The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid 

By Craig Nelson. Viking, 2002. ISBN 0-670-03087-2.

In early 1942, during the dark days of World War II, the United States desperately needed heroes to bring home a victory against the Japanese to restore American morale. There were heroes at Pearl Harbor and Wake Island, but the airmen who bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942, were the first American heroes to strike offensively against the Japanese homeland.

The First Heroes is Craig Nelson’s historical tribute to the men of the U.S. Navy and Army Air Corps who put together and executed an air raid—the Doolittle raid—that the Japanese and some U.S. participants thought would be impossible. Even with the loss of aircraft, the killed and injured aviators, and the men lost as POWS, America had struck back in retaliation for Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese government and people were shaken. The Doolittle raid was a morale-boosting triumph. 

Nelson has interviewed 20 of the Doolittle airmen. Those interviews, plus other material, have allowed him to produce a riveting true story of American resourcefulness, determination, and incredible sacrifice. 

He provides insight into the men selected for this mission, led by famous aviator Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle. The mission called for 80 airmen to pilot 16 twin-engine b-25 Mitchell bombers, taking off from an aircraft carrier and flying 500 miles to bomb Tokyo and other cities. Such a bold venture had never been attempted.

After they reached Tokyo, the bombers were to fly on to safety at airfields in China. However, as Nelson vividly relates, bad luck and bad weather ruined the plan for safe recovery and rescue. The planes were forced to launch early in rough weather, which reduced their range. 

Although the Japanese were surprised by the attack, 15 of the U.S. bombers crash-landed in China, most behind enemy lines. Nelson describes the amazing rescue of downed airmen by courageous Chinese peasants and irregular soldiers as well as the horrible fate of the eight Doolittle airmen captured by the Japanese. 

The amazing story of the Doolittle raid on Tokyo deserves a good book, and this is it.

To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian 

By Stephen E. Ambrose. Simon & Schuster, 2002. ISBN 0-7432-0275-9.

Despite controversy later in his career, Stephen Ambrose continues to be regarded as one of the most prolific and entertaining American historians of the 20th century. For nearly 40 years (before his death last year), he intrigued readers with his unique style of storytelling.

Ambrose studied and wrote about the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad, Custer and Crazy Horse, Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, and World War II. Two of his best works are Undaunted Courage (Simon & Schuster, 1996), about the Lewis and Clark expedition, and Citizen Soldiers (Simon & Schuster, 1997), about American GIs in Europe during World War II.

To America is Ambrose’s final book, a farewell to a rich life spent trying to understand the people who make history—soldiers, Indians, explorers, engineers, politicians, and American men and women. 

He offers a mixed collection of historical anecdotes as well as personal observations and conclusions about what he learned as a historian, and he is refreshingly candid with his opinions and reevaluations of historical figures. He thinks Thomas Jefferson was an intellectual contradiction, saying, “He had a great mind and a limited character.” He praises George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Ulysses S. Grant as presidents whose achievements outweigh the criticism laid on them by historians.

He presents a delightfully revealing and colorful chapter on Teddy Roosevelt, calling him a posturing braggart and a grand imperialist but also crediting him with making the United States a world power, advocating women’s suffrage and civil rights for minorities, and creating the national park system.

Moving from political topics to personal topics, Ambrose discusses how he became a historian, the influence of his mentors, and his tips on writing history: Be a good reader, know what you are writing about, choose a good editor—and marry a girl who is an English major. He also describes the personal difficulty he had devoting 10 years to a three-volume biography of Richard M. Nixon, a man he despised.

Amidst chapters on women’s rights, racism, immigration, and nation-building, Ambrose tells war stories, especially of World War II. 

A parting thought from this American historian: “It is through history that we learn who we are and how we got that way, why and how we changed, why the good sometimes prevailed and sometimes did not.” This is precisely why Ambrose is such fun to read.

