Asia Books

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of Greg Mortenson's journey through Pakistan to establish schools for girls who otherwise would not receive an education. I feel so much compassion for these innocent children who are victims of their existence. I would recommend this book to anyone living in the U.S. where we have education readily available. I also would recommend this book to those children in the U.S. who choose not to attend school. The Pakistan children are so eager to learn anything and read any books available to them. Greg's family should be extremely proud of his lifetime accomplishments to better the lives of children.

I loved this book! It was very easy to read, and quite an eye-opener for me. I have only heard negative things about Pakistan and Afghanistan, mainly from the news media, and I now have quite a different view of the people that Mr. Mortenson has grown to love. Now when I hear reports coming about that part of the world I think of all the innocent people who are caught in the violence, and I hope that we can some how help them.
Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute offer each of us an opportunity to help in the fight against terrorism.
I hope that many people will read this and better understand how the majority of the people over there live!

While a failed climb on Pakistan's majestic K2 appeared to be a disappointment, in actuality it became a life-changing mission for one American and the impoverished villages he was set on helping.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time (Penguin Books, 2006, 349 pgs.), so eloquently written by David Oliver Relin and in collaboration with Greg Mortenson, details the true story of Mortenson's quest to help disadvantaged communities of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Relin, an editor with Parade magazine, played an important role in publicizing Mortenson's journey prior to writing Three Cups of Tea.

Relin's interpretation of Mortenson's heroic adventures to introduce schools to Balti children is both riveting and heartwarming. With the combination of Relin's flowing style and Mortenson's captivating narrations, the reader is mesmerized by the trials and tribulations of what is needed to develop schools in a country so engrained in terrorism and mistrust of Americans (The America's Intelligence Wire). Greg Mortenson, born in Minnesota in 1957, was raised within range of Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro. His father, an accomplished climber, introduced Mortenson to the thrills of mountaineering (Kauffman). His passion for climbing took over his life (U. Oregon).

To honor his deceased and beloved sister's memory, Mortenson undertook a planned climb in 1993 on Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain. The climb failed. Icy, cold conditions forced Mortenson to turn back from the mountain, only to become lost from his climbing partners. He became stranded from civilization with supplies to last no longer than a couple of days. According to Mortenson, he was fortunate that one of the climb's porters, a Balti man named Mouzafer Ali, stumbled across him and helped to lead him off the mountain to the small village of Korphe (Mortenson and Relin). It was there in Korphe that Mortenson had an epiphany about his life and what he could do for others. After watching young students work multiplication tables in the dirt with sticks, Mortenson said, "I felt like my heart was being torn out....I knew I had to do something" (Mortenson and Relin). An ambitious idea was hatched to build a school for the children.

Back in the United States, Mortenson worked hard to garner financial support for his idea, but mostly came across opposition. It wasn't until he obtained financial backing from Swiss philanthropist Jean Hoerni that Mortenson was able to begin the financial realization of his dream. With the help of Relin, who published an article about Mortenson and his humanitarian efforts in Parade in 2003, publicity and subsequent offers to help grew.

Three Cups of Tea introduces the concept of the building of bridges not just physically, but also spiritually. Not only did Mortenson need to physically erect a bridge to carry the supplies to begin construction, he needed to first build an emotional bridge to the residents of the country he was attempting to help. The book carries this thought throughout, bringing to the reader the struggles necessary for Mortenson to convince the villagers that he, the American infidel, was not trying to sway their religious ways, and had no political influence in his efforts. Mortenson was tested time and time again, both by the locals, with Taliban leaders, and within himself. As reflected in the book, Mortenson never gives up. At one point he endures a frightening kidnapping for eight days and later a fight between Afghan warlords (The America's Intelligence Wire). After September 11 he is also confronted by hate mail and threats from Americans because of his misunderstood association with the "enemy" (The America's Intelligence Wire).

Throughout the book the significance of drinking tea, otherwise known as paiyu cha, represents the development of friendship between the villagers and Mortenson. Haji Ali, who was an insightful and respected village elder of Korphe, explained that, "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die" (Mortenson and Relin). The significance of drinking tea follows Mortenson throughout his efforts to build the schools. He becomes able to readily assess the safeness of a situation by whether tea is offered. The tea becomes the thread that holds the story together. The tea becomes trust, compassion, and inspiration.

The authors movingly detail one particular instance that proved to be one of the most humbling moments in Three Cups of Tea. After the building of the school was nearing completion, a gang of strangers armed with clubs made their way into Korphe to demand stoppage of the building because of the American infidel, and the supposed plot to move the children to Christianity. Ali stood firm, although to get rid of the intruders and continue with the school the village had to relinquish 12 of their prized and sacred rams. The effect was devastating to the community. It wasn't until later that evening that Mortenson fully understood how Ali could have given up such wealth (Mortenson and Relin).

Sitting around an evening fire, Ali confided to Mortenson that he could not read. As he explained, "This is the greatest sadness in my life. I'll do anything so the children of my village never have to know this feeling. I'll pay any price so they have the education they deserve" (Mortenson and Relin).

Mortenson realized at that point that while all his efforts to build the school had been a struggle, the sacrifices that Ali was making were so much greater. As Mortenson states, "Here was an illiterate man, who'd hardly ever left his little village...yet he was the wisest man I've ever met" (Mortenson and Relin).

