and pathos from the perspective of the ordinary soldier.
With her encyclopedic knowledge of World War I, Macdonald re-creates the experience of the Second Battle of Somme, from the generals and officers to the ordinary troops on both sides of the battle line, as the Allied high command, confronted with imminent attack, gave the orders: "Fight to the last man and the last round."
Customer Reviews:
Timeless.......2005-12-02
The first person accounts and the poignant memories of those who served in 1918 ring from these pages. It is easy to forget that this conflict took place almost a century ago and the long view through the Cold War and World War II sometimes make the first world war seem almost irrelevent. However, this book brings home the reality of the modern nature of this war, the rifles, the machineguns, the artillery, aircraft and through it all, the timeless, brave faces of the soldiers on the front line.
Ms. MacDonald's book does a service to the veterans of the First World War as it puts a face and a human perspective on the horrendous experience of trench warfare. Although the spring of 1918 was more fluid and mobile than many other periods of the war, it still came down to men marching against other men dug into trenches. Positions and yards of front taken in a frightful cost of men's lives.
This book has a timeless feel to it and the letters and interviews may gloss over some of the horrors which I think is partially the spirit of the generation and partially the difficulty of dwelling or reporting the horrors to others who were not there, but they do resound with the action, the confusion, the fear and the suffering that is commonplace in all war.
This is a great text to read in that it does capture the human aspect of the fight and does not get too deep into units and army group movement. The big picture is laid out as a backdrop that the author then sets the individual soldier's stories against. A tremendous read and phenomenal book.
Dead Men Tell no Tales - The Eloquence of Survival.......2004-04-28
Lyn MacDonald's growing collection of books about World War I are unique in many respects and all are well worth a read - for both the student of the war and for readers only casually interested in the period.
From the point of view of a military historian, the war in 1918 was itself unique with its return to mobile warfare that had otherwise only existed at the outset of the war, with the arrival of U.S. forces on the fronts, and with the incorporation of new weapons technologies and tactical approaches on the battlefield. It was also unique as the year in which many felt the war might be won by the Germans but in which, ultimately, the conflict ended with German defeat.
MacDonald's view is not that of a military historian, her book captures few of these elements. But it nevertheless casts a powerfully refracted light on the nature of the war in 1918 by the approach she takes. Hers is a "ground-level" view, seen through the many eyes of the soldiers who fought through that chaotic springtime of war.
As in many of her previous titles, MacDonald builds her history upon the actual words of combatants. These are the voices of the soldiers who fought. The book is more than an anthology of narratives, though. MacDonald does an excellent job of weaving the individual views into a well-told story. Although big-picture views are rare, she does a nice job of depicting individual experiences and local battles from many different points of view. It is rare to find the military history "microscope" focused at this particular scale.
Unlike prior books of hers that I have read, "...1918" is not limited to the perspectives of the British combatants. MacDonald has made a clear effort to incorporate the archived words of German soldiers by way of a small collection of such documents which were provided to her in translation. Nevertheless, her anglophile leanings are still quite evident and detract from the sense that the book is a balanced view. U.S., French and German soldiers are only a small part of this story.
Interestingly I found that this book offers much more of one element that you might expect the military historians to excel at - maps! There are more maps-per-page in this book than the best of John Keegan. Local details, right down to the farmhouses and roadways, abound, and add to your appreciation of the battle situations described by the combatants.
In addition to the small critique above that the book is Brit-focused, I have to note one other element of bias that might seem almost tautological in a book like this: most of the stories are those of survivors.
Just as history written by the victors is often skewed history, war as viewed by the survivors seems inevitably tempered by the reality of having "gotten through it." MacDonald does sprinkle her story with contemporaneous writings of soldiers who did survive (and some who did not), but many of the accounts are from a retrospective viewpoint that is clearly colored by time. Just as rich men often only recall their own hard work, and pontificate about generic success deriving from hard work alone, survivors of warfare can, in the process of healing physical and emotional scars, of going on with life, gloss over their own or their buddies' weaker moments.
