One Man's War

Rating:
Summary: An amazing true story that ought to be made into a film.
Review: I listened to this book as an unabridged book on CD and it was just an excellent true story. It follows Tommy from his youth in Texas, through joining the army air force because patriotism and a love of flying when the war broke out, going to England, then being shot down over France in his B-17, joining the French resistance, being betrayed to the Germans by a French traitor on the eve of his return to England, being sentenced to death as a spy by the Germans, at the last minute being sent to a POW camp instead, then more camps as he was moved further ever more east, then his escape, then joining with a Russian army unit attacking from the East, seeing the Mongolian terror troops the Russians were using the scare the hell out of even the SS, meeting and falling in love with the beautiful Rosa when the Russians captured the concentration camp she was being held in, finally the end of the war, return to France with his beloved Rosa with the intent to take her back to Texas and then a surprise ending that just kicks the wind out of you because you think it's building up to a big happy ending. Reality is not like that.

A fantastic read (or listen) and it's all true.

By the way, the beautiful girl Tommy fell in love with, Rosa, was a Polish girl, not a Russian like the Amazon book rview says. To call her a Russian in light of what happens at the end of the book is an outrageous error.

Rating:
Summary: A unique war memoir
Review: One Man's War is the gripping and harrowing memoir of Tommy Lamore, who served in the Army Air Corps during WWII. The bright-eyed kid from Waco, Texas, who had always dreamed of being a flier, soon learned that war is not just guts and glory. As a B17 tailgunner flying bombing missions over Europe, Lamore experienced the nerve-shattering onslaught of noise and violent motion, the sustained panic of a man fighting for survival against skilful foes and just plain bad luck.

The accounts of these battle scenes expertly evoke the sights and sounds of air battle. Flak barrages, numbing cold, hurtling fighter planes trying to shoot Lamore out of the sky; it really feels that personal. We feel the relief of the arrival of American air cover, we are heartened by the sight of safe haven, and we are awed by the courage it took to fight off the sheer exhaustion and fear, just to get back up in the air and do it all again.

When Lamore's plane was downed by a freak accident over France, he was sheltered by local people, evaded Nazi search parties and was recruited by the French Resistance. His training in munitions made him valuable in sabotage operations, and for a while he lived an dangerous and exciting undercover life.

His sudden betrayal to the Gestapo led him to the hell-on-earth of the Nazi prison camps. The physical and psychological tortures and a dipththeria epidemic took their toll, but Lamore survived with his spirit intact, finally escaping from a death-camp on the German-Polish border. Luckily, he encountered the advancing Russian Army, and joined them as they pushed the Germans back towards Berlin. He found he was traveling with a Mongolian Terror-Troop unit. It is not often that Americans can read of the Russians' contribution to winning the war, let alone the Mongolians', and these passages are memorable. I found myself wondering what it was that made Mongolian fighting methods seem even more barbaric than the Europeans'. Was it just the context of European soil? Or some holdover from the 'chivalry' of classic European-style warfare? Were they more likely to kill you than any other soldier? Whatever it was, they scared the hell out of the Germans.

One Man's War contains another unique twist - a love story in the midst of horror. The Russian unit liberates a women's prison camp, where unspeakable crimes have been committed. Among the freed prisoners is a Polish woman, Rosa, who speaks English. She and Lamore fall in love, comforting and healing each other as they continue onwards with the Mongolian unit.

Eventually, the cease-fire is announced and Lamore makes contact with British troops. He and his beloved Rosa make their way to Paris, where Lamore's dream of bringing her to the States is dashed. Rosa knows she must return to Poland to find her family. Lamore has to let her go, with just a ring to remember her by.

The final episode in the book is also the final straw. Lamore is ordered to return to the death camp from which he escaped, to help the Red Cross document the slaughter that happened there shortly after Lamore's got away. The sight and smell of the place, the memories and nightmares it evokes, push Lamore over the edge into deep despair and fatigue, and he is shipped back to the States.

The sad, but essential, message of this superb story is the horrific toll that war takes, even on the victors. Here, in this book, we witness the worst depravities of which we are capable, the despair and the clawing fear, the paralyzing exhaustion. But also, the hope that even in the midst of the hell we create for ourselves, there is redemption in love, even if only for a while. Lamore was deeply affected, as any sane person would be, by his experiences, but around his neck until he died in 1997 hung the ring that Rosa gave him in Paris.

One Man's War is a finely-written book. Congratulations to Dan A. Baker for capturing Tommy Lamore's unique story so brilliantly, and bringing it so vividly to life.

Rating:
Summary: A FULFILLING READING EXPERIENCE
Review: Smack dab in the middle of a great, true, WWII story of yearning, fulfillment, capture and escape is a great love story worthy of a poet's description. This book will put you on a roller coaster ride that you will not soon forget; one of the best books I have read this year !

Rating:
Summary: A FULFILLING READING EXPERIENCE
Review: Smack dab in the middle of a great, true, WWII story of yearning, fulfillment, capture and escape is a great love story worthy of a poet's description. This book will put you on a roller coaster ride that you will not soon forget; one of the best books I have read this year !

Rating:
Summary: A Soon To Be Classic
Review: When I first read the dust jacket and saw all the things that Tommy LaMore had to endure during his tour of duty in WWII my first thought was "this must be fiction". Well, it is all true and truly amazing. I have read many personal memiors about WWII and I compare all I read to the two best one: "The Forgotten Soldier" and "With The Old Breed". This book is witout a doubt in that class. I don't say that lightly. Mr. LaMore goes from being a tail gunner on a bomber, to being shot down, to the French underground, to the Soviet army approaching Berlin. Along the way, you will meet some really unique characters. My favorite is the Soviet commander who takes a liking to Tommy and tries to keep him safe until he can be turned over to the British. You will also meet the love of his life when he encounters a womens concentration camp and discovers a beautiful polish surviver. Their story alone is worth the price of the book. Outstanding! I won't tell you how it ends but please, please, get this book. You will remember it long after the last page is turned.