It is with powerfully poignant moments such as this that Three Cups of Tea helps to open the reader's eyes to what was truly important to the villagers. The highly sacred rams were not the prize. The education of the young children was the true reward. Mortenson and Relin beautifully pull the reader into the eye-opening awareness of what in today's society should be considered of highest value, whether abroad or here in the United States.

Since Three Cups of Tea has been published, the word of Mortenson's efforts has spread, allowing him to continue to build within other villages. In all his heroic kindness Mortenson has accepted the challenge, and today has built over 58 schools in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, including in areas controlled by the Taliban. As a matter of fact, as the schools were being built within these controlled areas, the schooling of young boys in Islamic militant standards was taking place (Mortenson and Relin). Mortenson saw beyond this training, realizing that the schooling of children, particularly of young girls, would help to provide a future in areas where there wasn't hope previously. While others may feel that Three Cups of Tea is a politically motivated piece, the political arena is not the underlying concept. Giving, compassion and social responsibility are the motivators. As Entertainment Weekly's Timothy Gunatilaka so correctly states, Three Cups of Tea is "largely a testament to a generosity that transcends politics and religion".

As the number of schools grew, the formation of the Central Asia Institute took place. Jean Hoerni, whose gracious original donation allowed Mortenson to build the first school, continued to support the humanitarian efforts by helping to establish the CAI. Today, the CAI will educate over 24,000 children, as indicated by M. J. Prest of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. This is an amazing accomplish undertaken by one man destined to help others.

Three Cups of Tea is a beautiful narrative of one man's attempt to give back. Clearly Mortenson could not have dreamed that his singular action of helping a handful of children would start a movement that would later encompass the lives of so many people far and wide. The effect of one man stepping out of his box and never giving up is a true inspiration to others. If any lesson is learned by Three Cups of Tea, it is that undertaking such a magnificent adventure to "cross the bridge" does not have to have political implications, but rather is gathered from the goodness of the heart. Certainly the children who are now receiving an education when one was not previously provided can attest to that.

Greg Mortenson and David Relin weave a fascinating tale of an adventurer turned advocate for rural education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In some of the most remote and inhospitable areas of the world, Greg Mortensen succeeds in building schools where the government had failed. As a woman who lived in the region, I found Greg's story not only captivating, but also pin point accurate.
This true to life story of humanitarianism is one of my top ten favorite reads.

Since 1997, after a long stint in the military, I have been travelling the world promoting the cause of Open Source software as a means of accelerating the development of nations less fortunate than the one I am lucky enough to live in. During the course of this journey, I came to understand an integral portion of this mission was that of education, ie, making knowledge available to all who wished to seek it. Greg Mortensen, the central true-life character of "3 Cups of Tea", makes my efforts seem trivial. I view him as my role model and a true life hero. Through my various activities I continue to exhort those, who have the power, to adopt the central tenet of this story which is that the long term means of ensuring we have a future is to make a future for others.

A long time friend of mine in California, knowing of my passion for the advancement of mankind, suggested I should read this book. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. It is very well written and would make the stuff of a great film; for it is full of adventure with the added spice of being a true story. To top it off, the story is inspiring and leaves you feeling good at the end of it. I am now buying copies as Christmas presents for my closest friends and family.

A really great read and about something I would recommend to all. Its about something to which we should all aspire. I hope one day to have the pleasure of meeting and possibly, in some small way, helping Greg Mortenson

Kevin Loughrey (LTCOL retd)
CEO
Non Volatile Technologies

The late Mr Sledge 'hammer' wrote this compelling and often brutal account of his experiences during the grim and bloody battles on Peleliu and Okinawa. He was one of a scant handful of Marines that made it through both battles without a wound. His first hand account draws the reader into the daily routine of Marine life but also splashes mud and blood into your face when he lands on the two contested islands. Although a 60mm mortarman, he shared many of the same brutal conditions the infantry did: enemy snipers, artillery, personal misery, mud and incredible filth. Sledge writes in a straight forward style and a few times, he himself mentions that we was confused and puzzled about just where he was during advances and barrages, bringing this story to an even more personal level.
One of the best WWII related memoirs you will read, right up there with 'Storm of Steel' and 'Goodbye, Darkness'. Powerful, gripping, head-shaking and amazing are a few words to describe his experiences amid slashing shrapnel, Nambu bullets, artillery fire, carrying loads of ammo and hauling wounded Marines in knee-deep mud. Some scenes are horrific and brutal, just as they happened to him and his buddies. Well worth reading and you will not soon forget his book.
Sadly, Eugene Sledge passed away in 2001.

This is one of the most intimate and exceptionally written books about combat I have every read. Eugene Sledge portrays the war in the Pacific in such a way that you feel the pain and suffering of the men who sacrificed everything for eachother in combat. You will be humbled by Sledge's memoirs. A must read for all.

There are so many reasons to pan a book like this, writting, viewpoint, historical accuracy, but this book gets 5 stars in all catagories. So true, so full of action, so sad, so much to say. My true interest lies on the Eastern Front between Germany and Russia, but this was so good it is my favorite of WW2 in spite of the subject matter. Wow.

