Once An Eagle

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Great American Novel
Review: THIS is the Great American Novel, capturing all the finest qualities in, not only an American soldier, but in an American Man. This book would be a tremendous guide for a young man on how to, and not to, live a life. Of accepting and doing one's duty, of Honor, and especially, what it means to be a real adult man in society. Great Book!

Rating:
Summary: Once read, it will inspire you for your lifetime.
Review: I first read this book in 1976, have read it three times since. I was quite pleased when it was made into a movie for tv. Starring Sam Elliot. He was the perfect actor to portray Damon. With sadness I could never find a copy of it in video store or anywhere else. Since i first read it I could never forget it. A book that everyone should read filled with triumph, sadness, glory, despair and HONOR. A story of a man we all would like to be and hope that others are like him.

Rating:
Summary: Finest book I have ever read.
Review: Why is Anton Myrer ignored when great authors are mentioned? His "Once an Eagle" is the finest book, of ANY type, that I have ever read. It is with geniune sadness that I hear he died last year. His great book will always live in my house.

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" book for all leaders, civilain and military.
Review: I first was introduced to "Once An Eagle" in 1977 when it was made into a movie. As a Viet Nam veterine and National Guard officer, this story brought home the true life stuggles of those who serve our country and the battles, agains all manner of enemy, that those who have choosen the profession of arms must deal with. This is a story about leadership, integrity and pasison. Now, as a senior officer in the US Air Force, I have read this book over a dozen time and it is a suggested reading for all my officers and NCO's. The characters of Sam Damon, Courtney Massingal are examples of what true leadership is and is not. My only regret is I don't have a copy of the movie

Rating:
Summary: A lifetime reading experience.
Review: My father, an Army General, read this book three times before I finally picked it up. It was a tattered paperback, and I searched years for a hardcover copy with which to repay him for the finest reading experience I've had in my life. This book could stand alone as a novel that successfully unravels the mystery of man's endless cycle of construction and destruction. But it is at the same time a lifetime inspiration, telling the story of a small-town Nebraska son who's got the stuff to change the world around him, and does. Myrer's gifted description brings into mind's view the gas-lit town of Sam Damon's beginnings, the battlefields on which he fights, recognition of his life's love, and other life-shaping experiences with such impact that Once An Eagle constantly causes the reader to close this book and let what he has read sink to the bone, praying that the essence of this brilliant commentary will never be forgotten

Rating:
Summary: This may well be the best book I have ever read.
Review: This may well be the best book I have ever read-and I have read it at least five times. It is certainly the best book of its type with which I am acquainted-better even than War and Peace. It is about everything: war, and the awful waste of combat; the price of idealism; the choices and compromises we make in our lives; love and truth; the search for the meaning of life; and mostly about the costs that living and choosing entail. The hero, Sam Damon, is one of those very rare characters in fiction who touches-and changes-the lives of readers. Caught in turbulent times, he only rarely gets to glimpse the "glory" and glamor of them. But he takes part in more than his share of the awful, bloody, dark side of historic events. Myrer's gift is that he is able, despite sparing the reader nothing of the truth, to transport this into an uplifting, optimistic experience. Reading Once An Eagle is an unforgettable experience, providing more insight about life and soldiering, and being a person of honor and integrity, than dozens of good biographies or histories ever could. I envy the reader who has yet to experience this book for the first time

Rating:
Summary: Leadership skills and a guide for everyday living...
Review: In a country where Goldie Hawn can share a stage with Zig Zigler and tell their stories of success; here is superior fictional story on how to live ones life. No exaggeration! You see, the two protagonists in "Once an Eagle" are very different. Yes, there is a bit of black and white imagery used by Mr. Mryer, but the story of the choices that Sam Damon and Courtney Massengale make, need to be told and re-told. We were young once and we read Remarque's "All Quiet On The Western Front", the quintessenial war novel. I'm sure not many of us identified with Paul's former teacher or Sergeant. Why? Yes, Paul's journey is more interesting. However, it's the choices of an idealist youth who grows into a man after seeing the horrors of war that calls to all of us. Anton Mryer has updated that story, made it more fuller, more complex and has extended it over two adults lives. And, yes there is a message here to be found here. As a young Boy Scout, I was taught that the choices we make determine the man we become. Well, what better life model than that of Sam Damon. As a father, I can only hope my own children make similiar ethical choices! Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: It is a good story and the writing starts off good and clear but when it gets to the battle scenes, the abstract, jumbled up what is going on starts, and the author assumes (I guess) that the reader understands french and North Carolina hilly billy isms, I know about 3 french words and thats it, the phrases that Raebyrne the North Carolinian comes with were for the most part beyond my figuring out what he was trying to say, I like to know and understand what is going on in a story, perhaps most readers just skim thru it and see the "big picture", every marine has to read this book?, how do they know that they did? are they given a test?, an edited version omitting the gibberish would suit me far better.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty amazing novel
Review: I read this when I was 16 years old, roughly twenty years ago (and missed out on a lot of nuances because of I was too young to get them, but a lot of the book stuck with me); recently re-read it and have to say this is one book that stands the test of time. It's a book with true characters that live in your memory, and what better can you say about any novel?

Just to note, the TV adaptation from the late '70's kind of "trashed up" the book, so I can't agree with the reviewer who wanted to have it issued on VHS or DVD. It's not that it was a bad miniseries but it wasn't much like the book at all!

Rating:
Summary: One of the GREATEST military books ever
Review: I doubt that I can write a review with anything insightful that hasnt been stated in the other reviews. As mandatory reading at West Point and "highly suggested" by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, this is one of the greatest books ever, military or otherwise. Every instance in the book will undoubtably surface in your military career.