American Eagle Books

Reading this book led me to read all of the books written by him. His details are so amazing! I tell everyone about these books and tell them to read them. His details about training camp all the way to the Battle of the Bluge are unforgetable! If your looking for an FIRST PERSON account like I do then these books are for you! I felt like i was there when he told about the battle of the bulge. Some of his stories about not taking prisoners or fighting in the snow....I dont believe making a movie and making it super-bloody would even come close to what really happen. If you like to read about FIRST PERSON account in WW II and anyone who fought along side the BAND OF BROTHERS MOVIE SERIES then this is it for you! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED....I PROMISE!

Donald Burghett is our everyday guy; on his toes and not a blowhard about his own heroics.....down to earth Warrior of the highest caliber. East to follow,tells Easy Co of the 502d, 101st Airbourne and their OVERUSE and most americans don't know OUR guys were put under "Love HIMSELF" MONTGOMERY, known for wasting his OWN soldiers lives.....Montgomery a blowhard, Patton loud and lost a lot of men but got results and without any doubt along with Easy Co and the rest of 101st & 82nd Airbourne as well as the Brit, French and Polish Airbourne beat Hitlers best, the SS

A very realistic read GARY R TOMS SR War history student for 55 yrs

Very well written book, hard to put down, when reading book you feel like you are actually with the soldiers fighting in France.

Good work. A truly remarkable story. Well written and told up to standard. Anyone who has pulled on "risers" will appreciate this book.

Note: This review is for the hardback 1999 edition.

I first read this under the title of As Eagles Scream back in 1977. Having completed a re-reading of it (actually have done it several other times) I wanted to put my review down for others.

Currahee! Is Mr. Burgett's account as a paratrooper from induction thru Normandy serving in A Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. There are four sections; Training for Combat, Waiting for Combat, Combat, and Afterward. All parts give Mr. Burgett's experiences at that particular point in his career. Focus is always on what he sees and experiences, not the "big scene" around him. The Afterward was written when Currahee! was a stand alone book.

My Likes:
Wow, where to begin. Seldom have I read a personal account of warfare that contains the details this book has. Mr. Burgett's memory is exact and to the point. In telling his story he mixes no bones and calls what he did. If he screwed up, he tells you that he did and what the effects were from it. The descriptions are detailed, down to telling you minute details (one of my favorites from when I first read the book was his telling of breakfast in training to be a paratrooper; cornflakes and coffee, either eat the cornflakes dry or wet with coffee. Btw, that was after their morning run). The best section for these details was the Combat section. Here Mr. Burgett shines by describing is drop (in excellent detail), his experiences upon landing, and the running battles with the Germans thru his wounding. Of particular interest is his description of how Dead Man's Corner earned it's name.

My Dislikes:
OK, I have one; I wish Mr. Burgett would have divided the Combat section into two to make for easier reading. The only other possible dislike is that the story cuts off after Normandy and we have to buy The Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland (World War II Library). There are minor problems with him referencing non-airborne weapons (a M3/M5 Stuart is references as a M3 Lee/Grant and few problems with German equipment).

The Rating:
Five Stars! An Ab Fab writing with a great personal story. I'd love to have toured Normandy with Mr. Burgett. But then reading is book is almost like touring his fight with him. I highly recommend reading this book if you're interested in what the 101st Airborne did during Normandy, particularly from the individual's point of view. There are some excellent photographs, only two maps (I wanted more), the second one is nicely detailed.

If I were only rating Pat Conroy's wonderful book, I'd be giving it five stars instead of two. However, the Kindle edition, which I purchased 26 December 2008, is riddled with ridiculous typographical errors which make reading a chore. You'll honestly do a double-take on every page, sometimes having to pull yourself out of the story to decide what word ought to be there instead of its mistaken substitute.

"Off" is very frequently rendered "of." "Says" is very often rendered "sas." In at least one place, "the" is rendered as "die." At locations 2884-98, we read, "He is an American movie star in a America (sic) movie..." These are just a few examples; I could go on all night.

Please do yourself a favor and hold off buying the Kindle edition of "The Water is Wide" until these problems are corrected and you can savor every word of Pat Conroy's inspiring, infuriating, life-affirming story.

Based on the author's experiences on Daufuskie Island as the new white school teacher of a black school, it is interesting to read Conroy's youthful understanding (published in 1972) of his even more youthful idealistic fervor.

Even more interesting, however, is to follow this book with a collection of personal memories from the region: Remembering the Way it Was at Hilton Head, Bluffton and Daufuskie (http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Hilton-Head-Bluffton-Daufuskie/dp/1596290617)

A number of the real people featured in this book are clearly models for characters in The Water is Wide: Iris Glover = Frances Jones; Henry Piedmont = Henry McCracken (some sources claim that Ezra Bennington = Henry McCracken); Ted and Lou Stone = Lance and Billie Burn. It is fascinating to read the different perspectives of these people. McCracken is shown in a very different light. For example, Queenie Jenkins describes how McCracken helped her (black) son Theodore go to college. This is where one readers can go, for a more thorough epilogue about some of the characters and the region.