I have told people that war is the Second worse thing that could happen to a human. The first? Slavery - which is the battlefront against Hitler's National Socialists and the Imperial Japan in World War II.

That's where this story takes place. I have read few books that convey the realism and horror of war so well, without reservation. This is one.

Eugene B. Sledge, an Alabama boy, heads into War in the Pacific as a member of the U.S. Marines. He lands with the famous 1st Marine Division - 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. His training was concentrated and intense - but still nothing prepares one for the onslaught of Pelilieu. He was a vet when he hit Okinawa where the fighting got even tougher. The image that sticks with me about Okinawa is a Marine who has to head back to get ammo. He slips in the mud and slides down the hill, rising to discover that he was covered in the maggots uncovered by his slid that were gnawing away at the dead bodies in the mud. This Marine, inured to death and destruction, is rattled badly. That image has stayed with me to understand the horror of this generation's sacrifice and their quiet acceptance of Duty.

By the time Sledge hit the hell of Okinawa, he was a combat vet, still filled with fear but no longer with panic.

I can't go into detail since I didn't read it myself, but my dad enjoyed it a lot.

Item was shipped in a timely fashion and was as originally described. Great seller!

This book was suggested to me by the mother of a Marine. I was going to say ex-Marine but there is no such thing. She said it was as close to the real thing as you could get. Her son was in Iraq three times but I don't think he told her the real thing. This book is good and it has it's moments. Enough so that I wouldn't want to trade places with any of these American hero's. I haven't finished the book yet but it tracks with my worst imaginings of what Iraq must be like. God bless our armed forces!
John

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I read it on the Kindle. Life took a backseat while I read it.

Fallujah now I know better than I ever thought I'd know it.

I laughed, too. The description of the Iraqi soldiers dancing together a la Shakira is hilarious. The description of war is immediate and pressing it truly is as if the reader participates in the hell of combat, where human will often decides who wins and loses.

There's a scene reminiscent of the brutal "Saving Private Ryan" scene where the fighting literally become tooth, claw, and knife.

War truly is hell, and this book shows that soldiers die for each other out of love. Not for the big, noble causes, but to be there for his comrade.

This book is similar to Black Hawk Down and almost as good.

The only bone of contention I have is, as an English teacher, the spelling of "all right" not acceptable as "alright." It makes my skin crawl.

I hope Americans realize he tremendous sacrifices that soldiers and Marines have made in the Iraqi and Afghani campaigns. This book is so effective for being so evocative and as a labor of love. David Bellavia is so effective for writing from the heart, laying it all bare.

Great job, Sarge. Thanks for your service. Hoo-yah!

This is worth every minute of reading time. I read it through without stopping, it was so compelling and real. Thanks for the snapshot of that world, and for your service, Sargeant.

After trying to understand for years even a small fraction of what is actually going on in Iraq and what happened in Fallujah, this book is a blessing. Not only is a it a great account to the things we all must know before we turn on CNN for the guide to our lives, it's also a great story in general.. It will steal you heart, if you have one. It's very easy to read and holds your attention throughout the whole book without any long boring gaps. So for those of you with limited attention span (like me), reading it should not take long or pose any problems.

This book may also help you question and find out things about your own self. I hope it can do for many what it did for me. I felt more emotion that I have felt from any movie or book for many many years.

I would like to thank SSG David Bellavia for doing the incredible things that you did and writing to tell us about it without holding back what most people would never share. You are and all of the men and women you served with are now more than ever my heroes! God bless you!

Leave all your skepticism at the door. I doubted that this book would meet my expectations after reading the positive reviews here. I was fully satisfied as I turned the last page and reflected on this tale of sacrifice and courage in the madness of war.

The author writes with clarity and the events of the battle are easy to follow throughout the work. Several black and white photos and an excellent set of supplemental position maps augment the words on the page. I was never confused and never lost track of who was going where and what they were doing. I also kept referring to a ship diagram that was provided each time a new crew was introduced. It was amazing to compare the smaller American ships to the behemoth Japanese ships while reading about them squaring off, and more times than not with the Americans getting the better of the confrontation, at least at first.

Not lost in all this is the struggle of the individual sailors and officers. You are there as they charge into oblivion, blast away with awesome precision, watch their friends die in often horrible ways, yet they keep going until their beloved "Tin Cans" are blown out from underneath them. An awesome testimony to this breed of soldier during ww2.

A large group of resources is included for further study including other books and websites, but I can't imagine it getting any better treatment than this. The only way you don't enjoy this is if you aren't interested in military history or you don't care. On second thought, maybe that's exactly why you should read it - to see what it took back then.

In the end, a highly recommended and inspiring book. A MUST for ww2 fans.

I stumbled on this book and am glad I did as it now has to be one of my favorite books. Well written and researched it's a fun adventure be it a morbid one but and adventure just the same.

I must admit to knowing next to nothing about the Battle off Samar Island. What little I have read paints it more or less as a lucky loss in that the Americans avoided a true calamity.

In an effort to stem the American advance on the Philippines and hopefully catch the carrier fleet unaware; the Japanese Navy set in motion a plan to trick the carriers away from the invasion forces. Admiral Ozawa offered a decoy force in an attempt to draw off Halsey and Halsey true to form charged after him.

