Saipan: The War Diary of John Ciardi

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read
Review: A wonderful read, the author's insight that in war, we are not "killing machines", but human beings. John Ciardi writes about experiencing fear, loneliness, despair, and hope. His diary is but a small sample of the soldiers and pilots on Saipan who were so close to the Japanese homeland and no end to the war in sight.

Rating:
Summary: Really fine!
Review: Here's a poet who was a gunner in a B-29 over Tokyo, and who kept a diary during his months on Saipan. Really fine, really worth reading, for the unvarnished thoughts of the man who kept the journal. Unlike most such journals, it hasn't been edited for publication, though there are a few of Ciardi's own afterthoughts.