Rating: 
Summary: Marines and Iwo Jima...
Review: I purchased Flags of Our Fathers knowing the type of praise it recieved. So I gave it a shot and I sat down the day after I purchased it and read the thing. Flags of Our Fathers is a wonderful achievment in literature, yet is certainly not flawless. The author, James Bradley is the son of one of the flag-raisers. James Bradley is evidently a very proud son which in some areas of the book show greatness and in other places do not. He was able to review more material than most author's would find avaliable and he made the book a very personal tribute. Although definately not my greatest concern, but Bradley's use of the word "boys" as soldiers is extremely over used and his point seems unessecary to me. Obviously he means scared, tired teens trying to make it through the war alive. Bradley tries to jerk our tears at the end of every segment and chapter. Much of this "hamming it up" stuff is eye-rolling since much of the information presented before that is very serious. By "hamming it up" James looses some of the focus. Anyway, the book was brilliantly set up. We are introduced to the author, his family and the battle ground-the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima. We are introduced to the characters-their home lives and personalities. We set up the war in both theaters and progress from there. Once the war begins, Bradley tells us of the horrors they faced, but not in complete detail. I found to be the descrition of war to be too vague, although you can call me a stickler for details. Bradley's focus is on how the troops advance up Mount Suribachi, the imfamous mountain overlooking Iwo Jima. We are told of the brilliance of the Marines and how the boys in his eyes are heros. Throughout the war chapters I always felt that there was a competition for Bradley between the two theaters. It was like he was pleaing for us to think the war in the Orient was worse than in Europe. He was always comparing Iwo Jima to D-Day and how that beach was sealed quicker and fewer awards were won by the soldiers who fought. He made mention that at one point America could care less about Patton marching into Germany because all eyes were on Iwo Jima. I wonder about that. I disliked this very much because he was only praising the Marines and their awful battles in the Pacific. One of the things Bradley wrote was that in the Army you are drafted, but in the Marines you choose...I hate to be non-jignostic here for a moment but, more than half of the flag raisers did not join the Marines until the Army drafted them. I hated to read of Iwo Jima was the hardest batte just because the most Medal of Honors were given out and the Roosevelt gasped in horror when he heard of what happened in Iwo Jima. It was appearently the most horrific or the most vital battle fought. Bradley does not give us more than that in his thesis of why this battle was the greatest and came up far short of reasons. The raising of the flag occurs in the middle of the story and after that Bradley repeats himself when talking about the bond tour where the remaining flag-raisers would be hopping around the U.S. as they are praised and honored "as their dreams of starting a home life were on hold..." I believe that one of the flag-raisers said something like I was not a hero, the men that died were... There is a lot of mumbo jumbo stuff like that and it uses up tons of space on the pages. I wanted the book to end sooner than it did. However, the story at Iwo Jima is truly amazing and Bradley tells the story from his heart. I am very proud to live in this country knowing that Pacific Theater was a very personal struggle between the two nations and that we are the rightful victors. The book is told eloquently and the story is unrivaled by any fiction. There are some parts in this book that strike terror into your heart like the deaths of some of the Marines. I still recommend this book regardless of it's flaws. Overall, it is a great read and a fine book.
Rating: 
Summary: wow
Review: This book is one of the best books i have ever read. You get a very up close and personall understanding of all of the characters involved, and you really care what happens to them. I learned so much from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Next time know the history
Review: Bradley's writing style is at best, childish. The story of Iwo Jima has been told before and better. The "angle" (giving the stories of the flag raisers) was interesting, but hardly earth shaking. Bradley's history, when it strays from the lives of the flag raisers is full of errors. For instance he calls Guadalcanal the "first land campaign in the Pacific". That would certainly come as a surprise to the US Army troops in the Philipines, the US and Australian troops on New Guinea and the British Imperial troops in Malaya who were fighting on land before Guadalcanal. Worse is his Marine bias. The Marines who fought in the Pacific cannot be commended enough. One marvels at their courage. Bradlsy isn't content with that, however. He states that the Marines defeated the Japanese in every battle. Maybe someone should have told him about Wake Island (Marines surrender almost entire garrison), Guam (ditto) or Corregidor (Fourth Marine Regiment captured by Japanese). He states that the Army could not stand up to the Japanese. In reality the Army faced and defeated many times more Japanese than did the Marines. For example the Marines on Iwo faced 22,000 Japanese. The Army on Luzon faced 300,000. Most of the amphibious assaults in the Pacific were conducted by the Army, not the Marines. (And as with the Marines - not one of the Army's amphibious assaults failed) The Army sustained far more casualties in the Pacific than did the Marines, and killed far more Japanese. If Bradley makes the mistake of writing again, he would do well to ask someone other than a Marine gunny sergeant to review his work. If he writes about Okinawa, for instance, he might want to point out that it was primarily an Army battle, fought under Army command. The Marine record of courage in the Pacific stands for itself. How they fought through on Iwo, or waded ashore at Tarawa is beyond me. However, Bradley insists on denigrating the equally courageous soldiers....
