Rating: 
Summary: A Generation and Its Children Saying Goodbye
Review: Greene is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune and Life and is the SON;FATHER is Bob's father, once a Major in the 91st Infantry Division of WW II -famed for Its role in the Italian campaign; THE MAN WHO WON THE WAR is retired Brig. General Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B29 that took the A-bomb to Hiroshima. The father lived in Columbus, Ohio and Bob had grown up there. Father would announce now and then: "That man going(standing)there is Paul Tibbets". Bob contacted Tibbets and they became friends just days before the father died . Not stated, but clear to the reader: Bob is going to be writing articles in the Tribune and, finally, this book. His quest was to understand his father's generation and to find out Paul's feelings about dropping the bomb. Bob learns about the disgust and disappointment his father's generation has for those whose freedom they preserved with such devotion to purpose. The current and older generation have quite different rules for societal conduct and that accounts for a lot of the differences. But in my view the most salient point Paul makes in their many discussions is the one about discipline. To do great things, he said, you must have discipline. We had it. Much of today's society doesn't have it and it shows in so many ways. No, Paul didn't lose any sleep over dropping the bomb. It was an 1,800 man project which he was under orders to organize and lead. Countless men and their relatives wrote him to express their thanks for saving them from a bloody invasion of Japan's home islands. The toughest people for him to make understand were those who would say, "why didn't you just tell them you didn't want to do it." But he did want to do it.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving Tribute
Review: This moving tribute by Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene will inspire many baby boomers (and others) to think deeply and perhaps differently about their parents. Back in Columbus, Ohio to visit his dying father, Greene met 84-year old Paul Tibbets, the pilot that dropped the bomb. In getting to know Tibbets, Greene came to better understand his late father. Tibbets and the elder Greene (1915-98) never met, but they shared many values, including a sense of duty and horror from World War II. Like many, Tibbets believes the bomb shortened the war and spared lives, sending home safely many future dads like the elder Greene (and my own father). I wish the author had pressed Tibbets on alternatives such as demonstrating the bomb non-lethally, but DUTY isn't really about politics. It's more about the author's father, Tibbets, the war, and the ties binding and divisions separating baby boomers and their war-generation parents. I particularly liked reading the elder Greene's life memories, which he spoke into a tape recorder before passing. DUTY is a readable, moving tribute to two men and their dwindling generation.
Rating:
Summary: A Tribute From a Son to His Father
Review: Bob Greene has written a touching and emotion-filled book about two men who influenced the outcome of World War II; his own father and Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay. Greene's father served as an infantry soldier in Italy, while Tibbets was training his men in Wendover, Utah for a mission which would hopefully end the war. Tibbets and Robert Greene, Sr. lived in the same town in Ohio, but had never met. Bob jr. writes about how his father would speak of Tibbets and call him "the man who won the war". While Bob jr. was back in Ohio to be with his dying father, he drew on his memories of Tibbets. Finally, Bob went to meet Tibbets. What occured was the beginning of an unlikely friendship that spanned a generation and allowed Bob to discover things about his father and his father's generation that he never understood before. Bob found Tibbets to be a very honest and straight-forward man. There was no nonsense from him; everything was in plain terms. Tibbets talked frequently about his mission to Hiroshima on that fateful day in August, 1945. He said several times that he had no regrets for what he did and he always slept easy at night. Tibbets' stories enabled Bob to see that his father and many other men just like him also played large parts in winning the war. Tibbets never liked the phrase "the man who won the war". He was always quick to give credit to the soldiers as the real heroes, just like Robert sr. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is the several chapters which deal with the trip to Branson, Missouri. Bob, Tibbets, Tom Ferebee (bombardier), and "Dutch" Van Kirk (navigator) took a trip to Branson over Memorial Day weekend and they were treated like conquering heroes by the public. But what impressed me was the candor and openness that these men spoke with. I learned a lot about the Hiroshima mission that I never knew before. I found this book a little slow at the beginning, but it definitely picks up over the second half. Read this book and learn about the generation of men who won the war.
