Rating: 
Summary: If you don't like this you're not an American
Review: John McCain, long renowned for his singular iconclastic political ideology, has written a book in Faith of My Fathers that should be read by all Americans. While devoid of his political views and political history, Faith of My Fathers delves into the very soul of the person, not the politician, that is John McCain. From his adventurous childhood to his rebellious youth, McCain recounts everything - all the while making for an insightful, entertaining and poignant read.Injecting his dry sardonic humor, McCain tells of his trying ordeal in the Vietnamese POW camp as he was beaten, tortured, and starved - all after suffering a broken leg and back while ejecting from his fighter plane after being shot down. McCain's righteous indignation towards his hostile captors while refusing to devulge nothing more than "The big three" as they beat him senselessly evokes a paradoxical feeling of disdain for his captors as well as an overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism as well. Faith of My Fathers proves to be a most provocative and profound work - one that should be on every American's bookshelf.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving and poignant story about service, falth, and honor
Review: Senator John McCain's recent work, Faith of my Fathers," will not provide political philosophy. It will not discuss his presidential ambitions in 2000. But it will provide a reader with a lot to think about, and a fantastic story. Sneator McCain's experiences in Vietnam are pretty well known, but the full story is not. Few people would know there is a destroyer named for his father, and that his grandfather was an admiral in Nimitz' fleet. Yet the short time discussing these two important men in his life provide just a further glimpse into what made John McCain into the person we see on TV today. Following such a tradition as his family started does not appear daunting from what he writes. yet, he accepted his family's calling, and although he did not rise in rank to equal his namesakes, he did serve in just important a fashion, and in a more individually trying way than they did- as a Vietnamese POW. McCain's experiences in POW camps is gripping. It is painful to hear some things decribed as they were, yet the painful parts are obviously necessary to tell the story. And the story could have had a much different ending had McCain chosen to allow his captors to use him for propaganda against his father, a major military leader during the Vietnam War, by releasing him. Yet McCain did not, and his example he showed then still resonates to day as a model for leaders to follow. This is a very intersting account of Senator McCain's background, and the small sections on his grandfather and father make it much more compelling. This book deserved your attention.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling story, great man, adequate writing
Review: The first quarter of the book highlights McCain's father and grandfather's extraordinary naval careers. His account of his own time at Annapolis is entertaining, although there's much less real "hell-raising" than he initially leads you to believe. (Example: contraband TV hidden in the wall.) His recounting of his time as a POW dominates the last half of the book. Senator McCain goes out of his way to describe the courage of his fellow POWs, and insists again and again that they were more brave and suffered more atrocities than he did. As for an earlier reviewer's contention that McCain is unfair to Vietnam, I disagree. He seems to feel little if any bitterness towards the country and people of Vietnam. He even compliments a certain region as being a good vacation spot -- remarkable considering he spent 5 years being ceaselessly tormented by his captors in unimaginably bad conditions. McCain's character is astonishing. Sentences like "I spent the next three months in solitary confinement" compress 90 days of agony into just 9 words. Other writers, perhaps, would write a whole book just about those 3 months. Instead, McCain concentrates on the thoughts and men who helped him through those five years. As far as the writing itself goes, McCain's facility with language could stand to some improvement. Sometimes sections don't flow together well, or you wonder if you're missing the big picture. This is especially true in the middle-third of the book. His retelling of his namesakes' exploits are interesting and occasionally gripping, but his account of his early years leave you wondering about certain issues: how did he deal with his father's absence, why did he always rebel, how did he treat plebes after his mistreatment at the Academy, etc. He touches on these matters, but doesn't explore them in depth. I think it would have rounded out our picture of McCain the young man. I also wished there was some discussion of the beginning of his political career, but I guess that can be found in (a) the "American Odyssey" biography, or (b) a possible second memoir. Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, let me say that I am as liberal as they come, and rarely agree with McCain politically. But, whatever your persuasion, this book is an interesting read, and you can't help but admire McCain's extraordinary courage and integrity.
Rating:
Summary: A True American Hero in a Self-Absorbed Age
Review: This book contains quite a bit of military history and military details that some readers will not find interesting. I am one of those people; nevertheless, I found McCain's book delightful overall. It is inspiring to read the life story of a man who lives for something greater than himself, and has the humility to give extensive credit to his forefathers and his fellow POWS, many of whom he mentions by name. McCain tells his story with the help of a professional writer (one online reviewer, who obviously never read this book, says the book couldn't have been written by McCain because he wouldn't have had the time--and that that must be evidence of the man's inauthenticity!) In fact, Faith of My Fathers is full of credit graciously given to a vast array of friends and associates, including his ghostwriter. Today, McCain's once-athletic body still shows evidence of the abuse and torture he suffered. In a self-absorbed age with few heroes, we need to hear more from men of conviction, character and courage like John McCain. It inspires us to push on, regardless of the cost or of the disabilities with which we struggle.
Rating:
Summary: Honor, Duty and Familial Obligations Defined
Review: This is not your typical "man-running-for-president" memoir, most of which fail as even rudimentary books and instead serve as long and turgid pamphlets designed to impel the political careers of their subjects. John McCain has a compelling story based upon the example of his father and grandfather (both admirals) and his years spent as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. This is a book about family, honor and surviving tortuous trials unimaginable to almost everyone else on the planet. Scion of a long line of Americans who have served our country in our armed forces, McCain's service was perhaps inescapable. Simply, he was bred for it and never questioned that he would wear an American uniform. His most immediate examples were his grandfather, a four star admiral whose carrier task force helped crush Japanese naval strength in the last year of the war, and his father, another four star admiral who (ironically) was CINCPAC during McCain's last years of captivity. The first half of the book covers the careers of father and grandfather and illustrates the family code that serves as a lodestar for the author. Both admiral McCains were salty men who valued personal honor, duty and the primacy of naval service above all else in their lives. They also shared a strong father-son bond, one which McCain was to also experience, although his internalization of his own father's presence does not seem to reach the levels experienced between the father and grandfather. What makes this book compelling are McCain's prisoner of war experiences. Tortured, maimed, neglected and challenged by the North Vietnamese, McCain resisted and survived with his honor intact. The details of the privations he suffered (and those suffered by his fellow POW's) are fascinating reading, and serve to honor the men who wore our country's uniforms behind enemy lines and were asked to sacrifice far beyond what they had expected. The themes of honor and duty run throughout the book and in places alight upon almost every page. Without the incredible personal tests to which McCain's honor and sense of duty were put, their emphasis could seem cynical and dismissed as simplistic patriotism. No one reading the book will doubt that the easy road for prisoner McCain would have been to abandon his honor and duty to relieve his physical and mental sufferings (nor wonder whether they themselves could have held on to such principals were they in his place). I doubt anyone will be less than impressed and honored that such men as McCain agree to serve our country and fight our wars. This is a good book with a compelling story that will cause you to think about the meaning, and true tests of, honor and duty.
| 