Rating:
Summary: bad general history, too pro marine,
Review: I hate to sound like the odd man out with this book. the personal history of the men involved, and the description of the horror of iwo jima is excellent. However, the author's basic historical research and anti navy bias is is regretable. among the errors: he says the navy"abandoned " the marines at guadalcanal. true, only for a few news post savo. they fought at least six major battles in six months and lost thousands of men. ever heard of "ironbottom sound?" he is flat out wrong when he states that mccarthur abandoned the formosa/china approach. It was the navy and joint chiefs that had favored this approach instead of the phil. the worst mistake is blindly following the marine/holland smith party line that the marine losses on iwo were the fault of one less day of naval gunfire. this is a gross error and is fully explored in morison, s.e. "victory in the pacific, V 14." finally, as awful as iwo was, and meaning no disrespect for the horror they went through....he implies that only marines won the war. At okinowa the naval losses from suicide attacks were close to the marine losses on iwo. all war is madness and hell. what is sad is that none of these mistakes and "all glory to the corp" stuff was necessary, and detracts from the otherwise remarkable book that he wrote.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book to understand War and it aftermath
Review: This is an outstanding book about life and war. I read this book in 2 days. I could not put it down. To be an American carries with it certain responsibilities. In order to understand our future, we must understand our past. I always thought that after our flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi that the battle of Iwo Jima was over. Little did I know that it was only the beginning. This book has magnified my respect for war veterans and their families. It is no wonder that the WWII generation deserves to be called the greatest generation.
Rating:
Summary: I learned more from this book than from my history class!
Review: I'm going to be a high school senior and I read this book during my summer vacation. I was amazed with everything that I learned from this book- about the men and the battle. I've always wanted to know more about the men who fought to give me what I have today and this book was amazing. Bradley reminded me that these men were normal men put in abnormal circumstances that did extraordinary things. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, World War II, or human perseverance. I can't express what this book gave to me in this review, but this book should be required reading to all history students because it gives you a different perspective than what you learn in class. It shows these men as brothers, sons, fathers, not just numbers in a text book.
Rating:
Summary: Flags of our Fathers
Review: Having long had an interest in World War II, I have read many books that dealt with the causes,tactics,strategies, or even details of the conflict. But none have ever portrayed the human element as eloquently, or painfully, as this book. Rarely do you find a book that is as hard to put down yet so painful to read. James Bradley puts you in intimate contact with the participants - every man lost is your 'buddy' too. I can't imagine what courage it must have taken to continue. It is an amazing portrayal of the effectiveness of the training/indroctination the Marines instilled in these men. My father-in-law served in the Pacific and exhibited the same reluctance to discuss his experiences as did Mr. Bradley. Every day we lose thousands of stories like Mr. Bradley's as their generation ages. We owe these men a huge debt of gratitude, they paid a price far higher than any of us have ever faced in our lives. BTW-my copy is NOT for sale!
Rating:
Summary: Better than any movie.
Review: I started by glimpsing a few paragraphs and then I could not put the book down until I had read it cover to cover and some parts twice. The realness of the descriptions, the realness of the emotions, the realness of the "characters" involved comes through. The research intensity was obvious. The things I learned about war from the battle to the propaganda end are scary to behold. This is the history no human being wants to ever relive but will simply because the world forgets too easily. I recommend this to anyone who wants to preserve America as the dominant force for peace on this planet.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and emotional
Review: My father was a Marine and fought in Tarawa, Guadalcanal and Saipan. He and my mother divorced in 1947 when I was one year old. He was killed in an accident at Camp Pendleton in 1955 after re-joining the Marines. I never saw him or talked to him after the divorce. Throughout the years I have always wanted to learn, at least on the surface, what he went through. This book tells the story through the eyes and emotions of the young men who served. Through this book I have a much better understanding of the horror all the Marines must have faced when storming a beach and fighting an enemy who would not quit until dead. It has also satisfied me completely in understanding why we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. There is no doubt that it had to happen and there is no doubt that Iwo Jima had to be taken first. I am thoroughly convinced that had these two events not occurred, most of us, my age, would never have been born. Thank God for these courageous men and thank God for this book.
Rating:
Summary: A must read.
Review: Having had a brother-in-law lost on Iwo Jima our family was very interested in this book. All have read it and I believe now have a better understanding of just what and for whom their Uncle gave his life. One of the few books about the flag raising that give proper recognition to those who raised the first flag. Bradley is to be commended for giving us this story.
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