The attacking force lead by the behemoth Yamato heads in an stumbles on a small task force of 6 escort carriers and their escorts.

What should have been a full slaughter turns into a loss due to the efforts of the force commander "Ziggy" Sprague and the suicidal bravery of the Tin-Cans. The image of the Johnston charging a cruiser force with guns blazing and torpedoes launching is the stuff of legends. Surprisingly she disables the lead cruiser Kumano. That and the other sorties by the Samuel B. Roberts, the Hoel and the Heermann buy time for the force to make a run for it and send planes to try and blunt the attack. The attack goes on with the Hoel, Johnston and Samuel B. Roberts disabled or sinking. The Gambier Bay is hit and sinks and the for reasons only know to the force commander Admiral Kurita, he calls off the attack and heads home.

Hornfischer does a splendid job telling this story. It is well researched and very detailed as it tries to convey what the men went through. Especially when trying to survive in the water while waiting for rescue that was foolishly delayed and probably caused the death of over 100 men.

The minutia of detail gives harrowing imagery to the battle. The bravery and the odd things people do. Such as men carefully lining up their shoes on the deck as they abandon ship. The sacrifice and the sad end for many. The doctor who stays aboard to ease the passing of the dying and dies in an explosion. The dying man who keeps trying to load his destroyed gun. The dog who returns to the sinking ship.

One odd thing I have read about is the dementia of long term exposure in the ocean. A common theme involves the belief that fresh water is below the surface water. It happens in this story as well.

Another interesting thing is the Japanese viewpoint. Hornfischer put an effort describing the leadup to the battle and gave a couple examples of humanity. Such as the commander of the cruiser Tone who orders the gunners to avoid the men trying to leave the ship. The sailors who toss tins of food to the men in the water.

There are numerous photos and there is a list of men who died during and after the battle. I found myself looking at the list when names appeared in the reading to see if they survived.

It's interesting that this battle is often overlooked as the author points out it was a battle of firsts and lasts. Firsts were: The first time a US aircraft carrier was lost due to surface gunfire, the first time a ship was sunk by a Kamikaze, the first time the Yamato fired her guns in battle. The lasts were: the last massed ship action, the last time a battleship fired it's guns at other ships, the last time destroyers charged a line of ships.

Overall, this was a fun read and the details in the book make it a worthwhile addition to anyone's library.

The accolades for this book you find here are extremely well deserved. I will add to the cheerleading only by saying that this book is without a doubt, the single best book I have ever read concerning any aspect of the war in the Pacific. And I've read a LOT of it. It is literally impossible to put this book down once the action starts. Too bad more of naval history isn't written by this author. I have read many books on the Battle of Leyte Gulf that left me scratching my head in frustration as the author utterly fails in his attempt to relate to the reader a complex and disjointed narrative of one of the most complicated battles in U.S. Naval history. Not so with this Last Stand. BTW, I have been trying to plow through Lundstrum's "First Team" for what seems like forever. Talk about a great story ruined by a guy who has no flair for writting. But back on topic and in conclusion I will say that this won't be the last time I read Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. As far as Lundtrum's book, well, I'm really looking forward to finishing it and making a paper weight out of it.

Being a voracious reader of world war ii novels,This is quite simply one of the most exciting and heart rending novels of naval warfare I have ever read.What make's it all the more interesting is my late grandfather served on a destroyer escort and even though he told a few tales himself reading this novel I truly almost felt I could smell the cordite and feel the deck as the Samuel b Robert's charged at the Japanese fleet.Next time you see a vet shake his hand and thank him.They deserve it!

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors chronicles "The Battle off Samar", possibly the most lopsided battle ever fought by the US Navy. Due to an inexplicable decision by the legendary Admiral Halsey, on October 25, 1944 a small flotilla of Escort Carriers and their escorting squadron of "Tin Cans" (Destroyers, and their little cousins, Destroyer Escorts, the smallest ships in the blue water fleet) were the only thing standing between a powerful fleet of Japanese battleships and the US invasion force sent to liberate the Philippines.

For the Americans, trying to stand up against the heavily armed and armored Japanese behemoths with the minimal forces at their disposal was suicidal. Still they were the only ships available to prevent the Japanese steaming into Leyte Gulf and slaughtering the soldiers and Marines still on the beach, so stand up against them is what they did. Incredibly, the Japanese retreated...but only after blasting two Destroyers a Destroyer Escort and one of the Escort Carriers into oblivion.

It was once said (by William Manchester, I believe) that military history often focuses on battles because, once so much blood has been shed we humans seem compelled to justify all the loss and pain by giving the event meaning. By the time the Battle off Samar took place, the Japanese empire was certainly beaten. Win, lose or draw, on that day in October they were not going to significantly alter the course of the war. And yet the willingness of the outnumbered and out gunned American squadron to stand and fight when they should have had no chance of winning does elevate 3 hours of explosive action to that point where stories and poems will be written about it for decades.

James D. Hornfischer's book captures both the events and emotions of the men who made what they knew would be a suicidal last stand vividly. It is well worth reading for anyone interested in World War II history.

