Faith of My Fathers

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Summary: Moving and poignant story about service, falth, and honor
Review: Senator John McCain's recent work, Faith of my Fathers," will not provide political philosophy. It will not discuss his presidential ambitions in 2000. But it will provide a reader with a lot to think about, and a fantastic story.

Sneator McCain's experiences in Vietnam are pretty well known, but the full story is not. Few people would know there is a destroyer named for his father, and that his grandfather was an admiral in Nimitz' fleet. Yet the short time discussing these two important men in his life provide just a further glimpse into what made John McCain into the person we see on TV today.

Following such a tradition as his family started does not appear daunting from what he writes. yet, he accepted his family's calling, and although he did not rise in rank to equal his namesakes, he did serve in just important a fashion, and in a more individually trying way than they did- as a Vietnamese POW.

McCain's experiences in POW camps is gripping. It is painful to hear some things decribed as they were, yet the painful parts are obviously necessary to tell the story. And the story could have had a much different ending had McCain chosen to allow his captors to use him for propaganda against his father, a major military leader during the Vietnam War, by releasing him. Yet McCain did not, and his example he showed then still resonates to day as a model for leaders to follow.

This is a very intersting account of Senator McCain's background, and the small sections on his grandfather and father make it much more compelling. This book deserved your attention.

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Summary: Compelling story, great man, adequate writing
Review: The first quarter of the book highlights McCain's father and grandfather's extraordinary naval careers. His account of his own time at Annapolis is entertaining, although there's much less real "hell-raising" than he initially leads you to believe. (Example: contraband TV hidden in the wall.) His recounting of his time as a POW dominates the last half of the book. Senator McCain goes out of his way to describe the courage of his fellow POWs, and insists again and again that they were more brave and suffered more atrocities than he did.

As for an earlier reviewer's contention that McCain is unfair to Vietnam, I disagree. He seems to feel little if any bitterness towards the country and people of Vietnam. He even compliments a certain region as being a good vacation spot -- remarkable considering he spent 5 years being ceaselessly tormented by his captors in unimaginably bad conditions.

McCain's character is astonishing. Sentences like "I spent the next three months in solitary confinement" compress 90 days of agony into just 9 words. Other writers, perhaps, would write a whole book just about those 3 months. Instead, McCain concentrates on the thoughts and men who helped him through those five years.

As far as the writing itself goes, McCain's facility with language could stand to some improvement. Sometimes sections don't flow together well, or you wonder if you're missing the big picture. This is especially true in the middle-third of the book. His retelling of his namesakes' exploits are interesting and occasionally gripping, but his account of his early years leave you wondering about certain issues: how did he deal with his father's absence, why did he always rebel, how did he treat plebes after his mistreatment at the Academy, etc. He touches on these matters, but doesn't explore them in depth. I think it would have rounded out our picture of McCain the young man.

I also wished there was some discussion of the beginning of his political career, but I guess that can be found in (a) the "American Odyssey" biography, or (b) a possible second memoir.

Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I am as liberal as they come, and rarely agree with McCain politically. But, whatever your persuasion, this book is an interesting read, and you can't help but admire McCain's extraordinary courage and integrity.

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Summary: True Heroism
Review: 'Faith of My Fathers' is the story of three men - the grandfather and father of John McCain, who created a legacy of a life in service for McCain (the third man) to follow. It is their legacies that led the young John McCain to the Naval Academy and to a career in the Navy. Yet the legacy of these two men is wrapped up in morals, values and patriotism - exactly what makes John McCain the great leader that he is.

This book is divided into three sections. It begins with the stories of McCain's grandfather, an admiral in the Navy who fought in WWII. His grandfather is depicted as a true seaman, complete with the language. He then goes on to talk about his father, another Navy admiral, who went on to serve as commander of the Pacific and entire naval force. Greatly influenced by his grandfather and father, McCain received a commission in the Navy and sought to distinguish himself through serving the United States in war. Unfortunately, that war happened to be Vietnam.

The third section of the book deals with McCain's experiences at the Naval Academy and his time as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. McCain recognizes that because of his 'celebrity' status (due to his father's top position), he wasn't mistreated as severely as other prisoners. His accounts of the heroism of these men are extraordinary; the pain they had to endure and the pain that broke them. POWs were forced to make fake confessions, to listen to their former comrades condemn them in public, and to pretend that they were being treated humanely for the world audience.

Throughout his political career, McCain has been known as a POW of Vietnam, yet this is not how he distinguishes himself. He took what he learned from his time as a prisoner and set about living his life, grateful for his experiences. At times the book fluctuates in time periods, which can get rather confusing. Besides the stories of his grandfather and father, and his time as a POW, McCain and co-author Mark Salter, weave in the world events - what went wrong in Vietnam, what could have gone right. McCain lets his opinion be known, but recognizes that terrible responsibility that comes in waging war. He has proven himself to be a hero worthy of admiration and the responsibility of leadership.

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Summary: Great Man -- Good Book
Review: Autobiography that starts two generations ago. Those readers accustomed to the usual self-serving political memoir will be plesantly surprised. McCain's book begins with mini bios of both his father and his grandfather, hence the title. While the early third of the book dealing with his family tree may be a bit slow going once he gets into his own bio in the middle third, the book really starts to heat up.

