Rating: 
Summary: I knew I was gonna cry, but not on page 2.
Review: I'm an ex-Marine, joining the reserves in 1960.Boot Camp in San Diego. Closest I got to pulling the trigger was during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Because of high grades, I was offered a chance to leave boot camp and go to Marine pilot training in Pensacola, Fla. Since I always fancied myself as a fighter pilot, I was about to agree. But my mother nixed it, telling me that I needed to come back home and finish school, which I did, but to this day, I wish I had followed my heart. One time, an Iwo survivor came to my school and recounted the horror of the damn thing. What I never forgot was how the volcanic ash, when hit by a projectile, would pepper everyone , going just under the skin. That was just before I enlisted, and I remember Mama crying when I left. As fate would have it, I didn't have to fight, but having been through boot camp and military exercises later, I guess that I could identify with this great book more than most. I believe that we owe an incredible debt to the courage and heroism shown by these young men. Personalizing statistics(deaths) can be painful. I can't say enough good about this recount of a very small slice of the whole shebang. But if you wonder why , when I hear the Marine Corps Hymn, I nearly always get tears in my eyes, it's because of the great sacrifices made by these Marines for our freedom. There are lots and lots of worthy and talented young men that never got a chance to live the American dream, because they paid the ultimate price to insure that that dream would become true. I will always have a place in my heart for our fallen heroes, Jane Fonda notwithstanding. I commend this book to all who wonder why it is that we're who we are today.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Spectacular and Moving
Review: For anyone yearning for the knowledge of what the greatest battle of all time was like, you must read this selection. This book took me inside the minds of the battle's participants in such a unique way. Mr. Bradley has generated, in my view, one of the greatest historical works of ever printed, bringing so vividly to life the agony of Iwo Jima. For those that have loved ones that have participated in any battle, this book will illustrate exactly what it means to be a soldier of the greatest nation the world. Having several members of my own family participating in several conflicts, from WWII to the present, it certainly brings to light the great sacrifices that have been made to preserve our way of life. Thank you
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is one incredible book. It is so emotional and I feel that anyone who needs a dose of patriotism should read this book. It will make you proud to think of these brave men fighting for our freedoms. Anyone who thinks that freedom is cheap should definitely rad this book. This is truly a Masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for all Americans
Review: The single finest work written about men and war. This should be required reading for all Americans. A deeply moving tribute to the men and women whose sacrifice has provided the freedom we so richly enjoy. I cried for hours after reading the last chapter and still carry the weight of Bradley's words with me today.
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Summary: Flags of our Fathers
Review: Great book! Since my father fought on Imo Jima, this book gave me a descriptive idea of what my father went through. He went through hell, and the author does a great job of explaining in detail the magnitude of this brutal battle. I could not put this book down! If you want to know everything about Imo Jima and the significance of this battle, this is a must read. Also, if you have a father who fought at Imo Jima or any war battle, you will have a new respect for him.
Rating:
Summary: If six stars were possible, this book would get them.
Review: No words can describe what I felt after having finished this book. I have served some time in the special forces of my country and have some experience with the sort of feeling Mr. Bradley's father felt for his comrades in arms. Reading "Flags of Our Fathers" has been an extraordinary experience for me and I cannot adequately expres my deepest appreciation toward Mr. James Bradley for sharing with the public this magnificently honest story of one of the major battles of WW II during which his father together with several of his comrades just happened to raise a flag on a tiny island of the Pacific coast of Japan. The vast number of reviews this book has received up until now, and mind you it has only been published a couple of months ago, with an average appreciation of five stars says it all. Mr. James Bradley's "Flags of Our Fathers" is a superb work, and I wouldn't be surprised if before long it would come to be considered a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Reluctant Heros
Review: James Bradley is to be commended for telling the rich history of his Navy father and Marine Corp Members who raised the flag on Iwo Jima in February 1945. The exploits of these men was one of valour, though the participants play down their roll and even seem to have been embarrassed by the feat. Only three of the original six men lived to tell the tale. Bradley's story takes the reader through boyhood backgrounds, Marine Corp training and the battle for Iwo Jima in what I could only guess is vivid reality. He then goes on to tell the aftermath of thier lives. Though other books may have been written that disagree with some aspects of Bradley's assessment, one thing is sure. Iwo Jima was not only America's costliest battle, it was also a huge blunder in the way it was carried out. Would this account for the Flag Raisers discounting their feat of valour? Consider the historical perspective. On Iwo Jima the bombing preparation lasted two or three days, the siege thirty-one days. The 1991 Persian Gulf War bombing lasted thirty days, the siege about a week. There was minimal resistance for our ground troops in the Gulf though more than one hundred men and women gave thier lives for the effort. General H. Stormin' Norman Schwarzkof of rescent history could have given Howlin' Mad-Dog Holland M. Smith, the Iwo Jima Marine Commander a lesson or two in tactics. Perhaps the Bush Administration had learned something from Iwo Jima given the advantage of modern 'smart-bomb' tactics. But what about the flag raisers? I would suggest that the Roosevelt/Truman Administrations knew they must make 'political hay' from the ill-conceived plan to take Iwo Jima. Therefore, the Iwo "Straw Men" (flag raisers) were perfect diversions. If there could have been recording equipment in the Oval Office at that time, I'm betting the conversation was a 'smoker'. Bradley aludes to this idea. Perhaps it went something like, "Get those guys over here", Roosevelt may have said, "We need to get the minds of the American Public off the body count. Have these men lead the War Bond Drive! And buy the way, use this picture of them raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi." Enter our reluctant heros, Bradley, Hays and Gagnon, the surviving threesome. The Author's father, John Bradley summed it up on the last page, "People refer to us as heroes. We certainly weren't heros. And I speak for the rest of the guys as well . . . certainly not heros." If Monday morning quarterbacking about the Battle for Iwo Jima is not being practiced in the halls of our nations war colleges, it should be. Bradley's book, though insightful and worth reading is a fragment of the big picture (pardon the pun) that of America learning to conduct war with words instead of hardware.
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Summary: I'll Make my Contribution to the World War II Memorial!
Review: May I suggest an appropriate "thank you" to those who gave their young lives during the war, and, to those veterans who lived with the pain and memories after the war -> a contribution to help build the World War II Memorial. Certainly Ira, Doc, Rene, Mike, Franklin, Harlin and "Iggy" (and all the other heros of Iwo Jima) deserve no less from we who take for granted what they so willingly fought and died for.
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Summary: A Great look into the hearts and minds of 6 American Heros!
Review: This was a very detailed book about the 6 "boys" who raised the flag on Iwo Jima in WWII. Bradley does a great job of discovering the joys and fears of "boys" who went into battle and change the course of world history forever. The photo on the cover is the world's most reproduced. I would highly recomend this book to anyone! If you are a WWII buff or just an American read this book! It will make you proud and gratefull to the vets who "save the world"!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I have served, but never in combat. WWII interests me immensely, as I am Jewish and have made a point to study the Holocaust and the American war in Europe at length. This was a great book with some of the most vivid descriptions of training and war I have ever read. This book is a must read, and I would agree with the author's premise that the Pacific theatre was America's war. Read this book if you, and you will know 6 boys of the war as if you were there.
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