— Reviews by William D. Bushnel

Member Books

Non-Fiction

Leadership in the Crucible: The Korean War Battles of Twin Tunnels & Chipyong-Ni. By Col. Kenneth E. Hamburger, USA.
The profound bond between leaders and the led—a bond that will cause a man to lay down his life for his comrades and a cause—is one of the esoteric mysteries of military history that never can be fully explained. Hamburger explores the phenomenon of leadership by examining the actions of the 23rd Infantry Regimental Combat Team and the French United Nations Infantry Battalion during the first eight months of the Korean War.
A&M University Press, 4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354. (800) 826-8911. www.tamu.edu/upress. ISBN 1-58544-232-1. 257 pp. $32.95 plus postage.


General Ike: A Personal Reminiscence. By Brig. Gen. John S.D. Eisenhower, USA-Ret. 
Eisenhower—an acclaimed military historian and Ike’s son, who has for decades resisted writing about his father—finally provides readers with his unique perspective on Ike’s military career and qualities as a wartime leader.
Free Press, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. www.simonsays.com. ISBN 0-7432-4474-5. 277 pp. $27 plus postage.


The Illusion of Time: Seeing Scripture Through Science. By Lt. Cmdr. William R. Nesbitt Jr., USNR-Ret.
Nesbitt’s search for biblical understanding is centered and grounded in the world of modern science. By restructuring traditional concepts of time and space, the authenticity of the scriptures takes on new meaning resulting in a challenging explanation of the invisible world around us.
Black Forest Press, 914 Nolan Way, Chula Vista, CA 91911-2408. (888) 808-5440. ISBN 1-58275-075-0. 178 pp. $17.90 postpaid.


An “Aerial View” of Forts Townsend, Worden, and Casey. By Col. William H. Freeman Jr., USAF-Ret., and Evelyn Freeman.
The Freemans’ book affords a useful look at an early sea frontier where the United States looked warily at Britain and Japan across waters. The forts discussed date from the 1850s and played key roles in the strategies of coastal defense. Included are copies of surveys and presidential declarations concerning the area, as well as pertinent congressional records.
Available from author, 2007 Maple St., Port Townsend, WA 98368. ISBN 0-9637347-5-X. 49 pp. $16.95 postpaid.

Arizona Goes to War: The Home Front and the Front Lines During World War II. Edited by Col. Dean E. Smith, USAF-Ret.
World War II transformed the state of Arizona. Military installations sprang up all over, and thousands of airmen arrived to train in Arizona’s clear desert skies. Smith documents these events including the testing of tank engines in Arizona dust storms for the North Africa campaign, the incarceration of Japanese Americans in the desert, and the escape of 25 German POW’s from a prison camp outside of Phoenix. A chapter pays tribute to Arizona’s war heroes, and an appendix provides a traveler’s guide to Arizona’s World War II sites. Forward written by Sen. John McCain.
The University of Arizona Press, 355 S. Euclid, Suite 103, Tucson, AZ 85719-6654. (800) 426-3797. www.uapress.arizona.edu. ISBN 0-8165-2190-5. 233 pp. $24.95 plus postage.


A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945. By Lt. Col. Edward G. Miller, USA-Ret.
Miller examines the ominous prelude to the Battle of the Bulge and reveals for the first time one of the U.S. Army’s bloodiest nightmares of World War II. For many years the full extent of the disaster was not well known outside Army circles. This book examines the uncertainty of command at the Army, corps, and division levels and emphasizes the confusion and fear of ground combat at the level of company and battalion. It is based on government records, a rich selection of first-person accounts form veterans of both sides, and Miller’s visits to the battlefield.
Texas A&M University Press, 4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354. (800) 826-8911. www.tamu.edu/upress. ISBN 1-58544-258-5. 250 pp. $18.95 plus postage.


Waiting For Spring. By Cmdr. Don Tuthill, USN-Ret.
Tuthill brings his rich background into focus in this eclectic collection of poetry. As winner of a publishing contract from the International Society of Poets, he has brought out this brief, but meaningful volume. Also included are some prose reflections on his military experiences.
Available from author, 843 Cypress Pkway, Kissimmee, FL 34759. (863) 427-0715. kalbodon@aol.com. ISBN 0-7951-0551-7. 62 pp. $10 postpaid.