On local message boards of the region and in the reviews here at Amazon some claim that Conroy chose to teach in Daufuskie as a way to accumulate material for a book. The Water is Wide does not read this way. He draws a fairly convincing picture of a naive, self-righetous young adult tilting at educational windmills - and coming out of the experience a bit more sober.

In Writing Educational Biography: Explorations in Qualitative Research p.214-217 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0815322968) Craig Kridel describes trying to figure out which parts of Conroy's book are fact and fiction. He comes to the conclusion that Conroy's dispute with the school board is portrayed fairly accurately, while the personalities he assigned to some of the major characters (such as Ruth Brown = Julia Johnson) are not.

Regardless, whether you believe everything in the book as nonfiction or not, it is a compelling read.

Bought the book after seeing the movie. The movie was very close to the book and was called Conrack. It's a true story of the author Pat Conroy and I highly recommend both.

This is my first Pat Conroy book. All of his books have great reviews on Amazon, so I wasn't sure which one to start with; I just picked this one. I think I made a very good choice by reading 'The Water Is Wide' first. It's an early book, and I got a lot of insight into who Pat Conroy is, his humor, his goodwill, the kinds of people he surrounds himself with, etc.

I just started reading 'Beach Music' and I really feel an affinity for this author after reading 'The Water is Wide.' I appreciate his ability to write and articulate ideas.

'The Water is Wide' is about the time period in the south in which many people grew up with racial prejudices as a way of life. As children, it's "just the way it is" and they don't know any better. As Mr. Conroy became a man, more educated and involved in the very things he had been taught to dislike as a child, he underwent a huge personal change and touched so many people along the way. I like his kick-*** attitude and how candidly he wrote about everything.

This story moved me on many different levels. This is a book about a man helping others, inspiring others, and overcoming the false beliefs about race that stemmed from his upbringing and culture. It's also about someone who was courageous enough to stand up to authority. It's a wonderful story. If it were fiction, it would be a good story. But the fact that it is based on the author's experience just makes it even better. Can't wait to read the rest of his books!

I looked up Daufuskie (aka Yamacraw) Island on Google and it seems to be a big resort island with golf courses and hotels now; probably nothing like the Yamacraw Mr. Conroy experienced many years ago. Must visit some day anyway.

I searched for the movie 'Conrack' on Amazon, but they seem to only have VHS version sold by a different seller, but not available on DVD. Conrack wasn't on Netflix either. Let's hope it gets re-released on DVD.

This is an early example of the promise of Pat Conroy. Everything I have read of his has been extraordinarily beautifully written. There are pages I have to reread just for the joy of the wording, the descriptions, the expressions of thoughts.

As a teacher he must have been a treasure. It is an indictment of the school system in which he worked that he was not fostered and encouraged. America's children are the losers in the situation. I know the people of "Yamacraw" felt the loss when he was not allowed to return to the school there.

America's readers have reaped the benefits of Conroy's education and experience and his exemplary use of the language.

Enjoy!

Pauline Gedge's The Eagle and the Raven is the predecessor to Donna Gillespie's The Light Bearer and Manda Scott's Dreaming of the Eagle. It is also, in many respects, a better book. Of these three books, The Eagle and the Raven best made me understand the reasons for the British defiance of Rome. It is easy to use a word like "freedom" to explain it, but this is the first book that personalizes freedom and shows how the Roman incursion affected the tribesmen's hearts and souls. While The Light Bearer and Dreaming of the Eagle are more descriptive in terms of setting and action, The Eagle and the Raven is more poignant. The characters of Caradoc, Aricia, and Boudicca are emotionally complex, and I felt that I knew them better than their counterparts in other books.

Although The Eagle and the Raven is told through the British perspective, the novel is even-handed with the Romans. They are not all slavers and rapists: in Plautius, Pudens, and Favonius, Gedge presents honorable, respectful Romans. Their interactions with the tribesmen provide some of the most memorable parts of the novel. Also, not all of the British resist Rome; we see that some of them, like Aricia and Prasutugas, accept the Romans for the sake of wealth or peace.

The novel shines when it delves into the tortured relationships of the characters. Caradoc, Aricia, and Boudicca all have lovers at odds with their own beliefs. Watching them struggle with their love and principles is at times heartbreaking and joyful. Also, the romance that Gladys (Caradoc's sister) develops feels genuine and special, when it could have been maudlin or forced in another writer's hands.

The novel is not perfect; it starts slow, and none of the characters is particularly likable at first. (Gedge's characters are flawed, which makes them more authentic.) Most of the action occurs off page. If you are hoping for swordfights, you're better off reading The Light Bearer or Scott's Boudicca series. I believe that those novels externalize the conflict, whereas The Eagle and the Raven internalizes it. In Dreaming the Eagle, Boudicca challenges Rome with the strength of her sword arm. In The Eagle and the Raven, she relies on the strength of her conviction.

I feel really badly about not likely this book as much as all of the other reviewers clearly did. I had read Manda Scott's take on Boudica a while back,. and I remember her books with great detail and fondness. I figured I would be in for another pleasant read with this novel about Boudica, but I found myself disappointed. The writing is just okay, the descriptions seem mediocre, and the only high point for me was the history. But history alone can't carry a book, and I found my attention constantly wandering to other things like my laundry, my dishes, my chores. Not a good sign.

