Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read Book
Review: I have read many books on WWII, but this one really opened my eyes. This book will give you the feel of what the people of that time were thinking and feeling. I could almost feel like I was back in that time. This book also lets you know why things have changed from the past. In those days, you didn't play video games or listen to the radio until you finished your work and put the money into the family living fund. I really got a good sense of this from this book. I had known of the men that had raised the flag on Iwo Jima, but I didn't know how the picture came about. This was the first time I could really understand what everyone meant by the second raising of the flag. I really admired the authors father also, he was so much like most of the veterans that I have met. They don't think they did anything special, just what was expected of them. You must read this book.
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Summary: Unforgettable Truth and Consequences of Iwo Jima
Review: Seriously, five stars are just too few for a monumental book like this one. This book is an instant classic that should live for all time! If you are like me, you have a whole story built up in your mind around one of the most famous photographs in American history -- the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. If you are also like me, there is little reality behind that story in your mind.Written by the son of one flag-raising Marine, this amazing story should be read by everyone. It tells a tale of heroism, horrible circumstances, and the lasting consequences of an unexpected event in a compelling, unforgettable way. This book rivals All Quiet on the Western Front for its revealing insights into the nature of war, comradeship, and courage. To set the stage, Iwo Jima was the first Japanese soil the Marines invaded. The Emperor had issued orders that the ground was to be defended to the last man. Iwo Jima was filled with tunnels that harbored over 20,000 Japanese troops who could shoot from relative safety while Americans were out in the open. The tunnel system was so extensive that Marines would literally be kidnapped while standing next to their buddies, and no one would know where they had gone. Rocks would suddenly open up to reveal mortars. Tough fighting went on for days. The Marines lost 7,000 dead and had another 15,000 or more wounded out of 70,000 men. Ironically, the worst of the fighting came after the flag photograph, and three of the six Marines in the photograph died in this later action. As tough as Iwo Jima was, living with the aftermath of the photograph was even harder in many ways. Two of the three survivors had their lives deeply affected in negative ways. The story of all three riveted me more than anything I have read in years. I read fairly few books about war, but I cannot recommend this book enough to you. As Americans we owe it to those who fought in this battle to remember what actually happened and what the repercussions are. You will be moved at a deeper level than you can possibly imagine by this outstanding book. Remember Iwo Jima!
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Summary: For the Would Be History Buff
Review: Having just started reading WWII history I find that the more I read the more I don't know! Flags of our Fathers illustrated this to me once again. I thought I knew about Iwo Jima as a battle and as the place where the flag raising happened. Before reading the book I know very little -- afterwards, lots more. Bradley does a magnificent job bringing the flag raisers together from childhood, through the battle, and finally to the flag raising. He is also brilliant in painting a picture of the instensity of the battle for Iwo Jima.
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Summary: Heroism, Compassion and Tragedy
Review: I have seen the famous picture of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima numerous times. I never stopped to think "Who were these men and what became of them?". I recieved this book as gift recently and one night I started reading it. For 2 days I couldn't stop reading. This had to be one of the most interesting books about WWII I've ever read. James Bradley's father was one of the men who raised the flag. With the help of Ron Power, both wrote a detailed book about the six men who became the most decorated soldiers in American history. Mr. Bradley spent many years talking to veterans of Iwo Jima and family members about the young men who raised the flag. I was especially touched by the story of Ira Hayes, who had a difficult time accepting the fame that was thrust upon him. Throughout this book it reveals the many acts of heroism, compassion and tragedy. Flags of our Fathers is a very powerful book that shows the true spirit of the Marines. I recommend this book.
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Summary: Don't dismiss this book as another ho-hum war story
Review: Don't dismiss this book as another ho-hum war story. The lives of the now-famous six American Marines who raised the Flag on Iwo Jima's Mt. Suribachi are traced literally from cradle to grave. It is an intimate look at Americans and who we are. In the annals of war, the taking of Iwo Jima by the Marines was the bitterest, most costly victory in the Pacific, and indeed, that of any other war in which this country has been embroiled. The Marines invaded the Island February 19, 1945, raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi four days later. Final victory came in March after 6,821 Marines died. What makes this war story different is that the reader is able to stand back and view the life-long impact on individual participants of vicious hand-to-hand conflict, hero media coverage, bands, parades, and all the other attendant trappings of war. It separates the real from the unreal. Memories of war fade though, and it's often difficult for subsequent generations to arouse much more than lip service patriotism to heroes of past wars. One wonders if more should be expected; life must go on. But Flags of Our Fathers has more to contribute than stirring wartime deeds. The lives of six participants are traced from childhood, their action on the battlefield to maturity and death. It's about how individuals can suffer severe, cruel human torture, yet somehow manage to keep going and make a success (or failure) of the rest of their lives. All the strengths and weaknesses inherent in people are laid bare, distilling the basic elements of gut survival.