Well written from a more neutral prespective. Easy to follow narative. I have this book on my nightstand and find my self reading it when I really should be sleeping. Great Book

I, as with many -- perhaps most -- general readers particularly interested in World War II naval history, assumed there wasn't much earth-shatteringly new I could learn about the Battle of Midway. Having read most of the standard narratives, I tackled "Shattered Storm" expecting to simply gain a more detailed picture of the battle from the Japanese point of view. What I got was detailed to be sure, but rather than merely filling in gaps in my understanding, "Shattered Sword" shattered my neat assumptions of the entire campaign. That is exactly what Parshall and Tully intended.

The authors understood that most readers, from the general military history buff like me, to well-educated military historians, had a well-formed idea of what happened preceding, during and after the conflict, why and how it turned out as it did, and its impact on future campaigns -- indeed on the outcome of the Pacific War as a whole. Much of what we knew about Midway, they came to believe, was essentially based on a lie, subsequently perpetuated by lazy scholarship. They felt that the seminal work on Midway from the Japanese perspective, Fuchida's "Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan" (which I have not read -- yet) was a self-serving attempt to deflect blame, which for a variety of reasons, was ever after accepted at face-value by Western researchers and writers.

I personally believe most "revisionist" history is a close-cousin of UFO exposes and conspiracy theories, little more than whining or axe-grinding. Tully and Parshall avoid this trap. Their argument is that the standard picture of Midway is flawed simply because most writers on the subject simply stuck to the previously written script without doing the obviously difficult work involved in scouring and interpreting the Japanese primary sources. They set about carefully reconstructing the battle from the perspective of what the IJN was in 1942 vs. what the dimming mists of time lead us to think it was.

Approaching "Shattered Sword" felt daunting at first. I'm not a historian or a journalist -- my formal education ended with nursing school. I feared this hefty book might be too dense to wade through, but my fears were unfounded. Tully and Parshall write with a relaxed, easy narrative style, wonderfully free of the cant that so often intimidates general readers. They managed to explain technical details and arcane doctrine in a way that was easy to understand without being patronizing. They did not lose sight of the fact that, under it all, they were telling a story, one where most readers already knew the outcome, and had well-formed ideas of who the "good guys" and "bad guys" were. They managed to keep me riveted, while eliciting a measure of, if not sympathy, then empathy for the other side. They presented the facts to bck up their argument within the context of the narrative, so it flowed smoothly within the framework of their underlying story. In the end, they concisely wrapped up the facts and laid out the reasoning behind the conclusions they drew. They offered up a perspective I had not yet seen, and they articulated some nebulous ideas that had been floating around my understanding of Midway and the Pacific War. The graphics they used to bolster their arguments were clear, pertinent and enlightening.

In summary, I found this book persuasive, clear, well-organized, thoughtful (and thought-provoking), and above all entertaining. While I wouldn't recommend it to a reader with no more than a passing interest in World War II history, or to a reader who doesn't have a basic understanding of the Battle of Midway, I would highly recommend it on so many different levels to anyone with a genuine interest in the history of the war in the Pacific. I would urge those who do select this book to read it with an open mind. Certainly one of the most interesting books on the Pacific war I've yet read. I wish Tully and Parshall would put their collaborative writing/researching skills together again for a fresh look at Midway from the American perspective.

A very carefully researched and written account of the events leading up to and during the Battle of Midway from both sides. Reading this book almost puts one back in time and part of the story. This is an exceptional book to read that has a refreshing new perspective on a great story that by many accounts was a complex set events that is explained in a way that no other book has done.

Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully have put together a complete revision of the Battle of Midway. Using many Japanese sources we find out the underlying truth of this battle.
I have not read Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway and I cannot comment on his errors or omissions. However, in reading Shattered Sword, I learned a great deal of the mindset of the Imperial Navy of Japan in 1942. It is a fact that Japan's hubris made for the unexplained lack of professionalism in their actions of their offensive on Midway. Yamamoto's battle plan was flawed, he assumed the Americans were mentally beaten at this point in time.
As pointed out in this book and which is widely known even before the writing of Shattered Sword is that the United States had broken the Japanese code. It is fact that they knew the location of the Japanese attack.
However the battle was not won on this fact alone. What Parshall and Tully have done is to examine the points of the Japanese failures and they were many. They sent out their reconnaissance planes much too late to spot American carrier activities. They also made the cardinal sin of sending out all their planes and leaving their carriers unprotected.
At this time the Japanese were in command and were pushing forward to deal the decisive blow. They indeed failed. Japan in fact seemed to think of themselves as infallible. Even in their training exercises they created predictable scenarios in which their school solutions were indeed winners.
In fact Midway never became the ultimate solution. As Midway faded into American victory, the sun was beginning to set on the land of the rising sun.
As Parshall and Tully concluded, in reality even if America did lose Midway, it would have been unlikely that Japan would have prevailed. In conclusion the industrial might of America would have won out. All destroyed carriers and planes would have been replaced. America's fate was indeed to win the war in the Pacific. That was obvious to a real student of history even on December 7, 1941.
Great read, thoroughly researched with great photographs and diagrams. Five Stars, no problem!!

Shattered Sword by Parshall and Tully is simply breathtaking, the most thoroughly researched and lucidly thought out history of an event that I have ever read. Setting out to tell the story of Midway primarily from the Japanese side they have created the new standard of that crucial battle in the dark days of 1942 that shines as an example of scholarly effort without parallel.