While this book wasn't terrible - far from it - I wasn't carried away either. For me, it was just all right.

If you've never encountered Boudicca in history, then you may want to do yourself a favor a pick this book up. Like Manda Scott (and soon Margaret George), Pauline Gedge has chosen one of the most famous female leaders of all time and given her a novel. I really enjoyed learning about Iceni culture, about how Boudicca tried to triumph against the invading Romans, and what life was like several thousand years ago in Britain. I really enjoyed this book, as well as Manda Scott's. I'm looking forward to Margaret George's take on this as well.

The first 200 pages felt tedious. The character development felt lacking... I couldn't relate to any character, nor did I feel connected to any of them. I'm glad I didn't give up though. The story built slowly and by the middle I couldn't put it down. Gedge does a tremendous job of giving the reader a real sense of the time period and the perspectives of both sides of the "argument".

The front and back covers of this book are very misleading- it implies that the book is all about Boudicca, but she only really comes into the book in the last hundred pages or so, though she makes brief appearances throughout the story. Most of the book is about Caradoc, who was the first uniter of the native British tribes against the Romans.

I first became interested in the British resistance to the Roman invasion upon reading the Manda Scott series about Boudicca which begins with Dreaming the Eagle. In that series, Caradoc also plays a major role, though Scott certainly focuses on Boudicca more. In Gedge's novel, Caradoc takes the spotlight. And deservedly so.

Caradoc led a very large contingent of Britons against the Romans, but was caught and taken to Rome as prisoner, where he and his family lived out their lives in a gilded cage. A tragic way to end a life.

Unfortunately, also not an interesting way to finish a book. There was a lot of The Eagle and the Raven that took place with Caradoc and his family in Rome, but the plot... didn't really go anywhere. The action was clearly in Britain. Granted, there was not =much= action in the period of time between Caradoc being caught and Boudicca leading an army of vengeance. But I would have preferred that time to have been spent with other characters, and not trying to develop a storyline that really didn't go anywhere.

However, other than that minor quibble, I found this book enjoyable and interesting. It took me a LONG time to read it, admittedly, but I was never bored. Anyone who has an interest in ancient British history would enjoy it, but don't read it thinking it's all about Boudicca. It's not, but that's not a negative point.

The main character of this book, Annja Creed, is an archeologist who funds her travels and treasure hunting by means of working for a television show about monsters. She is on just such a quest in search of a monster in France when she falls through the ground and finds a medallion that is a part of Joan of Arc's sword. There is all manner of mahem and excitement while she is pursued by bad guys all over France. I don't want to say much more as it could spoil the story.

This is one of the best fantasy books I've read in a long time. It's part thriller and adventure and part history lesson (the history is so well done that it is woven into the story seemlessly without interrupting the suspense). It takes place in present time and includes a magical sword. I won't discuss the plot further as it was deeply decribed by Amazon's editorial information.

This book was so good that it earned permanent keeper status on my bookshelf. Now I want to read the entire series. I highly recommend it.

I actually bought "Renaissance" which is a collection of the first 3 stories in the Rogue Angel series. I've only read the first one (the second starts as soon as I'm done with this review) so I can't say what I think about all three.

But...

Destiny is a blast to read! It's well written, fast paced, and all around enjoyable. I read it in two days, and if the 2nd book comes off as fun as this one, Amazon will be sending me the next few books before the week is out. If you like adventures, you'll like this.

I have a shelf full of GOLD EAGLE books, having read them for the last 20 years. Most are action/adventure books, so when Rogue Angel came out was a bit tentative. But seeing the good reviews decided to try the series. Recently GOLD EAGLE printed a trade volume containing the first three books of the Rogue Angel series, great I thought, time to try this series.

The first book starts slowly but quickly pulls the reader in. And with the first page starting back in the 1400s during the Hundred Years War, one not only gets a fiction story but a non-fiction history lesson of both that war and Joan D'Arc. The first thing I did after finishing this first book in the Rogue Angel series was pick up a couple non-fiction books on Joan of Arc or Joan the maiden as she was known during her time.

Anyone wondering whether they should read this book or not should consider whether they enjoy a good story. As mentioned, I have shelves full of GOLD EAGLE books on Mack Bolan, Able Team, Phoenix Force, Stony Man, and the newer Room 59, but none, I repeat, none of them read any better than this new series entitled Rogue Angel. Archaeology, Joan D'Arc's sword, men over 500 years of age who served Joan still alive today, bad guys, good guys, are part of the plot in this new 'science fiction' labeled trade paperback and mass market books.

Best to try one and you will be 'hooked' too.

Semper Fi.

Great read! I've given up comparing the various Urban Fantasy series, except for the truly exceptional or poor. Instead, I'm just going to rate them on how quickly I order the next one.

Archer has come up with interesting lead characters and a nasty bunch of bad guys. While I am not an expert on European history or archeology, I was very impressed with Archer's homework. If it was true, I'm strongly impressed.

Should you read this review before any others - don't! Too many of them give away too much of the story. I don't know why so many refuse to use "spoiler" to warn you, but ....

