Duty : A Father, His Son, And The Man Who Won The War

Rating:
Summary: Better than "Greatest Generation" or "Flags of Our Fathers"
Review: An excellent tribute to the World War II generation. This book surpasses "The Greatest Generation" in its investigation of it principal character, Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets (the hero of Hiroshima), and eschews the victimization and exploitation theories that color the final one-third of "Flags of Our Fathers." Both "Greatest" and "Flags" are well worth reading. However, I found "Duty" to be the superior of the three.

Tibbets on those who question the morality of dropping the A-Bomb on Hiroshima: "Those people never had their balls on the the cold, hard anvil." Enough said.

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Summary: Duty, a father,his son, and the man who won the war
Review: I believe it is almost impossible for someone who lived during World War two and remembers those trying years to avoid tears when reading many parts of this narrative, especially incidents like those concerning the Dolittle Raiders. It is unfortunate that so many have never learned what was done to allow them to enjoy the life they lead or to guarantee their very existence. Many of those who write revisionist history to negate the importance of the nuclear bomb drops on Japan might not even exist today were that not done. They owe their very lives to Gen. Tibbits and the 509th Composite Group and to all the people who fought for them 1941 to 1945. Books like this ought to be suggested reading to classes of American History at the senior levels of our public schools.

Rating:
Summary: too Many Books In One
Review: First of all I love Bob Greene's work and stories of WWII. However, I did not enjoy Duty. I felt that the thing that make Greene's columns so good made the book hard to read. This topic should not be handled like a column in the paper on a Sunday morning. I've read most of Stephen Ambroses accounts of WWII and find his interviews with vets to be much more insightful than Greenes with Tibbets. I felt the author attempted to write a book about his dad, Tibbets and his relationship with his dad which appeared to be strained at times as he grew up. I did not feel that he did a good job with any of these subjects. I believe both his dad and his relation with his dad and Tibbets deserved their own stories. Again, I love Greene's work I just believe these subjects deserved better from an accomplished author.

Rating:
Summary: If you Have a Father you Must Read this Book
Review: When I finished "Duty" I calmly set the book down and spent several minutes thinking about my own dad. To say that this book is touching is an understatement. Bob Greene learns much about his father after his dad dies, through conversations with another World War II military man -- one General Paul Tibbets. It so happens that General Tibbets lives near Mr. Greene's parent's home and, after some 20 years of attempts, agrees to talk with the author. It also so happens that Paul Tibbets is the man who piloted the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb at Hiroshima.

The many interviews with Tibbets let the reader view the Second World War (in particular the dropping of the first atomic bomb) through the mind of the man who flew the Enola Gay and very probably ended the war.

Think about your dad, then read the book. You may never think about him the same way again.

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Summary: "Doolittle's Raiders -- Those Were Real Heroes"
Review: This quote came from Paul Tibbets, the man who piloted the Enola Gay (named after his mother) to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. He was referring to the crews that bombed Japan shortly after the start of the U.S. engagement in World War II, in a stirring symbolic strike at our Pacific enemy of those years. They had no way to come back with their planes, and had to fly onto the Asian mainland and hope to find their way back to the U.S. Many did not survive the mission.

What many do not know is that Tibbets also headed the unit that prepared to drop the atomic bombs. He ordered himself to pilot the first flight, out of his sense of responsibility for getting the job done right.

Many will think this book is a biography of Tibbets, who has remained out of the limelight since World War II. That thought is partially correct.

But the book is much more than that, even though that would have been a lot.

The author became interested in Tibbets because the author's father was so obviously in awe of Tibbets. He would mention seeing Tibbets in their common hometown of Columbus, Ohio, but never approached him.

Inspired by his father's interest, the author finally meets Tibbets shortly before his father dies.

Then begins one of those wonderful human experiences that we each should have, and books like this allow us to experience vicariously. Although Tibbets never met the father, he instantly understood him. In many informal talks and visits, the author came to understand both Tibbets and his own father who had left a tape recorded oral history.

There is a wonderful epiphany near the end of the book when the author finally understands why Tibbets meant so much to his father. I won't spoil it for you, but it's worth reading the whole book to get to this one story.

This book will be very appealing to anyone who read and liked The Greatest Generation. By focusing on the lives of just a few men (Tibbets, two of Tibbets' crew mates, and Greene's father) you get a richness and wholeness to the lives that makes it all come together much better than can happen with briefer stories. In a sense, the two books are companion pieces. In fact, I recommend that most people read Duty first, and then read The Greatest Generation. If you have already read The Greatest Generation, you should reread it after you have read Duty. You'll have many new insights as a result.