The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare. By Lt. Col. H.J. Poole, USMC-Ret.
This is the product of 15 years of research and experimentation into small-unit infantry tactics. It is the collective opinion of 1,200 U.S. Marine Corps infantry NCOs on how to perform standard U.S. tactics with more surprise. It contains one or more squad techniques for each category of enemy counter. These techniques are in full compliance with U.S. doctrine. This book is restricted to former and present U.S. military personnel.
Posterity Press, P.O. Box 5360, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. (800) 505-4334. Prosperitypress.org. ISBN 0-9638695-2-3.399 pp. $22.75 postpaid.


One More Bridge to Cross: Lowering the Cost of War. By Lt. Col. H.J. Poole, USMC-Ret.
Poole relives in great detail one battle from each U.S. war this century. He describes enemy successes and compares enemy capabilities with our own. He then shows how Americans can improve individual and small-unit tactical skills through a new type of instruction — battle drill and situational station competitions between 12-man groups—much like practicing football.
Posterity Press, P.O. Box 5360, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. (800) 505-4334. Prosperitypress.org. ISBN 0-9638695-3-1. 142 pp. $11 postpaid.


Phantom Soldier: The Enemy’s Answer to U.S. Firepower. By Lt. Col. H.J. Poole, USMC-Ret.
This is the most comprehensive treatise on Oriental warfare to be produced in the West. Well-researched and illustrated, it sheds new light on what an eastern infantry unit can do: (1) alternate between guerrilla, mobile, and positional warfare; (2) use “ordinary forces” to engage and “extraordinary forces” to beat an opponent; and (3) dodge any counterstroke. By identifying pronounced trends in the small-unit technique of every foe since World War I, this book reveals how future adversaries will fight.
Posterity Press, P.O. Box 5360, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. (800) 505-4334. Prosperitypress.org. ISBN 0-9638695-5-8. 338 pp. $16.95 postpaid.

Fiction

Victory. Edited by Stephen Coonts.
A stirring tribute to the greatest generation of Americans, Victory brings together the finest military fiction writers in the world with short novels of courage, skill, daring, and sacrifice. Here you will meet the men and women, who fought and won World War II and truly made the world safe for democracy, in thrilling stories of war as it was really fought.
Tom Doherty Associates LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. (212) 388-0100. www.tor.com. ISBN 0-312-87462-6. 768 pp. $27.95 plus postage. 

Tales of Fact and Fiction. By Lt. Col. Henry Krawiec, USAF-Ret.
Krawiec draws on his personal experiences in World War II and as an investigator to record a diverse collection of short stories about war, wine, and mystery. Krawiec’s stories describe the search for a devil bomber who’s ambushing American planes; a mission to carry out the dying wishes of a man whose forgotten urn supports file folders in a West Berlin Air Force office; a town with no “dead end” streets or bus “terminals” (so as not to offend the seniors living there); and a country road that remembers the people who walk it.
Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc., 643 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. (800) 788-7654. www.dorrancepublishing.com. ISBN 0-8059-5894-0. 69 pp. $9 plus postage.

Army Green: The Cold War Testament of Sergeant-Major William Anderson. By Walter D. Rodgers
A fictional study encompassing the lives of two friends from Kansas City as they encounter the events and situations of the last half of the 20th century. Their backgrounds are similar yet differ enough to provide an intriguing level of contrast.
Trafford Publishing, 2333 Government St., Victoria, BC, Canada V8T 4P4. (888) 232-4444. www.trafford.com. ISBN 1-55395-045-3. 352 pp. $20.50 postpaid.