The Amazon description tells you enough about the story and the heavily favorable number of stars from reviewers tells you it was well received.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Annja Creed loves her job as an archeologist. There's nothing she enjoys more than digging into the past, quite literally, to uncover secrets and solve the mysteries behind many popular myths. Her current job has her in France trying to uncover the truth about the Beast of Gevaudan where she falls into a cave at the top of a mountain and receives the shock of her life.

Annja has found an artifact, a small coin, which becomes her Destiny. Now she's on the run from a brotherhood of monks who have secrets to protect, and a blood thirsty occult follower who wants the coin for himself. Her strongest ally is the mysterious Roux who has his own reasons for helping Annja, believing she is the answer to his own Destiny as well.

Wow! I've been wanting to read the Rogue Angel series forever and never seem to find the time. When I happened across the audio versions of the books quite by accident on Amazon, I just had to buy the first three. I've since ordered the rest of the series that is presently available in audio. I love all the stories of Joan of Arc and I was quite excited to read this new twist on one of the most infamous women in religious history.

We have many mysteries linked together through Destiny and Annja had no idea what she was in for upon her discovery in a French cave. As I was listening, I couldn't help but wonder how all of these stories were connected yet when the climax is reached everything melds perfectly and I was amazed at how Alex Archer concludes the story.

Annja is a fascinating and complex character. Her history begins to be explored and we find out quite a bit about her. She's an intriguing blend of innocence, courage, heroism, and a thirst for adventure. She has her moments of weakness and strength with her selflessness usually winning out. I look forward to more of Annja's Destiny being explored in future novels in the Rogue Angel series.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2008. All rights reserved.

I was turned on to Keith Nolan's RIPCORD by Fred Spaulding. Then CPT Spaulding had been my company commander in the 101st's 1st Brigade before transfering to the 3rd BDE as S-3 Air to participate in the battle.
We in A Co. No Slack knew there was a "big" battle going on and had been told we were ready reserve, the grunt pipeline was full of rumors. It wasn't until I spoke with Fred last spring and received a copy of RIPCORD that I gained a full insight as to how well the men fought and how victory was denied them for political reason. The true sadness of the Vietnam War is the lesson America has never learned. America needs to Fight to Win and politicians should step aside and let our military WIN. Keith has captured the eyewitness history here and painted a clear, understandable picture of not only the sacrafice but the bravery of my Brother Screaming Eagles. Thanks to Keith Nolan we now have a record of the Honor they brought to themselves and the 101st.
Airborne All The Way!
Yankee Jim
www.screamingeagles-327thvietnam.com

If you have any knowledge of the Vietnam conflict or were in country at the time ,this is a perfect blow for blow record,no punches pulled ,and every bit of research backed up with detailed fact. It gives the overall viewpoint,officers ,nco s and the Grunts.A great read about real men and the horror of War.

This historical account represents a detailed account of the battle for RIPCORD. The dedication of the troops to a questionable operation at the time of the winddown of the Vietnam War is admirable to say the least.
This work exposes the quandary of senior officers who are shackled by the political forces from Washington. Nevetheless, it also reveals the shortcomings of certain officers who were more concerned with their careers than the troops. The most famous example is that of Colonel Lucas. The "ring knockers protective association" was successful in seeing that he was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. This in spite of the fact that he made bad decions in exposing his troops to unnecessary RIF's with the consequest heavy caualties. As one of his troops said "it was the kind of situation where if he had lived, he probably would have been brought up on charges, but since he got killed, he ended up with the Medal of Honor." Nevertheless, this book entails the heroism of all who participated in this ill-conceived battle.

Excellent history that is well written and, unlike many military histories, is extremely readable. It is accurate and tells a story that not many people know about. I signed into this unit (2/506 101st Airborne) just a few weeks after Ripcord happened. It filled in a lot of the stories that I had heard about this battle. Fantastic book!

Keith Nolan has done it again! A very accurate account of a battle in Vietnam. A grunts eye view!Only thing that would have made the book better. Would have been maps, something he fails to do in all his books.

Truly the only single-volume Pacific theater history one needs. Spector is well documented in his history and historiography, presenting and evaluating differing schools of thought on the Allied campaigns on the Second World War. The primary focus is US grand strategy and the internal struggles that came with it, but the author never fails to hail the men at the pointy end of the spear. Most importantly, Spector is accessible, achieving an academic work that's a pleasure to read.

I was led to this book after reading the author's more recent "In the Ruins of Empire",which greatly clarified my understanding of modern Asia. Eagle against the Sun was daunting in its length and scope but Dr Spector writes with great clarity and momentum; the narrative is never lost and when one does manage to put the book down, one returns to it with pleasurable anticipation always wanting to know what would happen next. The best book of military history that I have ever read. I echo another readers complaint about the miserable map.Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan

This book is a pretty good read. I am writing at this moment to complain about the missing pages, 295-342 are missing. This would be a discussion of the Marianas campaign. This is the paperback version, purchased July of '08. Beware the missing pages! Otherwise it is a pretty good read, but for me I prefer a deeper look at each battle, rather than an overview.