First these authors clearly did their homework, and to say that they explore the battle in the utmost would be an understatement. Setting the stage for the battle with germane explanations of the geopolitical, then strategic, and then operational backdrops that led up to 4-5 June 1942 the authors then delve into the battle wielding an awesome array of salient information ranging from the psychological makeup of the senior Japanese commanders on the scene, to Japanese naval doctrine of the time, to the naval architecture of the four Japanese flat tops, to how many bomb carts each carrier had (and are thus able to derive such details as the quickest possible practical TIME, down to the minute, it could have taken to re-arm waiting dive bombers and torpedo planes in the hangar bay) to even the names of individual Japanese pilots in the CAP and when they were launched. What emerges is a picture of the battle in toto, grounded in a thorough understanding of the pacific campaign and the entire war itself, aided by a completely fresh and unbiased look (which subsequently shatters many myths about the battle) and delivers not just the most accurate picture of what happened and why during the fighting, but also what it meant in the larger scheme of how the rest of the war was fought and ultimately won (or lost by the Japanese). This is truly the stuff history is supposed to be about.

What is better yet is that the book, in a surprising cut against the grain for pieces written by more than one author, reads both like an erudite intellectual analysis and Tom Clancy-esque action thriller. Throughout the book you are taken from the strategic and coolly logical minds of senior commanders, to white knuckle seventy degree dives in the cockpits of cascading American SBD's flying through walls of flak and marauding Japanese zeros. Later you are privy to the acts of desperate survival of Japanese engineers sweating in the asphyxiating air of the engine rooms in their carriers as the ceilings above them start literally glowing red from the heat of uncontrollable fires ravaging above and blocking their only route of possible escape.

After setting the stage of the history of the Japanese naval war in the Pacific up until the time of the battle and explaining the strategies, doctrines, and technical features (i.e. carrier air wing make up, command organizations, etc.) of both the American and Japanese navies the authors place you onboard the ships of the Kido Butai for a minute by minute account. This in depth and detailed account takes you from the moment they sortie from Hashirajima bay to their ignominous retreat mere weeks later. The writing is crisp, fast paced, and clear, conveying information, tension, emotion, and action all at the same time without compromising any of those features. Told primarily from the Japanese side it is taut and disciplined, delivering information to the readers as it came in real time to Nagumo and the staff of the Kido Butai on the cramped bridge of the Akagi and under fire, instead of giving the reader a truly "God's Eye View" of the battle. There is just enough delving into the worlds and actions of Nimitz in Pearl Harbor, Flether onboard the Yorktown, Spruance onboard the Enterprise, and several other American forces to give appropriate context and understanding, but the reader is basically experiencing what the Japanese commanders were going through. This allows the reader to truly appreciate the Clausewitzian "friction" that plagues any battle, and to understand the decisions the commanders made at the time. After the fact everything is tied together by the authors to deliver a true picture of exactly what happened each minute of the battle. The scope of the battle and the author's telling of it is enormous, covering not just the more familiar strike on Midway istelf and ensuring carrier duel, but the ordeal of survivors from each carrier as they attempted, futilely, to save their ships then abandoned them, to the harried Japanese retreat and the less familiar American attacks on the Mogami and Mikuma which ultimately led to the latter's destruction.

The book sets the record straight on many things, of which I cannot mention all. When the American dauntlesses rained down upon the Japanese carriers at 1020 however it is clear that their decks were NOT full of a strike package just moments from launching to crush TF 17, this was a myth that was propagated by Mitsuo Fuchida after the war's end for self serving purposes as well as dramatic flair. VT-8's heroic and fatally doomed torpedo attack did not draw down the Japanese CAP, instead it was just one of a series of hurried and poorly organized American attacks that virtuously threw the Japanese into confusion and left them reacting to conditions rather than shaping them. The Americans were not so outmatched as is commonly believed, but still won a glorious victory ableit against a deeply flawed plan developed by the actually bullying and overbearing Yamamoto (who was restricted from leaving Kure Naval Harbor while in Japan to visit Naval General HQ in Tokyo on fear that other resentful officers there would literally kill him.)

The lessons the authors draw from this battle are applicable even today. The Japanese primarily lost the battle, and the entire war for that matter (although for the entire war the relative industrial might of the US played a far more important role than it obviously could have in this single, early on confrontation), due to an operational rigidity born of national culture and character. This rigidity left it unable to correctly learn lessons from its past operations, anticipate future operations as well as enemy capabilities and reactions to such, and, most critically, to adapt to real world circumstances when their overly elaborate plans inevitably began to unravel against determined and unpredicted enemy actions. (The Japanese expected to face a cowed, fearful, and largely reactionary and passive US Navy at Midway, and not the aggressive and ably commanded force that Nimitz actually sortied to meet them and that guided itself on the flexible principle of calculated risk rather than dogmatic devotion to operational planning.)

