Rating: 
Summary: A man whom has that rare gift of poise and grace
Review: Everyone is special and unique in his or her own way, but for a very select few whom have that rare gift of poised and style. Being the "son of" is difficult on any child. People like, Lewis B. Puller, Jr. His father was a legend in his own right, with rising through the ranks of the U.S. Marines in exemplary fashion, at a young age, showed a magnificent talent for the Marines. Lewis B. Puller Jr. has displayed the unique combination of skill, inner strength, and drive to become of the best ever.
I purchased this book for my son to read. My husband was in the U.S. Marines for twenty year of his young-adult life, and had the opportunity to have met Chesty on occasion before he passed away. He had great admiration for Chesty, as did I'm sure many others, for all his achievements had never talked about himself.
Lewis B. Puller Jr. is a special and unique man, like his father, he was an outstanding role model. Lewis B. Puller Jr. is a true champion.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling portrait of the Vietnam war
Review: I just read this book for the second time. The spread between the first and second reading is nearly a decade. The first time I read this book I became emotional. Now that I have read it again, with added maturity...I fully appreciate its greatness. Lewis B. Puller, Jr. is the patriotic son of a beloved Marine Corps legend. "Fortunate Son," is the story of how the author follows his father's footsteps...joining the Marines and going to war. What follows is a chilling portrait of the Vietnam war. It is also a fabulous window of understanding of how many Vienam veterans turned against the war. The author's narrative of his childhood and his relationship with his famous military father is outstanding. Moreover, the tale of his combat wound and his subsequent survival along with other American casualties of the war while in military hospitals in the States is comprehensive and objective. Puller does an enormous service for the nation. He honestly delivers one of the most powerful...as well as painful first hand testimonies of the longest war in the history of the United States of America. This book will endure the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling portrait of the Vietnam war
Review: I just read this book for the second time. The spread between the first and second reading is nearly a decade. The first time I read this book I became emotional. Now that I have read it again, with added maturity...I fully appreciate its greatness. Lewis B. Puller, Jr. is the patriotic son of a beloved Marine Corps legend. "Fortunate Son," is the story of how the author follows his father's footsteps...joining the Marines and going to war. What follows is a chilling portrait of the Vietnam war. It is also a fabulous window of understanding of how many Vienam veterans turned against the war. The author's narrative of his childhood and his relationship with his famous military father is outstanding. Moreover, the tale of his combat wound and his subsequent survival along with other American casualties of the war while in military hospitals in the States is comprehensive and objective. Puller does an enormous service for the nation. He honestly delivers one of the most powerful...as well as painful first hand testimonies of the longest war in the history of the United States of America. This book will endure the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: A bulwark of strength
Review: I read this book while preparing for the Bar exams in 1998 in the Philippines. I want to pass it really bad, and Lewis Puller Jr.'s strength and wisdom is a bulwark of inspiration for me. I am now a lawyer, and his words stayed with me all these years. But it's so tragic. I'm dumbfounded knowing he killed himself! All this time, his remarkable story sustained me through my own struggles. He is a loser after all! How awful. I wish I hadn't read the reviews here that told me about the suicide! The writing is great anyway. But what a waste. I'm really disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: A bulwark of strength
Review: I read this book while preparing for the Bar exams in 1998 in the Philippines. I want to pass it really bad, and Lewis Puller Jr.'s strength and wisdom is a bulwark of inspiration for me. I am now a lawyer, and his words stayed with me all these years. But it's so tragic. I'm dumbfounded knowing he killed himself! All this time, his remarkable story sustained me through my own struggles. He is a loser after all! How awful. I wish I hadn't read the reviews here that told me about the suicide! The writing is great anyway. But what a waste. I'm really disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, captivating...
Review: I will keep this short and sweet. I got out of the Corps last year, the entire time you are a Marine, from the 1st day, you idolize "Chesty" Puller Sr., this book gave me insight into his life, not just his battle conquests, as well as insight into the life of his family. I had never even heard of his son before let alone the amazing struggle that he went through. A wonderfully written book that kept me captivated from start to finish. I couldn't put it down until I was done. When I should have been studying (Im a student now haha), I wasn't! I was reading this book. It gave me a new found appreciation for Autobiographies and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Shall we ask from some - everything ?
