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Summary: Authentic World War II Experience
Review: As one who served both as an enlisted man and an officer in the US Army in Korea and is a student of 20th century history, I consider "See Naples and Die: . . ." to be on of the most authentic memoirs of a combat veteran's experience in World War II. It is well told with sharp observations that put veterans back in touch with their own half-forgotten experiences.It is a great read for World War II history buffs and any others who are interested in the life and times of the "greatest generation" during that difficult period in our nation's history.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic World War II Experience
Review: As one who served both as an enlisted man and an officer in the US Army in Korea and is a student of 20th century history, I consider "See Naples and Die: . . ." to be on of the most authentic memoirs of a combat veteran's experience in World War II. It is well told with sharp observations that put veterans back in touch with their own half-forgotten experiences. It is a great read for World War II history buffs and any others who are interested in the life and times of the "greatest generation" during that difficult period in our nation's history.
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Summary: A lasting tribute......
Review: I have read "See Naples and Die" with admitted prejudice. That prejudice is rooted in the fact my father, like Bob Ellis, served in the 10th Mountain Division. Like Ellis he too was a machine gun operator and served in the same campaign in Italy. Although my father, like Ellis, was never given to braggadocio "war stories" what he did share with me and what I learned therefrom has allowed me to read and comprehend Ellis' memoirs keenly. The manner, in which Ellis has written and shared his experiences, is a lasting tribute in itself. The fact that he has taken the additional step of sharing his diary and personal letters is priceless and without selfishness. Having the opportunity to compare what Ellis has written against the reminisces of what my father told me is no less than incredible to me. The parallels are uncanny and events, as related by both parties, validators of each. This includes but is not limited to training at Camps Hale and Swift, transport onboard the USS West Point (SS America), and the brutal combat in Italy. The author and my narrator never met and were widely dispersed in the 10th having served in different regiments. Incredibly their stories are the same. "See Naples and Die" now has its permanent place in my personal library alongside the only other book I own relating to the 10th - the Army's official publication circa 1946 entitled "History of the 87th Mountain Infantry (10th Mtn. Div.) Italy 1945."
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Summary: A classic memoir
Review: I particularly enjoyed this book because it comes from the perspective of an enlisted man. The author describes his experiences, when at age 18 he volunteered for the U.S. Army's famed 10th Mountain Division. The 10th included some of America's greatest skiers and mountaineers and has been called the most elite and publicized American Army unit of World War II. Source material for the book comes from hundreds of the author's candid and sometimes bitter letters written home from his training camp in the Rockies as well as his letters and battle diary entries from the front lines in Italy. The author details the exceptional service of the unit, but also explores the brutal reality of infantry combat much like that portrayed in the Private Ryan film. Despite the often grim circumstances, the author displays a wry sense of humor. This is a well written and entertaining personal memoir.
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Summary: The terror was real
Review: Robert Ellis' book is one of the best memoirs of wartime experience ever penned by a World War II combat veteran, an absolutely enthralling account of the withering and deleterious fighting that occurred in Italy. Consider these lines from Ellis' wartime diary: Feb 18, 1945 -- "...Shrapnel dropped on my stomach. Can't take it any longer...Prout knocked senseless. Chaplain cried...Prout wept with his arms around me as did Wally and Larry...We broke strongest defenses in Italy at a great cost...the toll mounts. Outfit looks strange now...' (p. 143) Indeed, several companies in Ellis' 10th Division suffered fifty-percent casualty rates. Such was the character of a bloody and strategically controversial campaign to fight the German Army on the upper Italian Peninsula instead of containing it, while Allied forces were inexorably advancing deep into the German homeland. Throughout, Ellis proves an admirable author and memoirist. He sums up his reason for writing such an excellent book: "One thing I did promise myself: I would never let time soften or falsify the experience. Real war was tragic and grisly, and its reality, for all intents and purposes, is beyond the power of any literary or philosophic analysis to suggest." (p. 124)
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Summary: A Must Read for History Buffs
Review: This book is a World War II memoir of a young man who served in the US Army's famed 10th Mountain Division--from rugged training in the Colorado Rockies to the bloody combat in the rugged Italian mountains. The story, told primarily through the eyes of Ellis, the young soldier--as recaptured in the many letters he sent home during his service--is fleshed out with details from other sopurces, as well as wry observations by the author. The book provides an excellent picture of the nature of combat, particularly in mountainous terrain. The reader will come away with a much better understanding of World War II after finishing this book.
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