I simply can not say enough good about this book. It is useful to anyone with an interest in history as an example of the heights that that discipline can reach and the edifying fruits it can bear when practiced properly, to those in the military who seek a better understanding of how war actually is fought and can be fought best, to someone who wants to read about a real world battle written with the excitement and drama of a great fiction author.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Caputo's account as a combat officer is the best book on direct experience in Nam. It ranks up there with Normen Mailer's The Naked and fhe Dead and Audie Murphy's WW2 account of his combat experience in To Hell and Back superbley written--gripping. Maurice

I thought this book was the best book on Vietnam that I have ever read. Its a facinating look into life as a line officer in a front line Marine Infantry batallion during the early part of the war. Caputo holds nothing back when it comes to describing life on the front line and what goes through the minds of these young, too young Marines who fought on the front line. An excellent read and I highly reccomend it.

Its a page turner from start to finish. A very unique view of the war.

I assigned this book to my college students for a closer glimpse of the Vietnam Conflict. I had not read it before, but had done research and study on the subject. I found Caputo's book to be insightful, controversial and thought provoking. He doesn't glamorize the war but explains how it effected soldiers and one of the many reasons it was such a mess. Throughout the book, Caputo shows how the conditions changed the average American teenager into a robotic killer and how their experiences stayed with them. In the end, he speaks against the war, but not in the normal Jane Fonda version of bashing the military and labeling them rapists and baby killer. Caputo talks about how the government was at fault and created the situations that lead to PTSD and other issues for returning soldiers.

A must read to understand the war and its effects on our soldiers.

Caputo wasn't much of a marine. He started complaining about Vietnam before he arrived. Every page is filled with criticism, cynicism, griping, complaining, and self-serving tripe. He wanted to be a hero, but he didn't have what it took to be anything but a whining wimp. Certainly he writes well. But writing well and living well are entirely different. He doesn't understand honor or duty. Sure the war was politicized, but so is every war. Sure the rules of engagement were stupid, but a soldier serves. Caputo did not serve; rather he whined. Many of us who served in Vietnam believed there were many things that made no sense. But we didn't turn tail and run. We served. For those who want to understand what is was like to be a soldier in Vietnam, read "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young" or "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts". If you want to know what is was like to be useless in Vietnam, read this book.

4,5 stars (as it is it would be rated five by amazon.com no matter what because of the huge number of five stars reviews...)

Poignant and to the point even if the last part of the book goes a bit downhill... from a reader point of view.
A must read, but try also FIELDS OF FIRE... and you will see the choppers from "the grunts" perspective too!.

Probably, the best books to read about the VIETNAM WAR.
Vastly detailed as long as choppers are concerned and a page turner at least for 3/4 parts of it.

Cheers
ADB

PS: Why say more?... all has already been said... really gutsy guys.

As a vet of this war, and someone who has read several dozen books on the subject, this is my personal favorite. Just bought this copy for a nephew who has become interested in the history of this conflict. HIghly recommended.

Best I have read. Must follow up and read the Robert Mason's,
Back to the World. Life After Vietnam.

I should have read this book years ago! American Huey 369 (Americanhuey369.com) stimulated my interest in wanting to know more about the courages soldiers who went to Vietnam and flew helicopters.

I have read this book 3 times. After the first I had it stolen so bought it again. I am fascinated by the history of Vietnam and it's struggles it has much to teach us for the present. I'm not a helicopter pilot, never will be although I too like Mason wanted to fly. Some will have differing recollections of events particularly this one, but that's okay. I was able to lose myself in the story that is expertly told. Having been in close quarter combat I understood where he was coming from. I continue to study and have read some good accounts but this will always remain one of my favourites.

This book was written for Young Adults but is a great read for any age. The free-verse style is concise yet rich and the author does an excellent job at relating the horrors 13-year-old Lakshmi suffered but in a very tasteful way. The book was well researched and the author interviewed actual child victims of prostitution. It's an easy read but don't let that fool you into thinking it was juvenile. It dealt with a very serious subject in beautifully simple prose.

This was a good book, very simple to read, but the story was intense the whole time.

I live in a well developed suburb in northern Texas with my family. I awake and sleep with the sound of laughing children playing a game of tag or basketball outside my window. I work and make well over enough to pay for my bills with extra spending for my material wants. I gossip and laugh with my mother and sisters every morning and night, and end the day knowing i will see them tomorrow. Yet i protest about my room being too small, my closet too barren, criticize my childhood being too cruel, my friends too superficial. All my complaints didn't occur to be so inconsequential until i read 'Sold'
I have wasted valuable time and breath on myself when we have half a million Nepal girls being sold my their families into Indian brothels. No longer will they sleep in their own clean bed, enjoy a game of tag or a laugh with their sister. Most likely they will never laugh again. If self-centered Americans can open their eyes to the world as i have, then what a better place the world would be. I recommend 'Sold' to any and everyone!

