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Summary: Author of "Sleeping Dragon"
Review: Trying to be literary, all I can say is "Wow!" Reading W.E.B. Griffin for the past 20 plus years is what pressed me into writing my book. His style is clean and easy to believe. With 20 years in the military I feel that I have served with some of the characters he develops. I have lived in Korea a total of 15 years since the late 60's. The scenes he develops in this book are clear and accurate. I could almost go looking for the house he describes. All I can say is, "save me a copy of the next book in this series... I am ready right now to read it!"
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Summary: Vintage Griffin
Review: W.E.B. Griffin fans will love RETREAT, HELL! It is a real page turner. After receiving an advance copy from Putman in early December I immediately began reading and couldn't put down until the very end. It is vintage Griffin and shows time and care in writing that was lacking in his last Corps novel. It has excellent editing (as opposed to the terrible editing in UNDER FIRE.) Action is nonstop with twists and surpises throughout. I could tell you what some of these are but don't want to spoil readers enjoyment. It will go down as one of Griffin's best.Ed Evanhoe, Author: DARKMOON: Eighth Army Special Operations in the Korean War
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Summary: Your soldier uncle comes to visit . . .
Review: W.E.B. Griffin is a legendary storyteller. His characters not only live, but grow. They are not supermen or superwoman, but ordinary people thrown into the maelstrom of war. They possess virtues despised by many now: a love of their country, a sense of duty and a willingness to surrender their lives for something they believe in.
And Griffin, like Shakespeare, does not shrink from seeing good people meet bad ends. He tells of life as it is in war: people, good people, are grievously injured and sometimes die.
But a Griffin novel is an uplifting experience. He does not glorify war nor does he mask or enhance its brutality. He simply tells a story, deeply moving stories.
In "Retreat, Hell!" many of the charcters from his previous novels are with us, older now, more experienced. It is a story of the Korean Conflict from June through Novermber, 1950. Mistakes at high level abound --- such as the failure of MacArthur's intelligence to detect the threats of North Korean invasion and Chinese intervention. But the ingenuity of the American soldier, so often a civilian just weeks before, is well described. Not unlike the sargeant who in a French field improvised a blade to plow through the hedgerows, Griffin's main characters adapt to the circumstances. A few high-level officers subtly avoid the bureaucracy and let the real soldiers fight their war.
By the end of the day, the main points of history are still intact: General MacArthur made grievous mistakes as did the CIA and the politicians. The soldiers, however, anonymous and unsung do their job and fight beyond the call of duty. No glorious heros these; just ordinary men doing extraordinary things, as one Marine said.
Griffin's genius is being able to tell such a story naturally, simply and utterly compellingly. Jerry
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Summary: Terrific book , in spite of a few warts!
Review: Well, "Killer" McCoy , Ernie Zimmerman , George Hart , and "Flem" Pickering are back in action again! I really hate the long waits between the installments of "The
corps" , but it usually is worth it. And "Retreat,Hell" is no exception to this rule. The novel picks up shortly after the Inchon Invasion has succeeded in a spectacular fashion , with McCoy , Zimmerman , and technical sergeant Jennings on patrol. "Pick" Pickering , General Pickering's son , has been shot down and missing in action as a carryover from the novel , "Under Fire", that immediately precedes the current work. The patrol narrowly misses finding young Pickering , but manages to effect the capture of a North Korean officer thought by McCoy to be a high level intelligence officer. Through many twists and turns of plot , evidence of Communist Chinese , intent to intervene in the war are unearthed by McCoy and Zimmerman. What really keeps us riveted to the book is the unwillingness of those of MacArthur's staff to pay any attention.
The interaction of General Pickering , General Ralph Howe , and others with President Harry S Truman keeps us turning page after page. It is not really my intent to give a blow-by-blow synopsis of the book ; it would spoil the outcome for the reader. On my "warts" list , I only comment that WEB sometimes loses touch with the characters he has created : in "Under Fire", Pick Pickering' paramour , Jeanette Priestly , is described as a "lanky brunette" , but in "Retreat, Hell", she removes her cap to release "her long blonde hair"! Whoops! I sadly miss many of the characters WEB introduced and developed so well in the WW-II episodes :Steve Koffler , Robert "Easterbunny" Easterbrook , sergeant Percy Everly , and Jim Weston. Perhaps we'll see these characters all "returned to duty" in the next installment. The Korean War isn't over yet , so there is still lots of potential left in this series. Still my favorite series from my favorite author. As usual , I can't wait for the "next one". I just gotta give it five stars !
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Summary: The Master is Back!
Review: While I was sadly disappointed with his "Under Fire", especially because of the miserable, maybe not even existent, editing...well, that is past. Old friend WEB is back in harness and in fine fettle, indeed. There are a couple of warts, but aren't they in any book? Jeanette Priestley of the Chicago Trib, is a brunette in "Under Fire", and a sexy blonde in the new book. So what! Even my wife is sometimes known to use the industrial version. This book is truly a return to the old masterhood in military story telling. Buy the book, it is worth to be in your personal library. PS: Is that a Cuban cigar he is smoking in the picture of the book jacket? UUUUUUUH! Dat's a nono!Tsk, tsk, tsk!
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Summary: WHat Picture?
Review: Why would any supposed writer/historian have, as his cover jacket picture, a Marine PFC, from 1st MarDiv, sprinting across "Death Valley" in Okinawa, in the Spring of 1945? Wrong war........wrong location.
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