Rating:
Summary: MONUMENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HISTORY
Review: On Parris Island I was made to memorize the words of Admiral C.P. Nimitz in reference to the Marines on Iwo Jima...."Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue". Having served in the Marine Corps I have visited and stood in awe of the Iwo Jima memorial. Having worked in and around Johnstown Pennsylvania for four years, I drove past the boyhood home of Seargent Mike Strank at least twice a weak and heard his name in reference to the historic flag raising. Having read this book I will never see them or think of them the same way again. James Bradley tells the tale of his father, Navy Corpsman John Bradley and the five Marines that helped him raise the flag during the battle for a slab of volcanic rock and sand during the island hopping campaign in the second World War. With integrity mixed with a flair for story telling, Bradley details the lives of these six men before, during, and after this historic event. He shows the ordinary men they were and the warriors they became. What's more impressive is that he chronicles how America made them heroes and simultaneously how the surviving men in large avoided the spotlight. He shows the humility that exists in all great men. Bradley's in depth research brings the battle alive and even manages to stir emotion 55 years after the event. The book is brilliantly written. Its historical value is only outmatched by the tales of humanity that accompany it. It passes along a moment of American pride to generations that had yet to been born. It enthralled me from the moment I picked it up and did what I once thought to be impossible. It made me even prouder to have served with The United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi.
Rating:
Summary: An American Treasure
Review: Flags of Our Fathers moved me in a way that few books ever do. I decided to pick it up because I had recently visited Washington, DC and had a chance to see the Iwo Jima Marines Memorial in Arlington. I realized during that visit that although I knew in general about Iwo Jima, I didn't know enough. In many ways, this book changed that almost overnight. After reading the book, I felt as if I finally knew why the battle occurred, what happened there, and who fought there; however, it left me wanting to know more in a way that no book can likely satisfy. From the opening chapter in which James Bradley (whose father was a Navy coprsman in the battle and one of the flag-raisers in the iconic picture) describes going to Iwo Jima 50 years after the battle with his mother and several brothers to pay homage to the memory of those who fought and died there, to the vivid and horrifying telling of the invasion itself, to the bittersweet aftermath for the reluctant heros in The Photograph, this book instantly connects the reader to the men and the horrors they faced. The reverence with which Bradley tells the story reminded me of how I felt hearing my own uncles describe their experiences fighting other battles of America's War in the Pacific. The quote from Harry S. Truman that Bradley uses to begin the book, "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know," perfectly captures the reason why anyone with a love of our history should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This book is so readable and interesting on several different fronts. The book covers the lives (before, during and, for the lucky, after WWII) of the 6 flagraisers on Iwo Jima - so there are 6 very interesting people that you will get to know. The book is refreshingly inspirational - for those of us who don't want to read one more sad, self-pitying personal story from today's authors - this is an account of men enduring extraordinary hardship for a larger cause. Third, the book was written by the son of an Iwo Jima survivor who rarely disclosed any information about that part of his past - so there's a bit of mystery regarding his silence added to the other elements of the story. If you read one book this year - this is the one!
Rating:
Summary: Must Read
Review: The book is very touching, you feel that you know these young men and their families. It helps us to see the price many paid so we can live the lives we do. It was trully a Great Generation, we may feel times or bad or that things are rough but most of us will not see in a life time the things these young men experienced in a few hours or days. How many of us would travel 2600 miles to set a story straight about a friend? Could we measure up!
Rating:
Summary: This is a wonder ful book
Review: I really enjoyed this book for both its historical information as well as the emotional punch that it packed. I found myself crying during the last chapter (and at several other places) as the author's father passed away and the author revealed some more of his reasons for keeping quiet about his Iwo Jima experience during the remaining years of his life. If this book isn't made into a movie, it will be a shame! I really must commend the author for writing such a great book. It is well written and hard to put down.
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