Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949

Customer Reviews:

Soldat review.......2007-07-13

A very interesting account of the Second World War, coming from a lesser publicized perspective - that of a German career officer (albeit a very young one). Mr. Knappe did a masterful job of setting the scene of the years leading into the war and allowing us a rare glimpse into the German psyche. A moving account also of his years in the Soviet prisons - not that disimilar to the Nazi camps.

illuminating insight.......2007-03-09

Readable, powerful book capturing the universality of the human experience in war and peace.

Another good book on the life of a German Soldier.......2007-02-08

Personally I liked this book. Why? Mr. Knappe does a great job of writing about his life as a field artillery and staff officer in the Deutsche Heer, the German Army of WWII.

Mr. Knappe starts off the book while writing about the fall of Berlin in 1945. The fighting is savage and Major Knappe has a first hand view of the Soviet seige of that city. Also, what is interesting about this chapter is it's a cross roads of Major Knappe's life, the transition from a respected Army Officer to a prisoner in the Soviet Gulag system.

I very much enjoyed reading about the start of Major Knappe's life in pre-WWII Germany. Basically, it would have been easier to live in Germany of that period than living in the USA during the hard scrabble days of the 1930s. One smart thing the German military did was send the potential draftees to a work camp for a six month period. While most other writer's accounts say the work and life was terrible Mr. Knappe writes that he enjoyed the camp and made the best of it.

Mr. Knappe excells when he joins the military. He would have been in the top 5% of ability in any army. Also, he writes of how military officers made a little extra money, the German Army gave time off for officers to train horses and then would buy that horse back. Mr. Knappe makes the happy observation that life in the pre WWII German army was pretty good for an officer.

Knappe take us through his many adventures. Germany occupies Austria and the Czech republic, he's nearly killed in a cycle accident. Knappe is with the German army in the invasion of Poland. Knappe really isn't part of the main thrust in the invasion of France. However, his unit is part of the diversion attacks in the south that tie up the bulk of the allied armies.

The main part of the book deals with the campaign in the former Soviet Union. The best way to describe this is go hungry and be lice ridden. The typical reader's skin will start to crawl when he describes how the lice attacked a soldier. Also, after he is wounded, Knappe describes how the lice would attack the open sore of the wounds and their misery would not stop until they had reached the aid station.

Knappe is found to be a first class officer and he is shuttled from command to command. He attends many military schools and this has the habit of keeping him out of fighting at the times when whole German Army groups are destroyed by the Soviets. That's how Knappe misses the 6th Army's destruction at Stalingrad, the massive fighting at Kursk, and the destruction of Army Group Center in 1944.

When Knappe is taken captive by the Soviets the book turns dreary. The Soviet Union in 1945 to 1950 was a dreary place to be a captive. Knappe avoids the slave camps of the Soviets, a death sentence. However, he must endure years of abuse and near starvation in a Soviet Gulag. The Soviets treated their own people poorly and Major Knappe marvels at how his impressions of communism is quite correct.

The reason I knocked this book down a star is Major Knappe and the command staff see the writing on the wall in the post January 1945 era. So, during the months of about February to March 1945 the only thing Major Knappe really does are play cards, have as much as a good time as possible with his wife, and attend professional military classes.

Still, this is a good book. I recommend it.

The Greatest Memoir Around.......2006-12-31

This book is my personal favorite memoir by anyone. It starts out with Siegfried's graduation from high school, and goes on until after the war. It is wonderfully told and very, very interesting. Siegfried Knappe was in the Wehrmacht during WWII and fought in most of the major theatres of the war. I've read this book multiple times, and find it wonderful every time I read it. I would definately recommend this book to anyone interested in a German point of view of World War II. A great read!