There is also an inevitable "selection" factor that an approach like MacDonald's can't overcome. Those who came back from the war unwilling or unable to talk about what they experienced cannot contribute their silence to a book like this. In his book "Back to the Front", Stephen O'Shea can only indirectly discover the experience of his own stubbornly silent grandfathers, and his developing sense of the horror of that experience contrasts sharply with the overall tone of MacDonald's work.
If one can adapt to these limitations of approach, "To The Last Man: Spring 1918" is a fine book, excellently written and illustrated, which brings to life the desperate final months of the war that gave birth to the modern era and so many of the geopolitical ills of this new millennium.
To The Last Man is good to the last page.......2003-09-25
Springtime in a Europe ravaged by war. On the Western Front the German army launches a massive offensive in the Amiens region of Northern France against the British Army. Lynn MacDonald continues in this tome her oral history of the Great War.
The eyewitness accounts of German, French and German participants in the horrific hell of Spring 1918 make this book a valuable addition to the history of the war. MacDonald has done a beautiful job of reporting on the hellacious sights, smells and utter Dantesque horror of trench warfare. This book would be an excellent addition to anyone's library who is interested in World War I from the perspective of both the common soldier and the generals at GHQ.
This is my first exposure to Macdonald and she has whetted my interest to read more of her work.
Americans are not as familiar with the great battles of World War I as they should be. Macdonald is a good start to begin. After reading the last paragraph I concur with William Sherman who opined that "War is Hell."
As the tragedy of war is unfolded on the pages of this book the reader is drawn into the vortex of the horror that is modern warfare.
Lynn Macdonald is a superb researcher, writer and historian. I recommend this book very highly.
PS-The maps are well drawn and helpful!
To the Last Man: Spring 1918 - Lyn MacDonald.......2001-01-17
The book had a rather slow and indirect beginning. It didn't really grab me until perhaps toward the end of the first chapter. By then, the author provides more poignant first hand accounts of the German offensive of Spring 1918. Not all of the material before this point seems relevant.
This is admittedly an account from the British perspective with some added interviews and journal entries from German soldiers. An occasional account from the French, Australian or even American perspective is added for good measure. The detailed descriptions of the battle are fleshed out well by the abundant soldier's accounts. I'm sure more use of non-British sources would have created a broader picture of the campaign. However, the book works well within its limits. It is not highly analytical. Instead, it recounts the fortnight's events from the soldier's view. Lyn Macdonald adds clear details of troop movements and maneuvers.
To the common man's perspective, she adds some history of the politics of statesmen and generals. The most unfortunate player in this field is General Gough who, because of Lloyd George, took the fall for the Allies shortcomings. By Ludendorff's admission, his strategy was sound and helped to slow the German advance. Good show for making this point.
The book ends rather abruptly, turning on a brief discussion of the treatment of wounded prisoners. Only a little analysis is offered in the short concluding remarks. The heart of this book is good, but I think as a whole, it could have been better. This piece works best as a supplement to other, more weighty works.
Very Engrossing Book.......2000-05-22
This book retells it like it was for the men in the trenches back in 1918. The firsthand accounts provide the common soldier's view not commonly found in most history books. Many memorable moments like the counter-attack made by the London-Scottish, and a Colonel Lowry's escape from the Germans during a rainy night. It is a very readable book and shows the futility of the tactics of the time. One of the best history books I've ever purchased.
Book Description
This final volume in Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar`s landmark trilogy argues that twentieth-century women of letters-from Virginia Woolfe and Marianne Moore to Sylvia Plath and Toni Morrison to Margaret Atwood and Zora Neale Hurston and H.D.-have found themselves on a confusing cultural front and have responded by dispatching "missives" on the profound changes in the roles and rules that govern sexuality.
Books:
- Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
- Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children
- Caribbean Elegance
- Chocolate Covered Forbidden Fruit
- Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior
- Christmas in Camelot (Magic Tree House #29)
- Christmas in Heaven
- Christmas in the Big Woods (Little House)
- Concepts and learning in the Maori tradition (Working paper)
- Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men
Books Index
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