Anyone seeking a thorough, well-written and objective account of the U.S. war against Japan should add Ronald Spector's "Eagle Against the Sun'' to their reading list. Spector tackles with obvious verve a difficult task - compressing a four-year war that stretched from the Aleutians to India into 560 pages. You have to admire a historian who uses exclamation marks out of sheer enthusiasm. As someone who is more or less a novice on the Pacific War, several things struck me: I was surprised by the speed with which the allies put Japan on the defensive after Pearl Harbor and started taking back the territories she'd seized. And I was astounded by the extent to which both Japan and the allies were crippled by mistaken intelligence and assumptions - reconnaissance planes misreporting the number and type of enemy ships, Japanese commanders believing their own side's propaganda -- and by bureaucratic wrangling between the branches of their militaries (and, in the allied case, between countries with different priorities). Spector does a good job evaluating commanders' decisions, always taking into account what they knew and which of their assumptions were reasonable even if ultimately wrong.

I came to the book with little knowledge of naval warfare. So I wished early on that Spector had told us how many seamen were lost whenever ships sank. I was stunned by sheer tonnage of shipping that fell victim to bombs, shells, torpedoes and kamikazes; but I didn't know whether to assume that all or most of the crews died when their ships went down. Only occasionally did Spector mention the human toll at sea. I suspect this omission was just designed to avoid cluttering the copy with repetitive information. Elsewhere in the book - describing the experiences of the average GI in the Pacific, for instance - he clearly shows empathy toward the human beings, military and civilian alike, who suffered and died. Another complaint: The version I read contained no maps - a serious handicap for a book covering so much unfamiliar geography.

Upon finishing this book, I immediately started Spector's sort-of sequel, "In the Ruins of Empire.'' "Eagle Against the Sun'' was a not a fluke. The guy's good.

I read this shortly after the first edition came out. I was taking a year off to travel around the world and I was going to spend a good six months in the South Pacific. Although I had read a lot of history on the war prior to this, I wanted a good general history to tie everything together. I wanted one as in-depth as I could get. From this volume I made again launched into a more detailed reading on individual battles and campaigns.

This book was both admirable in its sweep and it is well written and researched, with a very good attention to detail that one does not often find in general overview books.

The downfall of America and her island-hopping campaign is told with very good balance between the macro-polical objectives -- the machinations, intrigue, inter-service rivalry, and horsetrading -- is balanced nicely wiht the battles themselves and the individual sacrifice of the American soldiers.

The carrier war is a point well described with Spector taking as much time to describe the Midway Battles as he does for the later Marianas "Turkey Shoot." One area I was very pleased to read was the small bit on the American Black troops in the theatre.

The book does not cover America's very limited contribution to the mainland war in Asia, but it does give a very good overview on the discussions and different visions the Americans and British had in the Pacific as a whole. With it being over 40 years since these horrible events unfolded it is worthy to note the Spector also deals with some of the unseemly side of the American war in the Pacific, how it migrated very quickly into a racial war with its concommitent valuation of the Japanese as less than human. From the Marine penchant for killing the few prisoners that were willing to surrender, to the wholesale destruction of Japanese cities by conventional and then Nuclear bombing. All of this said while not loosing sight of the very ugly aspects of Japanese Imperial tyrrany in Pacific and its treatment of other Asians as well as Allied Prisoners of War.

A good meaty read from cover to cover and a very good jumping off point for the study of individual campaigns and battles.

I am so glad I read it a second time. The mission of 4NOV68 is riveting. The LRRPs were re-inserted and then surrounded and facing certain doom, then in the nick of time, got extracted. I could not break free from the gripping details. Hook, line, and sinker, I was drawn into this book wanting to read more, more, more.

This is a first-hand account of the Vietnam War LRRPs of F Co/58th Inf, 101st ABN. My neighbor was one of the members of the author's team on 20NOV68 who died in what other LRRPs have called "an epic battle". I bought this book wanting to read about Arthur J. Heringhausen, but this book delivers much, much, more. When reading, use the Glossary in the back of the book to learn the terms used by Vietnam servicemen. The read Mr. Linderer's other book Eyes Behind the Line, a sequel to this book. You won't be disappointed. His factual account of the 20NOV68 battle is laden with praise for the other soldiers who survived, and grief for the loss of his teammates, team leader, and his best friend. You will want to read the sequel, so buy them both now, so you don't have to wait!

Excellant "journal" type account of average life of LRRP soldier.
Congrats to Linderer for capturing the excitement, fear, and sometimes mentally monotonus life of LRRP.
Must read for those interested in facts, not fiction.

I've read and re-read this book many times, and all of the other books by Linderer and each one left me on the edge of my seat. Linderer does a great job of taking the reader along with him into the jungles of Vietnam and he's scared the ----- out of me thinking about sneaking around the "backyards" of the VC with just a radio and a lot of guts. My father was a foward observer in the 101st in WWII & Linderer's books helped me to get some more insight into the "duties" of these brave men. I highly recomend this and the other books by Linderer!