Outstanding account of life in the Wehrmacht........2006-08-18

I have read a number of similar accounts from the German perspective in World War II, and the more I read, the more I realize that the event was far more complex than simplistic and biggoted "pop-culture" portrayals would have us believe. Let us not forget that the French objective for the Versaille Treaty was to destroy and eternally humiliate the German people.
The author is one of many former Wehrmacht members now residing in the United States. He survived the war from beginning to end, seeing action on every major front of the war: Poland, France, Italy, Russia, the final defence of Germany, and even Berlin in the last days.
Mr. Knappe was an officer and a gentleman, as were many German soldiers. Membership in the National Socialist Party was quite rare in the Wehrmacht, and in truth, many German veterans were just as shocked as everyone else in regard to the atrocities commited by such Nazi formations as the Algemeine S.S. and their Einsatzgruppen. There is no excuse for the rampant genocide commited by the Nazis, but the truth is their arch-enemy, the Soviet Union commited much worse offenses, prior to, during, and after the war. In fact, the author describes at length his prolonged incarceration in Soviet concentration camps. Approximately 80-90% of all P.O.W.s held by the Soviet Union did not survive! Mr. Knappe did, and now we have his very interesting account of the war years.
In this account, Mr. Knappe describes his rise through the ranks from a new enlisted recruit to a commissioned officer on the general-staff. Even in the highly mechanized German military, horses were still highly utilised for transport. Mr. Knappe was an artillery-man, and his unit was horse-drawn through much of the war.

Ethics and Extermination: Reflections on Nazi Genocide

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FROM THE HANDICAPPED TO THE JEWS

Ethics and Extermination: Reflections on Nazi Genocide
Michael Burleigh
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521588162

Book Description

This series of essays by one of today's most original and prolific scholars on German racial policy concern three interrelated aspects of Nazi Germany: relations with "the East," "euthanasia," and extermination. The collection includes important and wholly new contributions to the German-Soviet war and other national tragedies; to the controversial question of whether the Nazi analogy has any relevance to contemporary ethical discussions; and to the contemporary historiography, including works of fiction and literary criticism, of the Holocaust.

Customer Reviews:

FROM THE HANDICAPPED TO THE JEWS.......2000-04-26

Michael Burleigh, an English historian, is the author of an earlier book on the Nazi "euthanasia" campaign of 1940, when Nazi officials, doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators joined together in the persecution of handicapped Germans. Over 70,000 people were murdered in about one year.

In this book Burleigh reflects on the "mind set" of the Nazi murderers, their attitudes towards their victims, and the ethical assumptions they made. He also comments with intelligence and perception on post-WW II reactions.

Book Description

A poignant, powerful distillation of the Holocaust experience from the internationally acclaimed writer and Nobel laureate.

In his first book, Night, Elie Wiesel described his concentration camp experience, but he has rarely written directly about the Holocaust since then. Now, as the last generation of survivors is passing and a new generation must be introduced to mankind’s darkest hour, Wiesel sums up the most important aspects of Hitler’s years in power and provides a fitting memorial to those who suffered and perished. He writes about the creation of the Third Reich, Western acquiescence, the gas chambers, and memory. He criticizes Churchill and Roosevelt for what they knew and ignored, and he praises little-known Jewish heroes. Augmenting Wiesel’s text are testimonies from survivors, who recall, among other moments and events: the establishment of the Nurembourg Laws, Kristallnacht, transport to the camps, and liberation.

With this book — richly illustrated with 45 photographs from the U.S. Holocaust
Museum -- Wiesel proves once again the ineluctable importance of bearing witness.

Customer Reviews:

after the darkness.......2007-02-16

I believe this book is a wonderful introduction to the history and events leading up to, and including the horrible years of the holocaust. I gave it to my grandaughter who is ten years old. I am a child of a survivor. The book is a valuable part of education of a time that now seems so distant, and when most of the survivors have died. It speaks for them to future generations
nd as always, Elie Wiesel is warm, and honest, but never bitter. We are now the witnesses for those who experienced hell.

Yes of course, ""Reflection on the Holocaust""!!!.......2006-10-10

Those who do not believe that there was, and still is, a legend in the name of 'Holocaust' are kindly invited to visit Ghaza and Lebanon (North and notably South) to look and see how such a word is actually pronounced.
They will see a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life through a carnage of fire and cold-blood slaughter of civilians.

Thank you.

Powerful, Haunting.......2006-09-07

Dare to stick you head and heart into the cruelity of mankind and you come away from this powerful book enlightened--and looking over your shoulder at today's racism. An equally moving book is Walking the Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Jerry Ellis.

Excellent Book.......2006-06-22

This is the third book I read by Elie Wiesel, first I read "Night" which is my favorite, second I read "The Forgotten" which I thought was very good too. Now this one, is much shorter but the tetimonials by other Holocaust victims and the photographs makes it an excellent book. The generation of WWII survivors are dying and we need books like these to keep reminding us and future generations of the horrors of the war, so we don't repeat it.