African hill girl sold into prostatution. Sold was a book about this same 13 year old girl. She was innoccent and all that she wanted to do was earn her family a little extra money when without warning she was swept into the shameful life of of a prostatute. I thought that this book was okay. It had a great plot line but was a bit dull in the middle and kind of ended abruptly. I would reccommend this book to any girl interested in a quick easy read. Although it was a little boring, I think that this was a good book over all.
Kari Longstaff

Sold, by Patricia McCormick, is a riveting tale of a thirteen-year-old, Nepalese girl who is sold into prostitution. It is historical fiction and incorporates many details of the constant trade of women and girls worldwide that is still occurring today.
McCormick herself traveled to India and Nepal to trace the steps that the main character in her novel would take, and was even able to interview women in Calcutta's red-light district who shared their heart-wrenching stories with her. McCormick took away from this experience the idea that these stories needed to be shared because these innocent women and girls were being forced into horrendous situations that they had no control whatsoever over. McCormick lent a voice to these women who had never been able to speak up for themselves, and in the process educated the world on the issue of sex slavery.
While a few of the main themes in this novel are fear, loneliness, and cruelty, McCormick also made a point to highlight the main character's immense hope and perseverance, and the strength and self-discovery that came along with that. Even in the face of ultimate defeat, the main character says, "I will be with them all. Any man, every man... I will do whatever it takes to get out of here." (227) McCormick presented her as an innocent bystander who must find a way to deal with a new, harrowing life and this was incredibly moving. It also helped that the book was extremely well-written.
Therefore, I would definitely recommend this book. The writing style was poetic and never overwhelming, and McCormick crafted an extremely complex and likable character. This book is especially good for teenagers to read because it makes us appreciate what we have and the things that we take for granted every single day. Another reader also commented that "this book will also show you things that are so painful that most of the world likes to pretend that they don't exist" and I also completely agree with that statement.
Overall, Sold was an extremely good, yet harrowing book that opened my eyes to the hardships that other girls my age are facing around the world.

I first saw this book at an airport bookstore. After reading the summary I instantly purchased this book to read on the plane. The moment I start reading it kept me moving to the next page, next page, next page.
The story is moving! Great book. Another suggestion is The Dream - a self-made entreprenur who made millions during his teenage life. Very inspiring! Refreshing to mind too.

Enjoy reading.

Sarala
email: sarala1jan@yahoo.com

As another reviewer said, this is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. If you are in a job that is not that fulfilling, but you're afraid of making the leap, Wood's journey from Microsoft to the non-profit sector will be educational. If you are happy with your job, but just want to make your job inspiring, Wood's lessons from Microsoft that he applied to Room To Read will show you ways to do that, too. Thank you, John, for writing such a heartfelt memoir of your emotional journey.

This book is a must have, I have recommended to all my friends and family. Kudos to the Author for publishing such a wonderful book.

Namaste John. Kasto Cha??

You have made all Nepalese indebted with your incomparable deeds. You are true hero in our hearts. Yes, we salute you from the core of our heart.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. John Wood does what all of us dreamers out there imagine we could do: quits his excellent job at Microsoft to do his part in saving the world. Wood's style of writing is so smooth and easy to read, he never bores you. If you're at all familiar with the inside workings of the Microsoft company (my boyfriend interned there, so I am), you'll get a good laugh here and there when he talks about someone like Steve Ballmer and some other inside jokes. I highly recommend you read this book if you have any interests at all in poverty alleviation and humanitarian aid.

Great book, with great photos. Vladislav Tamarov writes in a simple style, but conveys the inner-thoughts, comraderie, fear and terror that a foreign soldier experiences in a war in Afghanistan. Despite being on different sides of the Cold War, and fighting for two totally different Afghan governments, I can identify with Tamarov's experience. A great book if you want a better understanding of a soldier's life in Afghanistan, with no in-depth analysis of the strategic or operational side of the Soviet-Afghan War.

I don't think anybody really supported the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan in 1979-1980. Most Westerners thought the Soviet action was barbaric. Tamarov in his picture book makes us aware of the human side with the Russian soldiers. Most were following their duty and doing their "international duty". Many were killed in the low grade guerilla war that followed the invasion. Tarmarov was a mine sweeper, and he was constantly exposed to danger. Several of his friends paid the price of their occupation. One wonders about the similarities with American verterans of the Vietnam War. In fact, Tamarov meets some of these verterans at the end of the book, and they have a lot in common.

There is some writing in this large picture book. The writing did not flow smoothly, but the pictures were great. They show the guerrilla war in Afghanistan from the Russian perspective.

An excellent book! Lots of powerful pictures. Purchased the book from Amazon while serving in Afghanistan. Lots of flash backs/forwards in the story line, which I could have done without. But all together it's a well written, interesting book, which depicts a Soviet Solders tour of duty in Afghanistan.

This is the most amazing book I have read all year! It's not just a story, in his own words, from a young Russian soldier in that terrible place, but it is a photo book full of the most beautiful but tragic black and white photos. You see the haunted faces of Vladimir Tamarov (the author and photographer) and his brother soldiers, many of which did not make it back. And as you read his haunted words, how he came back and could not ever be the same, how his friends who died there visit him in his dreams. They were eighteen and nineteen but they look sixteen. The title "Soviet Vietnam" is quite haunting. I believe if I met the author now I would be reminded of our own boys who were damaged by Vietnam. They also were just draftees (conscripts) in a place where they did not want to be. As for our soldiers who are now in Afghanistan, it's true they are fighting the same vicious enemy as Vladimir did! But, don't our men look ever so much better fed, and organized, and equipped, and trained, then those poor Soviet conscripts? I reccommend this book so highly, I would personally buy a copy for all my friends.

As a paratrooper currently serving my second tour in Afghanistan (and third in the desert overall), I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Soviet conflict of the 1980s. The photographs provide insight into Afghanistan's terrain and climate, and I used this book to illustrate several points to my subordinates as we were preparing for this deployment. The author's writing is heartfelt.