One of my first veitnam books and one of my personal favourites. No matter how many times I have read and re-read this book it never fails to evoke in me the emotions and personal feelings that litterally flood from the pages.
If you want an uncopmromising and enthralling true story of the life of a LRRP in vietnam get this book and you will not be let down.
Linderer's writing style balances the detail and depth of day to day life with the pulse racing missions of clandestine sneek and peek.
Throughly reccomended.

As of yesterday, Random House, Inc. has removed the fake military awards and decorations from its web site on this author's books.

Gary A. Linderer has claimed to have received 2 Silver Stars and 2 Purple Hearts for the same day's combat. That is a military impossibility! Yet, he still claims it inside all of his books. Anyone can return these books by this author Gary Linderer for a full refund because of the fake awards he claimed.

The National Archive records (radio logs) that were found by the researcher Don C. Hall and author of "I SERVED" refute what Gary Linderer wrote in his books. That makes Gary Linderer's books "fictional memoirs."

This is my first novel by Kathleen Eagle. I'm not much into 'horse stories' but I found this one informative and engaging. It was a bit slow for me in the middle but I didn't lose interest. The characters were interesting and varied. I am curious if there is a sequel to pick up on Julia's sister, Dawn in her post-Roger phase but I couldn't find evidence of one. It would also be fun to see how some of the boys fared after their exposure to Julia and K.C.'s influence.

This is one of those books that quickly become an old time favorite. A book you come back to again and again; each time finding something new and heartfelt. Ms Eagle develops the story in a slow leisurely pace that reminds one of lazy summers. Through her description of the Wyoming and the wild horse, the story comes to live, making one want to take a trip to see it for themselves. The characters are both human and complex; they are developed in a way that allows you to understand and sympathize with each person's insecurities. If you never read Ms Eagle before, this would be a great novel with which to start.

This was a great novel. From the very beginning I couldn't put it down. The Last True Cowboy has a great story and full interesting characters. I wanted to read slow and make it last, but I couldn't stand waiting to see what happened next. It's a novel you can truly get into.

I had such high hopes for this book based on the reviews but it wasn't very thrilling in my opinion. This was a true romance book in the sense that there's no mystery or a "bad guy" or much adventure. K.C. & Julia gave me many laughs & I enjoyed their falling for one another but other than that there just wasn't any excitement for me. No cliffhangers or suspense. I just would've liked a little something more mixed in with the romance. Overall I'd say it's all right but nothing that I'll remember or care to read again.

Kathleen Eagle is one of my all-time favorite authors, but "The Last True Cowboy" just didn't deliver. Much as I hate to admit it, I agree with the reviewer who found the plot weak and the swaggering, beer-drinkin', boot-stompin' cowboy bit a little too cliche and overdone.

Though K.C. Houston mentions on two or three occasions that he's got some Indian heritage, American Indian life, itself, plays no part in this novel. Of course, I don't mean to put Ms. Eagle in a box, but her vast knowledge and love of American Indian heritage gives her storytelling a very rich, almost spell-binding appeal that I found I sorely missed in "The Last True Cowboy."

I did enjoy the descriptions of the wild mustangs, but the characters of K.C., Julia, Dawn, Sally, Vern, etc., just didn't pull me in the way Ms. Eagle's novels usually do. I couldn't wait to finish it so I could get started on the other Eagle novel I recently purchased.

Meyer patiently, carefully lays out what he can of the life of Gram Parsons, from well before his birth to well after his death in 1973. While no biography can ever claim to be exhaustive (not Boswell's fat Life of Johnson, nor Malone's 6-volume Jefferson), Meyer does as fine and thorough a job of explaining GP's life as one might expect. At well over 500 pages, the book never seems too much in a hurry, and this is mostly a positive, though I learned a bit more about the pre-Gram days than I cared to.

But it's all here, laid out well: family wealth and decadent, alcoholic lifestyles, his father's--Coon Dog's--suicide, his mother Avis's death by alchohol, his stepfather's (Bob Parson's) later death by the same, his love of music (the ongoing explanation of this is one of the book's greatest strengths), early bands, flunking out of Harvard, various girlfriends and wives, life in NYC, then LA, playing with the Intl Sub Band, the Byrds, the Burritos, and his solo career (w/ Emmylou), his friendship with Keith Richards (and the jealously of Mick), drug use (and more drug use), commercial failures and artistic successes, the fateful day at Joshua Tree and the tragic foolishness regarding his corpse. Meyer leaves few stones unturned. He has done his homework on Parsons, he has obviously spent a lot of time interviewing familiy members and friends, and he has great respect for and understanding of Parsons's music, as well as that of his contemporaries and his many influences (Elvis, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, George Jones, the Louvin Brothers, etc.).

Maybe it's me, but Meyer's occasional use of the colloquialism is a bit annoying, and the book is plagued (though not fatally) with some wordiness and repetition. The length doesn't bother me so much as some laziness in revision. Tightly-written prose this is not. Also, some of Meyer's opinions seem questionable. As one reviewer points out, the idea that GP is a superior record to Grievous Angel is a bit odd, at best. Fans will, of course, disagree, but I think Grievous is GP's very best record, though I also love the first Burritos record. (I'd put GP third.) Meyer goes on and on about how badly it--the first Burritos (Gilded Palace of Sin)--is produced. I say, make your point and move on, man! It doesn't seem all that badly produced; I like its rawness. I also disagree with him regarding Parsons's touring band, the Fallen Angels, which he disses pretty throroughly as a "mediocre band." They were actually pretty good. Meyer makes other claims that strike me as iffy, at best.