Rating:
Summary: A Reminder of Courage, Honor, and Duty
Review: Bob Greene's father, a World War II veteran, often spoke in admiration of Paul Tibbets who lived in quiet solitude in their hometown in Ohio. Tibbets was, in the eyes of Greene's father, "the man who won the war." After Greene's father passed away, Greene began a quest to better understand his father and the generation from which he came. Tibbets, who piloted the bomber which dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, became a mentor and friend. Through Tibbet's remembrances and Greene's memories of his father, the book becomes an absorbing and intimate tribute from a son to his father and to a generation whose values were embodied in the concepts of honor, duty, and courage. This is a wonderfully well written book replete with fascinating insights into the personality of the man who triggered the most devastating act in the history of man. I re-read portions of this book after the tragic events of September 11 as a reminder to myself of the courage and unselfishness of past Americans who did their duty in a time of war. I recommend it as a reminder of those veterans as well as an interesting and insightful look at the importance of determination and strength during anxious times.
Rating:
Summary: A book about a hero and a father and how much are alike
Review: A great book about a true hero and other's worthy of the same label. A very easy and engaging read. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment .
Review: I have seen Bob Greene on some of the news stories on TV. I like his wit and sentiment. I was prepared for a great book on the great generation that produced his and my father. I was disappointed.
First, the book is disjointed. It goes from sentiment to sentiment, and then reverts back again. In his talks with General Paul Tidbitts, I thought he kept dwelling on the same emotions of a hard military decision. That decision was made long ago, and why keep hammering away at it. Bob, just get over it. The U.S. had to bomb Japan to spare the lives of American soldiers and sailors.
Another problem I have with this book is its lack of history. It tells a little of the history of his father, some of Tidbitts, and then a little on the Doolittle Raiders. Other than that, it is pure sentiment, repeated again and again. For a 300 page book, this could have been cut to 80 pages. I read this book, and it was a disappointment. If one wants to remember the Greatest Generation, read something from Ambrose.
Rating: 
Summary: decent memoir, bad history book.
Review: I started to read this book and at first, found it interesting. THen gradually, I became aggravated because this is really NOT a history book, but a memoir. If you are looking for information about the war and the man who dropped it, a sample of it is in the book, nothing more. I couldn't finish it.
Rating:
Summary: About Our Dads
Review: If you're father was in the service for WWII or if you've lost him, this book will hit the spot. Bob Greene's writing will show you how your Dad's generation thought about things and why they never wrote books about it, signed movie contracts for "their story" or ever complained about it. If you've lost your Dad and he wasn't a WWII vet,you'll still understand him better---his motivation and family dedication. The books will make you cry in several spots---not for the story but for yolur own Dad.
Rating:
Summary: Very touching
Review: I was very touched by Bob Greene's book "Duty: A Father, His Son and the Man Who Won the War." Greene writes with an amazing eloquence and is able to maintain a smooth balance among his reflections of his father, his conversations with General Paul Tibbets and his own thoughts about war, family and life. As a result, he produces what I consider to be one of the best insights into the "Greatest Generation." He examines what motivated them to win the war by looking at their childhoods, their backgrounds and the values they were taught. He shows how both his father, Tibbets and many other servicemen were able to rely on their values to achieve victory against Germany and Japan. For instance, Tibbets was able to organize a bomber squadron that consisted of 1,800 men in order to complete his mission in delivering the atomic bomb to Hiroshima. He was able organize this group with incredible efficiency and secrecy. Could many 29 year-olds do that today? In the end, these men were honorable individuals who followed orders, did the best they could and did it right. I thank Bob Greene for saluting his father, Tibbets and all other World War Two veterans with this fine book. I read it in one day . . . I just couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Great Reading
Review: For those who enjoy the human side of war, his is a very touching and fascinating story to read. I enjoyed it very much and found the stories and the writing style excellent
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