Western Sunrise: A Novel of the Near Future. By Walter D. Rodgers
A future history, including an ending with the successful conclusion of the next Gulf War, begins in the summer of the year 2004. The realism, twists, turns, counterplots, and colorful characters make this short volume a page-turner difficult to put down.
Trafford Publishing, 2333 Government St., Victoria, BC, Canada V8T 4P4. (888) 232-4444. www.trafford.com. ISBN 1-55395-668-0. 164 pp. $15.55 postpaid.


A Just Determination. By Lt. Cmdr. John G. Hemry, USN-Ret.
Ensign Paul Sinclair is newly assigned to the USS Michaelson as the ship’s lone legal officer, a designation that carries grave consequences when the ship’s captain is ordered to return to port for a court-martial. His crime: ordering the destruction of a civilian research vessel. What happens when a man of power breaks a law that reaches across the universe? The answers are for Sinclair to either expose or conceal—actions that could destroy the futures of him and his captain.
Ace Books, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. (800) 788-6262. www.Penguinputnam.com. ISBN 0-441-01052-0. 259 pp. $6.50 plus postage.


Adolph: The Spy Who Saved New York. By Lt. Col. David C. Holliday, USAR-Ret. 
Adolph is a fictional story of how America was able to obtain a German atomic weapon through the courage and skill of two American spies. More important, it tells how the Germans planned to employ the weapon on New York City and how the British and Americans combined to destroy the residential part of Dresden, Germany, in order to defeat the German plan. The story is full of action, danger, and courage.
1st Books Library, 2595 Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404. www.1stbooks.com. ISBN 1-4107-0132-S. $19.59 plus postage.

Memoirs

Honor Untarnished: A West Point Graduate’s Memoir of World War II. By Gen. Donald V. Bennett, USA-Ret. 
This is a chronicle of World War II written as only a veteran combat officer like Bennett can write. It is the story of a man who would go on to the rank of four-star general and command all the NATO forces in Europe and who would retire as the third highest ranking officer in the U.S. Army. Honor Untarnished is this soldier’s incredible story. Tom Doherty Associates LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. (212) 388-0100. www.tor.com. ISBN 0-765-30657-3. 304 pp. $25.95 plus postage.

Born in Brooklyn…Raised in the CAV! By Maj. John E. Flanagan, USA-Ret. 
Thirty years after going to war as a 20-year-old Army helicopter pilot, Flanagan decided to write down a couple of his favorite memories. These war stories opened his mind to others. Some stories are serious, some are sad, some are humorous — but always personal and in his own words. Xlibris Corp., 436 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19101. (888) 795-4274. www.xlibris.com. ISBN 1-4010-4012-8. 238 pp. $22 plus postage.

With Rancor and Compassion: The Memoirs of a Jew who Thought He Was a German. By Lt. Col. Martin I. Selling, AUS-Ret. 
This is the true-life story of a Jew who grew up in Germany before World War II and the Holocaust. Arrested during Kristallnacht, Selling spent six weeks each in Nuremberg prison and Dachau concentration camp. Released, he emigrated to England and soon after, to the United States. In a bizarre turn of events, he wound up in the U.S. Army Intelligence Services as an interrogator and met with some of the very same Germans who harassed him in his youth. Here is a fascinating and enlightening twist on the traditional World War II services story told in an imaginative and captivating format. Vantage Press, 516 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001. (212) 736-1767. www.vantagepress.com. ISBN 0-533-14296-2. 301 pp. $26.95 plus postage.

All the Way to Berlin: A Paratrooper at War in Europe. By Lt. Col. James Megellas, USA-Ret. 
Megellas was the most decorated officer of the 82nd Airborne Division and saw more action during the war than most. Yet this is more than “Maggie’s” World War II memoir. Throughout his narrative, he skillfully interweaves stories of the other paratroopers of H Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The result is a remarkable account of men at war. Ballantine Books. Available from author, 1600 Douglas Ave., Colleyville, TX 76034. (817) 481-4553. h504maggie@aol.com. ISBN 0-89141-784-2. 309 pp. $24.95 plus postage or $27.50 postpaid.