Review: If you have doubts about war and America's place in the world,
check this one out. If you have no doubts, check this one out.
Mr. Puller left behind a burden too great for most of us & we
owe his memory some time and consideration by reading this
memoir. How much devotion and sacrifice is too much to ask ?
Was it just his turn ? Is the necessary dirty work against
sinister theiving murdering torturing enemies of the open
society worth doing ? Has it ever been worth it-- while we sleep
in security, protected by laws and courts ? Semper Fidelis.
Rating:
Summary: TO COLLEGE STUDENTS
Review: It is hard to describe with clarity the range of emotions this book can provoke. All successful books, of which this Pulitzer Prize winner undoubtedly is, are capable of stimulating the readers imagination to levels that develop and cultivate a keen understanding and relation to the story. That is truly where this book succeeeds. Lewis B. Puller graduated from OCS and, somewhat reluctantly, followed in the footsteps of his very famous Marine Corps father. A slight and unaggressive man, Puller never really felt secure with carrying the famous family name throughout his training, always struggling to remain near the top of his class and always feeling like he was not quite suited for his chosen profession. He describes his courtship of his future wife and his relation with his conservative, Virgina based family, of which he is very close to his mother but somewhat distant from his rough and tumble father 'Chesty'. After graduating from Basic training and OCS, of which his failures and struggles are dutifully explored, he then describes his time in a Marine Corps Recon platoon with such stark descriptions that it is easy to feel exactly as frustrated, scared and uncertain as Lewis Puller did when first leading patrols through the jungle. He quickly matures to being a capable junior officer, and expertly describes the trials his platoon is put through. Then it hits him, the boobytrap that forever changes his life. He will describe the agony of his realization upon learning to live all over again in a VA hospital, and will describe his fellow patients as well, some of which are famous for their toughness and later become important political figures who still are today. And then the blackness of alcholism and despair take over, exacerbating the condition of this ex-Marine in a way that threatens to ruin both his marriage and his struggle for survival. But Puller rebounds, working hard to get over his addictions, vividly describing every step of the way as he recovers enough to try his hand at politics. When reading the final chapters I felt a sense of dread, knowing the ultimate outcome of this autobiography was not contained in its pages. A sad and tragic ending to one of the most superbly written books I have ever read. I take some comfort that he left this for the sake of others to understand his trials, triumphs and failures along the way. A Pulitzer Prize winner indeed.
Rating:
Summary: A moving book. Insight into Vietnam and its human impact.
Review: Marines, and anyone who dreams of the "glory" of war, or who is contemptous of those who served should read this Pulitzer prize winning book. Every Marine learned the legend of General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller in boot camp. Chesty is our icon (See his biography "Marine"). Lewis Jr. was raised in that tradition and became a Marine officer himself. His story is told eloquently and movingly. His suicide more than 20 years later is a death that belongs etched on the Vietnam Memorial Wall along with the other honored dead.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning autobiography ... a tragic tale
Review: This gut-wrenching book is five stories. Each is fascinating... The first is that of a young man growing up in the shadow of his famous father, Marine Corps General "Chesty" Puller, "the most decorated man in Marine Corps history." The second is that of a young marine corps lieutenant leading a 40-man platoon in combat, trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) to keep everyone alive. He was doing what he thought was right. His tour ends in disaster; he is med-evaced out with horrific injuries. The third story is his hospitalization -- missing legs, missing fingers, he fights through a pain-ridden recovery. The fourth tale is his humiliating 1978 defeat in a Congressional race against Republican Paul Trible. The final story is Lewis Puller's battle against alcoholism. "Fortunate Son" was published in 1991, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1992. But in the alcohol war, this book just marked the eye of the storm. Shortly after it was honored with the prize, Lewis Puller relapsed into alcoholism; he and his wife separated. And on May 11, 1994, Lewis B. Puller, Jr., picked up a gun and killed himself. ---- Sometimes (to boomers) the Vietnam era and its aftermath now seem dreamlike; Puller's book is an icy hook, pulling us into the river of times past. It was VERY real! Throughout this book, the thought keeps recurring, this was a man who trusted too much, too many, too often, and was destroyed. He was indeed a tragic figure. There are many lessons to be learned from his life... but I suspect every reader will take different ones from this work...
| 