My next suggestion is that you then seek out someone who fought in World War II (a relative would be great if you have one) and talk to them about their experiences and what you thought you learned from these two books. You should be able to lift a generational curtain in the process, and make some wonderful human contact that would not have otherwise have been possible. In this way, you can pay real tribute to all those who made our modern world possible. To me, I beg to differ with Paul Tibbets' quote. I think that almost everyone was a hero at one level or another. The differences are not so important. What they did and why they did it are.

Rating:
Summary: For Fathers and Sons -- Bridging Gaps
Review: With Father's Day just around the corner I wanted to share a review of "DUTY," one of the best books I've ever read. (I've read nearly all the books in Sallyann's B-29 Reading Room and (hope she can add this excellent title, soon!)

My 22-year old son gave me this book last week for my birthday and I've already sent it onto my Father who served as a Superfort CFC gunner with the 73rd Bomb Wing's 499th.

Greene's book crosses generations and gender gaps -- it is a unique and special historical, yet very personal, look into the lives of the generation we own so much to. The author explores his relationship with his dying father (a WWII Army infantry veteran who fought in Italy). A native of Columbus, Ohio, Bob tries for over twenty years to interview retired General Paul Tibbets, Commander of the Enola Gay. On the morning after the last meal he ever shared with his father, Tibbets agrees to meet with Greene. What unfolds is a simply fascinating and genuine friendship that allowed author Greene to discover things about his father, and his father's generation of WWII soldiers, that he never fully understood before.

I especially enjoyed the chapter where Greene is invited by Tibbets to spend a few days at a Branson, Missouri, reunion of (then) surviving Enola Gay crew members: (the late) Tom Ferebee, Dutch Van Kirk, and Paul Tibbets. Greene is an extraordinary journalist, he brings you into the group and shares it all with a special sensitivity, understand and love.

Please...... beg borrow or otherwise obtain a copy of this book, today -- it's a must read, regardless of your generation, gender, or previously formed opinions on the "single most violent act in the history of mankind."

Lee K. Shuster,

Vietnam-era USAF Vet and Son of a (CFC) Gunner

Rating:
Summary: A unique, insightful perspective
Review: I've always loved WWII history, especially how it affected the common GI. Bob Greene had always hoped to meet "the man who won the war",Gen. Paul Tibbetts, the man who piloted the Enola Gay on the fateful flight that would ultimately end the war. The retired general happened to live in the same town as Bob Greene's father, living a life of relative anonymity. In fact Bob Greene had tried previously to interview him with no luck. But as his own father is dying Gen. Tibbetts suddenly agrees to see him. What Bob Greene discovers about the man who dropped the atomic bomb is how much in common he has with his own father. This is basically the story of two soldiers, one who by a single act in history, the dropping of the atomic bomb, gained fame (or notoriety as some would see it) and how that act affected his life at that time and ever after. And it is the story of Bob Greene's father, an ordinary GI who achieved the rank of major in the wartime Army, but after the war ended put away all traces of his service, never talked about his army experiences, never joined any service-oriented organization and went back to the civilian world after the war and continued his life as if it had never been interrupted. He married, raised a family and worked hard. In other words, both men did their "duty" in and after they left the service. It's a touching tribute to a father by his son and brings a down-to-earth perspective to the decision about the Enola Gay mission, without simplifying it in the least. After reading this book I can see why these men are called "the greatest generation" and how the sacrifices they made are too often taken for granted.

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Summary: An honorable tribute to the Veterans of WWII
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a book to be read by everyone whose Parents or Grandparents were of the World War II Generation. This is an honest, insightful, and honorable tribute to the hero Paul Tibbets of the Enola Gay, and to Major Time Greene of the 91st Infantry Division, one of the many unsung heroes that put it all on the line to save the free world. One comes away with a knowledge of how our greatest generation viewed the world and their moral character. One also gets a wake up call as to their opinion of the current generation.

If you have recently laid to rest a Parent of Grandparent from the WWII era, as I have, this book will help you cherish their memory even more.

Rating:
Summary: Moving Must Read
Review: Bob Greene's style will draw you in. You cannot help but be moved by the emotions carried from the war through present day. Michael Jordan, although a great athlete, pales in comparison to the heroics of the characters - including Bob Greene's father. It's history with emotion - you'll want to finish right away.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I just recently purchased this book, and I am happy I did. As a Lance Corporal in the US Marines I am always interested in reading military type books, but this was much more than that. It is a story about the relationship the father and son had. It also focuses on the victory in a war in which so many lost their lives. It is great that Tibbets contributed to the writing of this book. Who better to hear it from. Also, Bob Greene is a gifted writer, whether writing a novel or column. This book will be special to almost anyone who reads it, you don't have to be interested in the military to enjoy it. [e-mail]