Rating: 
Summary: A Reminder of Courage, Honor, and Duty
Review: Bob Greene's father, a World War II veteran, often spoke in admiration of Paul Tibbets who lived in quiet solitude in their hometown in Ohio. Tibbets was, in the eyes of Greene's father, "the man who won the war." After Greene's father passed away, Greene began a quest to better understand his father and the generation from which he came. Tibbets, who piloted the bomber which dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, became a mentor and friend. Through Tibbet's remembrances and Greene's memories of his father, the book becomes an absorbing and intimate tribute from a son to his father and to a generation whose values were embodied in the concepts of honor, duty, and courage. This is a wonderfully well written book replete with fascinating insights into the personality of the man who triggered the most devastating act in the history of man.I re-read portions of this book after the tragic events of September 11 as a reminder to myself of the courage and unselfishness of past Americans who did their duty in a time of war. I recommend it as a reminder of those veterans as well as an interesting and insightful look at the importance of determination and strength during anxious times.
Rating:
Summary: A Reminder of Courage, Honor, and Duty
Review: Bob Greene's father, a World War II veteran, often spoke in admiration of Paul Tibbets who lived in quiet solitude in their hometown in Ohio. Tibbets was, in the eyes of Greene's father, "the man who won the war." After Greene's father passed away, Greene began a quest to better understand his father and the generation from which he came. Tibbets, who piloted the bomber which dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, became a mentor and friend. Through Tibbet's remembrances and Greene's memories of his father, the book becomes an absorbing and intimate tribute from a son to his father and to a generation whose values were embodied in the concepts of honor, duty, and courage. This is a wonderfully well written book replete with fascinating insights into the personality of the man who triggered the most devastating act in the history of man. I re-read portions of this book after the tragic events of September 11 as a reminder to myself of the courage and unselfishness of past Americans who did their duty in a time of war. I recommend it as a reminder of those veterans as well as an interesting and insightful look at the importance of determination and strength during anxious times.
Rating: 
Summary: Bob Greene gets it right in "Duty"
Review: Bob Greene's moving book is rewarding at two levels. Hereveals new first-person details of Col. Paul Tibbets and hisHiroshima atomic-bombing mission that convinced the Japanese to finally end the terrible war. He draws out the thoughts and actions of young Tibbets and his men as they planned and carried out their gigantic responsibility. More profoundly, through conversations with Tibbets today and revealing introspection about his own father's Army service in Italy, Greene uncovers the intricate cultural connections binding the wartime generation and today's America. Asking few questions, making no demands they did their duty, putting their lives on hold and on the line to win the war and secure the peaceful, prosperous post-war nation. Today's generation hardly recognizes these warriors but owes everything to them.
Rating:
Summary: Moving Must Read
Review: Bob Greene's style will draw you in. You cannot help but be moved by the emotions carried from the war through present day. Michael Jordan, although a great athlete, pales in comparison to the heroics of the characters - including Bob Greene's father. It's history with emotion - you'll want to finish right away.
Rating: 
Summary: All hail a Mass Murderer
Review: Don't waste your money on a book that glorifies on of the greatest mass murderers in the history of the world. What is heroic about fliying over a city and dropping an atomic bomb, on defenseless civilians. According to this type of logic Hitler, Stalin, and Reagan (responsible for the carnage of the 80's against the people of central and south America) , were also heroes. This is simply a case of mindless slaughter, and dispect for life. Why not read John Hersey's Hiroshima, or Masuji Ibuse's Black Rain if you want to see the real results of Tibbet's cowardly act of moral blindness.
Rating:
Summary: A Requiem for a Generation!
Review: Duty, A Father, His Son and the Man Who Won the War,by Bob Greene, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune, is a requiem for the generation that fought World War II. I recommend it to all who served or who still honor the sacrifices made in the name of Honor,Duty & Country. It is a emotionally gripping story that will hold your attention from beginning to end. Greene is at the height of his story telling ability with this one.
Rating: 
Summary: too Many Books In One
Review: First of all I love Bob Greene's work and stories of WWII. However, I did not enjoy Duty. I felt that the thing that make Greene's columns so good made the book hard to read. This topic should not be handled like a column in the paper on a Sunday morning. I've read most of Stephen Ambroses accounts of WWII and find his interviews with vets to be much more insightful than Greenes with Tibbets. I felt the author attempted to write a book about his dad, Tibbets and his relationship with his dad which appeared to be strained at times as he grew up. I did not feel that he did a good job with any of these subjects. I believe both his dad and his relation with his dad and Tibbets deserved their own stories. Again, I love Greene's work I just believe these subjects deserved better from an accomplished author.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written and powerful, if a little bit disjointed
Review: First, unlike many of the books currently being published to honor the World War II generation, "Duty" is extremely well-written. Bob Greene has found a winning subject, but he also is a terrific writer. The quality of the prose alone makes this book worth reading. In addition, Greene manages to strike an excellent balance between the factual structure of his narrative and its emotional content. He neither wallows in maudlin sentiment, as easy as it would be to do that with this affecting story of his father's WWII experiences and the compelling history of Col. Tibbetts, nor does he turn this into a dry biography. My only complaint is that Greene's efforts to link his father's story with Tibbetts are not entirely convincing. The two men fought in entirely different theaters of the war, and while Tibbetts was a nationally recognized celebrity, Greene was one of the many unsung heroes from the war. While both the stories are moving, I would rather have seen them kept separate.
Rating:
Summary: Great Reading
Review: For those who enjoy the human side of war, his is a very touching and fascinating story to read. I enjoyed it very much and found the stories and the writing style excellent
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Summary: A Generation and Its Children Saying Goodbye
Review: Greene is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune and Life and is the SON;FATHER is Bob's father, once a Major in the 91st Infantry Division of WW II -famed for Its role in the Italian campaign; THE MAN WHO WON THE WAR is retired Brig. General Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B29 that took the A-bomb to Hiroshima. The father lived in Columbus, Ohio and Bob had grown up there. Father would announce now and then: "That man going(standing)there is Paul Tibbets". Bob contacted Tibbets and they became friends just days before the father died . Not stated, but clear to the reader: Bob is going to be writing articles in the Tribune and, finally, this book. His quest was to understand his father's generation and to find out Paul's feelings about dropping the bomb. Bob learns about the disgust and disappointment his father's generation has for those whose freedom they preserved with such devotion to purpose. The current and older generation have quite different rules for societal conduct and that accounts for a lot of the differences. But in my view the most salient point Paul makes in their many discussions is the one about discipline. To do great things, he said, you must have discipline. We had it. Much of today's society doesn't have it and it shows in so many ways. No, Paul didn't lose any sleep over dropping the bomb. It was an 1,800 man project which he was under orders to organize and lead. Countless men and their relatives wrote him to express their thanks for saving them from a bloody invasion of Japan's home islands. The toughest people for him to make understand were those who would say, "why didn't you just tell them you didn't want to do it." But he did want to do it.
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