Rating: 
Summary: John McCain's Faith of My Fathers defines values and heroism
Review: Don't read this book for its literary qualities; Read it for the story. McCain hales from a line of military figures who knew the meaning of honor, faith, and valor. He followed the family example and his recollections of Vietnam as a POW are extremely moving. At a time when so many despised America, he grew to love it - in the squalor of prison camps. Suffering may not make people heroes but it unquestionably enobled John McCain. The book is an inspiration. Its faults are minor although the loose ends about McCain's personal life are a distraction. Faith of My Fathers should be required reading for young people and all of us who wonder if character and integrity still reside in the political ethos.
Rating: 
Summary: Every single person will learn from John McCain's story.
Review: Like many young people who never knew World War I and II, Korea or Vietnam, the harrowing experiences of war have always remained at a safe distance. John McCain's memoir shoved the truth in my face. Just as the opening sequences of "Saving Private Ryan" force you to open your eyes and really see, so does John McCain's story of the imprisonment experienced by American POWs in Vietnam. One of countless American heroes, this memoir incorporates the lives of his Grandfather and Father, both four star Admirals in the Navy, and shows how both his family's values and his experiences as a POW in Vietnam for 5 1/2 years shaped his life, defined his principles and beliefs, and will impact yours too. John McCain's love of America and Americans was built through generations of leading by example and his story will prove that he intends to do the same. This story must be read and passed to others.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting account of many great men's greatness
Review: Although I was disappointed that the senator means something by "faith" that is quite different from the "Faith of Our Fathers" that Christians think of, I found it a very worthwhile read. The story of the greatness of his father and grandfather sets the stage for the senator's humility in the telling of his own story, and his accounts of many who displayed even greater heroism in the Hanoi Hilton than he did are mentioned with great respect. I have heard accounts from other fellow POWs who outranked Lt. McCain, but it was fascinating to read details that I had not heard before. But why couldn't they put some photos in the book, as is usual for military histories?
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book on faith and courage
Review: Books about faith, courage and those that demonstrate andinspire these emotions are my favorites. Martin Gilbert's "Winston Churchil, A Life" and Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage" hold a prominant place in my library. To get there, these books need to inspire me - provide me with amazing, real examples of human beings accomplishing seemingly superhuman things in the face of odds that normal people can barely imagine. Inevitably, these books reveal the profound strength gained through faith - in oneself, in God and in one's country. Churchill loved England so much, he spent all his life in her service - to the betterment of all the world and - one could say - at great sacrifice to himself. McCain can be counted in the same league. As I am a die-hard Churchill fan, this is a big compliment. Just as Churchill distinguished himself as a writer for his unique prose and delivery, Senator McCain does too. His is a uniquely American voice - rougher, updated and uncut. The American audience will identify with his prose, and will weep at his indomitable strength, faith and courage in the face of adverisity. I did. And I welcome the addition of this fine volume to my library as well as John McCain into the larger political stage.
Rating:
Summary: An easy read, but seems superficial.
Review: Senator McCain's book is an easy read but as it is what he calls a "family memoir," it seems superficial. The section on his grandfather is brief and the information in it could easily have come from any number of books on naval leaders of World War II. There is irony abounding, not the least of which is the fact that the very things he rebeled so much against in his youth are the things that sustained him while he was a prisoner of war. From what he candidly writes of himself, I don't know that I would have wanted to have served with or under Senator McCain. I can't help but wonder what he would have been like if his Vietnam experience hadn't changed him. The book leaves unanswered questions: what happened to his father after he retired? What happened to his first wife? Having read Robert Timberg's book THE NIGHTINGALE'S SONG, I feel Timberg told the McCain story best. The POW section of the book is both sad and uplifting. One minor gripe. I went through Navy flight school and one thing that was constantly drummed into us was to "pay attention to detail." Too bad the editor of this book didn't do so. For example, the Japanese planes referred to in the first section were not "Julys, Gills, and Zekes" but "Judys, Jills, and Zekes." Further the news of Pearl Harbor did not come to the US on a Sunday morning; due to the time difference the news came in the afternoon. Minor things, but those are things that an editor or proofer should have caught. In any event, adversity seems to have made McCain a better man. America is better for it.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this autobiography of a living American hero
Review: Sen. McCain's story should be recommended reading for our young men who are looking for a living hero to emulate. His extraordinary courage in the Hanoi prison camp, despite the fact that his captors wished to exploit his status, is a lesson for all of us.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful historical summary of american heroism
Review: This book provides a welcome insight into the man John McCain. As a senator we do not often see the spark of unrulyness that got him through his trials and tribulations of Vietnam. This book documents his heritage and his path and how he kept the "Faith of my Fathers." The book is well written and well paced. Somebody that is not familiar with the history will have no problem understanding the era and the problems. After reading this book, I have found a new respect and even some admiration for Senator McCain.
Rating:
Summary: This is NOT the typical campaign autobiography
Review: A wonderful book that describes heroism not as a search for glory, but as simple fidelity to duty. McCain portrays his father and grandfather not as perfect icons, but as flawed human beings who rose to the occasion, and he portrays himself during his captivity in North Vietnam not as a hero, but as someone who sometimes failed to live up to his own high standards of resistance, and who was tempted to betray those standards by accepting early release, only to learn much later that the release would have been timed to embarrass the US by coinciding with his father assuming command as Commander in Chief of US Forces in the Pacfic. Other politicians tend to describe their "youthful indiscretions" in vague "what I may or may not have done" language. McCain describes his with forthright candor, and in the process demonstrates that heroism is not something achieved by extraordinary men, but is rather something that is achieved by ordinary men doing their sometimes imperfect best to hold themselves to extraordinary standards. The book ends with the release of the POWs by North Vietnam. I would have liked more, especially about how McCain's peripheral involvement in the "Keating Five" matter (he was essentially exonerated, but has conceded being insufficiently sensitive to appearances) is related to his passionate committment to campaign finance reform, but maybe that is material for a sequel. I will certainly buy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Made me tired
Review: I din't like this book because it was a poorly written, loosely connected quilt of metaphorical jargon. The shear nature of this story is almost enough to hold the book together, but the writing actually takes away from this horrific experience. I feel bad that McCain's remarkable story is told so unremarkably, and it's a shame that he put so little effort into this attempt to cash in on his terrible ordeal. McCain's loose and often times, disjointed, prose is hard to follow. This is epitomized when he describes his solitary confinement. "The next three months I spent in solitary confinement" is how McCain describes that part of his torture. He quickly moves on by saying, "My wife, we'll call her Ginny for now, never made me soup, but there was plenty of it in that hole. Nope, never had rice in me soup, plenty of carrots. The 'hole' that's what we called her, and she was dark as the night sky at high noon. When I got out, my eyes burned like an Injun had put fire in them, but I never had rice in me soup."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent piece of work esp recommended for ex-military
Review: incredible events, the honesty and integrity that this man has is not only refreshing, but was a great way of validating shared core values. I salute you and would be honored to serve with you anywhere anytime.
|
