The Threadbare Buzzard: A Marine Fighter Pilot in WWII

Rating:
Summary: from a fellow wwll flyer
Review: He tells it like it was in a funny way but also gets to the real
way it was. The Soloman islands brought back many memories a lot
of which had faded with time.
As a Naval Aviator I felt he was not always fair in his treatment of
the navy. I really enjoyed this book and feel any WWll veteran
would like it also.


Rating:
Summary: A memoir that's funny and real about World War II
Review: This book is incredibly moving and funny, with the author's over-the-top, self-deprecating style making for a great contrast to the life-and-death reality of being a Marine pilot in World War II. My uncle was a pilot during World War II and flew a Corsair, so I always wondered what it was like for him to fight in the South Pacific. This book not only describes in great detail the mechanical/machinery side of what it was like to fly these planes, it's also a commentary on the the so-called noble "Eagle" aspect of American fighting forces. That's why the author calls himself the "Threadbare Buzzard" instead of a more decorated and valiant bird. Several times it was laugh-out-loud funny, and it made me see the war in a whole new way.

Rating:
Summary: Best read since ANGELA'S ASHES
Review: Yes, the author is my uncle, but the editorial description doesn't begin to introduce this astonishing memoir. It is the most incredibly funny, bittersweet, poignant book I've read since ANGELA'S ASHES. The author is a storyteller to the marrow of his bones. He remembers everything--all the details of all the crazy parts of being human in extreme circumstances. This profound story is full of life, a sense of the absurd, and the refusal to give in. Through it all, his natural love for humanity becomes more finely-balanced by a mature understanding and acceptance of human nature. THREADBARE BUZZARD is about being young and poor and becoming a pilot, and of the chaos of being caught up in history and of doing one's heroic best.