Meyer claims that Parsons is more central in American music than Dylan or anyone else. That is hogwash. For what it's worth, I don't think ANYONE is as central as Dylan, though, to say the least, it's difficult to quantify influence. Yet I do believe that Parsons's influence is enormous and enduring, and Meyer gives good insight into why this is true. I recommend this book without hesitation to anyone interested in knowing more about this great musician. Not that I don't want to know about his drug use, girlfriends, palling around with the rich and famous, and so on, but I care much more about the life of the mind--what makes the man tick--and Meyer delivers sufficiently on that.

P.S. Living in northeast Arkansas, I was horrified and embarrassed to read Meyer's account of GP's rough--but perhaps partially justified--treatment by the Blytheville police in 1973. (Some of the Stones, following Parsons' lead, would get busted in the state a few years later!) But the explanation of what led the police to beat and arrest him, supplied by Fallen Angels guitarist Jock Bartley, made me laught out loud. At 2:30 AM Parsons and his wife are arguing loudly in their motel room, so responding to a complaint, the police arrive and pound loudly on his motel door. Bartley: "Gram, reacting to the aggressive police, staggers and takes a step back and launches a roundhouse right punch that misses by three or four feet, I mean it wasn't even close." The next day Parsons was out of jail, and the band couldn't leave Arkansas quickly enough.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT COMPANION TO THE DVD "GRAM PARSONS - FALLEN ANGEL".

IT IS VERY COMPREHESIVE, AND COVERS GRAM'S LIFE FROM CHILDHOOD, THROUHGOUT HIS LIFE AND CAREER. IT COVERS HIS BIRTH IN WINTERHAVEN, FLORIDA (HE WAS BORN TO A WEATHLY SOUTHERN FAMILY WHO OWNED NEARLY HALF OF THE ORANGE GROVES IN FLORIDA). IT COVERS THAT HE MOVED TO WAYCROSS, GEORGIA AS AN EARLY CHILD, AND THE INFLUENCE THAT HIS SOUTHERN UPBRINING HAD ON HIM.

THE BOOK COVERS HIS MUSICAL CAREER IN THE INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE BAND, THE BYRDS, THE FLYING BURITTO BROTHERS, AND HIS SOLO ALBUMS (WITH EMMLY LOU HARRIS).

HIS MUSIC WAS VERY UNIQUE AND SPECIAL!!!

GRAM WAS LEGENDARY FOR BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN COUNTRY MUSIC AND ROCK AND ROLL. HE LIKED TO CALL IT "COSMIC AMIERICAN MUSIC".

MOST OF HIS CAREER WAS SPENT IN CALIFORNIA. HE LOVED THE JOSUHA TREEE NATIOANL PARK.

THE BOOK COVERS HIS EARLY DEATH AT THE JOSUHA TREE PARK LODGE. IT COVERS THE CONTROVERY OVER THE STEALING OF HIS BODY, WHERE MOST OF IT WAS BURNED IN THE JOSUHA TREE PARK. (THIS WAS A PACK HE HAD MADE WITH HIS MANAGER). HOWEVER, HIS REMAINING FAMILY WANTED HIM TO BE BURIED IN NEW ORLEANS, SO WHAT WAS LEFT OF HIS BODY, WAS BURIED IN METARIE, NEAR NEW ORLEANS.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK, ABOUT A GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC LEGEND, WHO DIED WAY TOO SOON. HOWEVER, HIS MUSIC WILL LAST FOREVER!!!

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK TO GO WITH THE DVD GRAM PARSONS "FALLEN ANGEL"!!! I RECOMMEND THEM BOTH!!!

I've read many biographies of rock personalities and other famous people. This one is better than most. It provides a balanced viewpoint with input from varying sources. A good read for Gram Parsons fans.

This book starts REALLY slowly!!! It digs really deeply into Gram's family ..... generations before he's born. I'm sure the stories about his well-to-do family was meant to add background to his own messed-up personality. But it was really boring. The book picks up when Gram finally gets out and starts making music.

I've already read the Ben Fong-Torres bio, as well as the Sid Griffin bio.....now, while I am not a Gram-o-phile, I am most definitely a Nez-head. And based on the countless errors I am reading about Mike Nesmith, I wonder just how much research went into this book?

1) "Nesmith...the iconic Monkee, the one who could actually play his instrument." Never mind that Peter Tork was a clasically trained pianist, French horn player and FAR better guitarist than Nesmith...

2) Red Rhodes was "a regular contributor to ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith's country-rock First National Band." Hmmm...seems he ought to have been *in* the band with all of those contributions....oh wait....he was.

3) David Barry "played piano on Michael Nesmith's Country Time Records recordings." They served a lot of lemonade during those sessions, apparently. It was Countryside Records.

