Woody, Cisco, & Me : Seamen Three In The Merchant Marine

Rating:
Summary: Terrific Sea Story
Review: A sea story to end all sea stories. Thanks, Brother Longhi

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful look at Woody and Cisco at sea...
Review: If you are a fan of Woody, or Cisco, or both, buy this book before it goes out of print. Jim Longhi served with them on several U.S. Merchant Marine voyages during WWII, and he shows us just how much courage it took to help the war effort in that manner.This may be the closest thing to a real biography of Cisco Houston that fans will ever get. The Woody Guthrie you meet in these pages is a guy who had already achieved some fame due to his record "Dust Bowl Ballads" which came out in l940. Here, in l943, he is still ten years away from being disabled by Huntington's Disease. These three left-wing unionizers (Jim is an interesting man in his own right, though not a real musician) were mostly broke, but patriotic and brave and great morale-boosters for the common soldiers who often traveled on merchant ships across the Atlantic, where u-boat attacks were a continual threat. Torpedoed once and once hitting a mine, the "Seamen Three" were indeed in life-threatening combat situations.This is not just insightful, or worshipful towards Woody. It is often hilarious as well. The depiction of a maritime character called Courtroom Kelly is only a chapter in the middle, but it is worth the purchase price all by itself. Thanks, Jim, for doing this project. Anyone who has read, or who owns, Woody's own "Bound for Glory" or Joe Klein's "Woody Guthrie: A Life" needs to have this book in the collection as well.

Rating:
Summary: excellent read about the everyday life of a seaman
Review: Jim Longhi is now a New York lawyer, but I think he missed his true calling: Hollywood comedy writer. His stories and descriptions are so good, I laughed until I had tears in my eyes: Cisco passing his eye exam, Jim's first ever attempt at baking bread aboard ship, Woody breaking up a crooked craps game on board their troopship. There's plenty of serious stuff too: one ship torpedoed, another hits an acoustic mine, the terrible, relentless storm, the ten-year old boy pimping his eight year-old sister in war-ravaged Italy.

Rating:
Summary: Merchant Marine Memories
Review: This book was one of the most honest and entertaining writings concerning life in the Merchant Marine I have ever seen. Real people giving down to earth accounts of life on a Liberty Ship. I spent nine months in the North Atlantic on a Liberty Ship and as I was reading the book could almost feel the deck (floor) vibrate and roll. I was able to reach the author by phone and was able to thank him for putting their experiences in book form . I would recommend this book to anyone who was in the Merchant Marine, their familly members, or anyone who just likes to read a light entertaining , almost documentary account of life in the Merchant Marine during WW 11.

Rating:
Summary: Merchant Marine Memories
Review: This book was one of the most honest and entertaining writings concerning life in the Merchant Marine I have ever seen. Real people giving down to earth accounts of life on a Liberty Ship. I spent nine months in the North Atlantic on a Liberty Ship and as I was reading the book could almost feel the deck (floor) vibrate and roll. I was able to reach the author by phone and was able to thank him for putting their experiences in book form . I would recommend this book to anyone who was in the Merchant Marine, their familly members, or anyone who just likes to read a light entertaining , almost documentary account of life in the Merchant Marine during WW 11.