John's willingness to reveal his own personal peccadillos and weaknesses is truly refreshing for a former and hopefully future Presidential candidate. For example, in the chapter entitled Low Grease, John recounts a quite hilarious anecdote about a visit to meet his girfriend's proper Main Line Philadelphia family for the first time. Unfortunately his train connections allowed him to accept the offers of several fellow travelers to join them for some beers. He relates how, after several hours of drinking at the 30th Street Station in Philly, he finally catches the last train to the girl's town. You can easily conjur the vision of him making his grand entrance wearing his Naval Academy Dress White Uniform.

The book really becomes a page-turner in the final third when John details in often excrutiating detail his time spent in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp now infamously known as the Hanoi Hilton. His descriptions are surprisingly not tinged with bitterness or rancor. Apparently enough time has elapsed to allow his mental (but not physical) wounds to heal. This period details how the POWs used various mental techniques to survive, how they created alternative means of communication, how they organized and how they relied on one another.

The book ends with his and his fellow POWs release from the POW camp. This abrupt ending clearly leaves the readers hungry for more information, more narrative of his post-POW life. Luckily there are other later John McCain volumes which are available to nourish the hungry reader. But that's another review.

This volume should be required reading for all students of the Vietnam War and for every American regardless of their age, race, gender or poltical party.

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Summary: INSPIRING WORK BY A REMARKABLE MAN
Review: FAITH OF MY FATHERS in John McCain's book about service, courage, duty, and family honor. The first 100 pages deals with McCain's grandfather and father. Both were admirals in the Navy. His grandfather fought in both World Wars and his father fought in WW2 through the Vietnam War where he was CINCPAC. McCain followed the family tradition of the Naval Academy and service as an aviator until he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967. While McCain was a POW at the notorious Hanoi Hilton, his father was in charge as CINCPAC, which caused him lenient treatment by his captors at the expense of his fellow prisoners.

Most remarkable about McCain's story is his self-deprecation, apology, and forgiveness. He often remarked that other prisoners were tortured more and treated far worse than himself because of his father's admiralty. (This from a man who endured two broken arms and a broken leg upon ejection from his downed aircraft and then received wholly inadequate medical care.) He has no reason to apologize, in this reader's estimation.

McCain refused early release and endured more torture for refusing to save his father embarrassment and preserve family honor. Touchingly, it is during McCain's imprisonment that he loved his country the most. Deprived of all he held dear he was thankful to be an American and all the privilege that entailed.

For a man who endured 6 years of torment, it is amazing to me how easily he forgives those who collaborated with the enemy, or misguidedly supported the antiwar movement at his expense. His forgiveness is not confined to those who were the worst offenders either. McCain extended his forgiveness to those who abused him earlier in life at the Naval Academy because they resented the station of his father and grandfather. McCain never named names, and surely spared many alive today the shame they richly earned.

John McCain comes off as a genuinely compassionate and thoughtful man. His words humble the reader in his love of country and sense of duty and honor.

The book ends with McCain's release by his captors, leaving the reader wanting to know much more about his career of continuing service to the United States and his attempt to become President. Truly an inspiring work.

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Summary: very moving story
Review: I often wonder how the being a POW would shake your resolve and faith for the country, and wonder if I could do it. After reading this book I am no closer to the dicision that I could survive it, but it makes you proud to know that there are americans like John Mccain out there. This book doesn't just cover the time in prision though, but rather his life up until he was released as well as the lives of his father and grandfather. A must read for anyone interested in history.

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Summary: A Great Patriot
Review: I couldn't put this book down. A great, smooth read about the three John McCains. An awesome family history that teaches about fathers and sons and wars. The relationships between these men were stronger than I imagined. I recommend this book to everyone to see how a true patriot serves their country.

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Summary: What it's really like to be a POW!
Review: Although this book starts off a little slow, you need to know John's background to understand him and why he is where he is, at this time. What powerful family figures to look up to! As a Navy veteran myself, I really enjoyed this family memoir and due to his details of when he was a prisoner of war, I think this story will appeal to many readers, but even more so, to veterans or members of our services. He is to be admired for his endurance and faith!

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Summary: He Serves His Country
Review: A great book to read for all Americans, especially for non-military families.

After reading this book, I began to understand the hardships and sacrifices that people in the military and their families must go through. I also knew very little about what happened in the South Pacific during WWII, what the various strategies were, the major battles, etc. before I picked up the book. The book was hard to put down, was very entertaining to read, at times lighthearted, at other times quite serious, especially during the time McCain was in a POW camp in Vietnam. I liked how the stories were told, I almost felt I were close by, on the scene, and witnessing these events. At times, the military lingo was, let me tell you, totally Greek to me, but I felt I was immersed in naval culture which made the book even more fun to read.

McCain is one of the very few Republicans I like; in fact, I greatly admire him! And I really believe that no one can say that he did not serve his country. He truly did and he continues to do so today.

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Summary: If you don't like this you're not an American
Review: John McCain, long renowned for his singular iconclastic political ideology, has written a book in Faith of My Fathers that should be read by all Americans. While devoid of his political views and political history, Faith of My Fathers delves into the very soul of the person, not the politician, that is John McCain. From his adventurous childhood to his rebellious youth, McCain recounts everything - all the while making for an insightful, entertaining and poignant read.

Injecting his dry sardonic humor, McCain tells of his trying ordeal in the Vietnamese POW camp as he was beaten, tortured, and starved - all after suffering a broken leg and back while ejecting from his fighter plane after being shot down. McCain's righteous indignation towards his hostile captors while refusing to devulge nothing more than "The big three" as they beat him senselessly evokes a paradoxical feeling of disdain for his captors as well as an overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism as well. Faith of My Fathers proves to be a most provocative and profound work - one that should be on every American's bookshelf.