4) Red Rhodes "played on Elvis Presley's records." Let's name them:

5)Red Rhodes was the CMA's "Steel Guitar Player of the Year from 1965 through 1968." Close...but Red did not win in 1966. Ralph Mooney and Tom Brumley shared the award that year.

That many omissions on some sidebars to the main story make me wonder how many omissions are in the main story itself.

I first read Donald Burgett's "Currahee" way back around 1975 or so. Many years later with the popularity of "D-Day","Citizen Soldiers" and "Band of Brothers" by Steven Ambrose I decided to re-read "Curahee". On doing so I found to my pleasant surprise that Don Burgett had continued his saga with "The Road to Arnhem - A Screaming Eagle in Holland".

When I re-read "Curahee" I found that it now seemed to me compelling but almost amateurish in its writing. Certainly as a 15 year old it had seemed more polished. But I was very pleasantly surprised by "The Road to Arnhem". While still compelling in its honest recitation of Donald Burgett's experiences as a member of the famed 101st Airborne infantry in World Wary Two, "Arnhem" is both more polished and more insightful into not only the events as they occured but also the author's feelings both at the time and in retrospect. For those of us who have never experienced combat Don Burgett does an excellent job of not only describing the physical nature but also of what was going through his mind as the events happened. The author also gives a wonderful tribute to the part played in the operation by both the British and Polish airborne troops - his sense of comraderie with these fellow troops is evident.

For anyone interested in a "ground eye view" of events of Operation Market Garden this book is a must.

I had a hard time understanding why Burgett's book about WW2 are
such good reads. The prose is relatively simple and direct, and
he most certainly does not rely on any literary devices. But perhaps it is exaclty
this, together with the fact that the man must have a most extraordinary
memory (or most vivid imagination - although I assume the former),
that makes these books so gripping. His books do transport
the reader back to the fields and foxholes of Europe in late 1944.
While no book can bring across the actual firsthand experience of war,
Burgett's books are probably as close as one can get.

The real story of how the pompous banty rooster General Montgomery nearly lost the war on the Western front. It is a tale of arrogance and betrayal, wherein the betrayed fought nobly and many gave their last measure of devotion to a lost cause.

This is Burgett's personal account in Operation Market Garden. A good read if you enjoy first-person accounts sprinkled with liberal dose of humor.

Donald Burgett's "The Road to Arnhem" is a gripping look into the lives of paratroopers involved in arguably the greatest feat of arms ever attempted by airborne troops - the Market portion of Operation Market-Garden.

For those who might not already know the basic story of Operation Market-Garden, it was the brainchild of commander 21st Army Group, British Field Marshal Bernard ('Monty') Montgomery. Monty conceived of Market-Garden as a war-winning 'knife-like' stab (to borrow terms from Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower) into the heart of Germany. By using a combined airborne and armored-infantry attack through Holland as an end run to the North around the main defenses of the West Wall (aka, Seigfreid Line to the Allies) to the Rhine at the Dutch-German border city of Arnhem, Monty hoped to cross the Rhine and push on to the Ruhr - the industrial heart of the Reich, and possibly straight on to Berlin. The airborne portion of the Operation, code named Market, was to lay a carpet of men from the start point on the Belgian-Dutch border to Arnhem, capturing all the necessary bridges spanning the various rivers and cannals along the single major highway running through this region of Holland and securing the flanks such that the Garden portion of the operation could be put into affect. Garden represented the armored-infantry portion of the operation, a thrust up this single highway by British XXX Corps to and across the Rhine at Arnhem. Operation Market-Garden was extremely bold and imaginative but suffered considerably from the standpoint of tactical and logistical options, relying exclusively on a single route from Belgium to the Reich, and near perfect timing of all portions of the operation. While Monty later claimed 'ninety percent success' for Market-Garden, it was a clear tactical and strategic failure that contributed significantly, if not directly, to attrition warfare of the fall-winter '44-45 the Allies were to endure. Considerable human and material wastage occurred as a result of Operation Market-Garden for essentially no tactical or strategic gain. "The Road to Arnhem" is one mans take on this Operation and its impact on those taking part in it.

Burgett doesn't hold back in his descriptions of his daily travails as an airborne trooper. This is not a book for the faint of heart wishing to have war completely sanitized. Rather the reader sees all the warts, brutality and heartbreak of war. If not a great writer, Burgett is in fact a solid storyteller who sucks in the reader to be part of the 'band of brothers' to which he belonged. Fortunately for the reader Burgett not only tells a story of this portion of the war as he saw it, but places this firmly within the context of greater Market-Garden Operation as a whole. In doing so Burgett gives the reader the broader picture of war since the experiences of a single trooper is but a tiny portion of the whole, often limited in space to hundred of yards to a few miles over the entire period of a 1-2 week-long operation. Many readers familiar with Market-Garden will also get the bonus of reading about 101st operations post achievement of their goals but within the temporal window of the Operation on the whole. Upon reading most accounts of Market-Garden readers might tend to think that the paratroopers only captured bridges and waited for XXX Corps. In fact they were in action throughout the month of September '44, although not always on Hell's Highway.

"The Road to Arnhem" is a 4.5 star read worthy of praise and wider readership.