Rating: 
Summary: Truth Is Far More Revealing Than Myth
Review: 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. 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!
Rating:
Summary: Brings Tears to my eyes
Review: This book is a must read for everyone. As a US Marine, I am a little biased, but everyone should understand what the Marines went through. The sight and meaning of the Iwo Jima memorial should mean something to everyone as it does me. This book will give you a great description of the hard times and triumph these marines endured. We owe our veterans, now learn why.
Rating: 
Summary: Editor Wanted!
Review: The book is filled with redundancy and would have benefited greatly from a good editor. All in all still a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Hell in the Pacific
Review: My father served with the Marines, in WWII, on Guadalcanal and Peleliu and spoke very little of his experiences on those islands. This book provided real insight into the horrors and hardships that all those men had to endure. They knew the true meaning of loyalty, dedication, and sacrifice. Do the following generations of Americans have the "stuff" to perform as admirably as these men and boys did under the most difficult of circumstances? I wonder?
Rating:
Summary: I read it and I like it
Review: First time read it, i love it
Rating:
Summary: Another Classic
Review: This book rates in the top five of my personal best, next to Anton Meyers "Once an Eagle" and the introduction to "We were Soldiers Once, and Young". I agree that this should be required reading for history classes.
Rating:
Summary: Flags Of Our Fathers
Review: As this is my first review in Amazon.com, I'd like to greet to all fellow reviewers. I think that's a great place for us to help each other as reviews is a invaluable resource to help us choose a suitable book. I haven't read the reviews below but I'm sure there're lots of 5-star reviews and i assure you that it's well deserved. A bit history : on December 7, 1941, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto gave the fateful coded message climb Mt. Niitaka which signalled the attack by Japanese carrier-based aircraft upon the U. S. Pacific Fleet, peacefully anchored at Pearl Harbor. On February 23, 1945, U. S. marines climbed another mountain - Mt. Suribachi on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima and planted an American flag (the pic on the front cover). The author is the son of John Bradley, a navy corpsman who who has received the Navy Cross. The book is about the life stories of the six men that raised the flag on Iwo Jima, before and after Iwo Jima, as well as the story of the ferocious battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945 - savagery, courage and sacrifice. The author's voice is moving, poignant and provoking. I wonder if anyone has questioned why they were there and for what they were fighting. They only treated them as heros in their minds. But now, thanks to James Bradley as he described the war in details. Well actually he wanted to know why his father kept so many secrets and in trying to find out, he discovered who these men were and why they were such a big part of his father's life during that deeply and unforgettably shocking time in history. It shows the love between father and son, doesn't it? This book is a must in your shelves. I'm gonna let my father read it too and I'm sure he'll enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Addition to USMC History Books
Review: As a former Marine (1975-79) and author of privately-published books on the Marine Paratroopers and Raiders of WWII, I found this to be an outstanding book and an excellent addition to my USMC library. I had studied the history of the flag-raisings myself, since three of the members were former Paratroopers and three were former Raiders. The book was well-written and generally well-researched. Some of the veterans' accounts of the carnage of Iwo Jima should stay with you for a long time. The flaws were few and relatively minor, such as referring to weapons as "guns" although a notable error was stating that WWII Marines earned 84 Medals of Honor, whereas the number was actually 82. Still, it told the dramatic story very well and in a sensitive fashion. In this era when many teen-agers don't even know who the enemy was in WWII, this fine book should become required reading in schools, to enlighten people about WWII history and the sacrifices made by members of the best military organization in the world - the US Marine Corps. Semper Fi!
Rating:
Summary: Heroes set within reality
Review: For much too long World War Two has been glossed over as a Hollywood John Wayne war. Heroic patriotism with the true hell overlooked because we didn't want to look at it. Fortunately, time is finally focusing a clear lens on the war. What the new eye on the war is showing us (the Spielberg films, Schindler's List, Private Ryan) and this book is that true heroes stand much taller when you understand the real hell which raged around them. The waste of life and the insanity which politicians put on us in the name of war. In 1980 I had a high school history teacher who had nothing but fanciful glossy memories of his WWII experience. He felt the problem with "my" generation was that we had no war to bond us. That sort of thinking is dangerous, and is why we're lucky the passage of time is finally splashing color on a war which has too long hidden behind a black and white simplicity. It wasn't simple. It wasn't easy. It was hell, it hurt, and it's way past time we learned what it felt like.
Rating:
Summary: I don't read war books. I couldn't put THIS war book down.
Review: This is more a "social history" of a particular part of WWII than a book about "the war" per se. As one who was born in 1944, I came away deeply enlighted and even more deeply moved. This is history as we need to read it . . . so that history may not repeat itself.
| 