A short overview of history's greatest evil .......2005-05-04

Elie Wiesel is the writer who more than any other made the world aware of the Holocaust. He through the years has been a voice of remembrance for the victims, a voice of integrity and courage, a witness of what is the greatest example of Man's inhumanity to Man known in human history. For the Holocaust was the deliberate effort of Nazi Germany, a people sitting in the center of Europpean civilization to wholly destroy, man, woman and child the entire Jewish people. One third of the Jewish people was murdered in the years 1939-1945, and the greatest share of European Jewry destroyed.
Now in this work Elie Wiesel presents a small historical over-view of the Shoah, and accompanies this with testimonies of others who passed through this world of nightmare.
It is a short moving volume, another work of invaluable testimony.

Reflections of a Warrior: Six Years as a Green Beret in Vietnam

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Don't start this book if you have to wake up early.
VERY difficult to put down once you start reading it!
A True American Hero
An inspiration to us all...
Miller should be as well known as Audie Murphy in the 50's

Reflections of a Warrior: Six Years as a Green Beret in Vietnam
Franklin D. Miller
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0743464990

Book Description

PFC Franklin Miller arrived in Vietnam in March 1966, and saw his first combat in a Reconnaissance Platoon. So began an odyssey that would make him into one of the most feared and respected men in the Special Forces elite, who made their own rules in the chaos of war.

In the exclusive world of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group, Miller ran missions deep into enemy territory to gather intelligence, snatch prisoners, and to kill. Leading small bands of battle-hardened Montagnard and Meo tribesmen, he was fierce and fearless -- fighting army policy to stay in combat for six tours. On a top-secret mission in 1970, Miller and a handful of men, all critically injured, held off the NVA in an incredible Alamo-like stand -- for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. When his time in Southeast Asia ended, he had also received the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, and six Purple Hearts. This is his incredible story.

Customer Reviews:

Don't start this book if you have to wake up early........2007-04-19

I'm not opposed to all wars but I was very much against our involvement in Vietnam. I thought then and still think that we should have been helping the other side. I bought this book wanting to hear what combat was like there from a special forces soldier. Fortunately, the book didn't get into the politics but simply told about his life and job, which was to collect intelligence and kill the enemy. His bravery and what he went through is mind boggeling and the descripions of battles are riviting. I stayed up way past my bedtime reading it.

VERY difficult to put down once you start reading it!.......2006-04-20

WOW, this is one of the most gripping and moving accounts of personal combat and experiences in Vietnam that I have ever read. I had great difficulty putting this gem down, as it is directly related in first-person and the author does a magnificent job of making you feel as if you're right there alongside the subject of the book (Franklin Miller).

Nothing is held back, and if you've ever served in the military, you'll fall right into step with the narration. Everything is presented in all its gory detail, so if you're a little squeamish, you might want to skim across a few sections. The ending is particularly heart-wrenching, especially the afterword by the author's widow.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the up-close and personal views of combat in Vietnam.

A True American Hero.......2005-08-12

As Command Chaplain For US Special Operations Command I had the profound honor of presiding at This hero's funeral. During the months before he died, I spent some days at his home in St Petersburg to offer some spiritual care.

Even to the very end he was a man of strength and courage. He had an abiding faith in Christ that comforted him and allowed him to spend his final days encouraging and supporting his children. As we prayed he would ask me to pray for his children first becuase they were his greatest concern.

He gave me a copy of his book which I read immediately. It is an amazing story that captures the true heart of a warrior. It is a "must read."

Chaplain Lee M. Thompson
Colonel, USAF (Ret)

An inspiration to us all..........2005-05-10

I have been in the Navy for 16 years now and have seen my share of adventure, especially during my flying tour while Bosnia was still raging. It was during that tour that I rescued a paperback copy of this book from our book drawer in our barracks. It was all torn, with the pages falling out. As I carefully read it, I was blown away with Miller's inspirational, charismatic example to any service member. I could not put it down.

This book was the best Vietnam story I have ever read and it must be the defining book on the Special Forces. The only book to come close to this one (with regard to Vietnam) was Rogue Warrior by Dick Marcinko--who I met many years ago during Aircrew School.

Since my paperback copy was so ripped up, I tried to buy the hard copy of it. At the time, it was out of print so it took me years to obtain one on eBay. I highly recommend this book to service members or anyone seriously interested in reading about a true American hero!

Miller should be as well known as Audie Murphy in the 50's.......2005-04-16

I can tell you for a fact that the stories he tells are accurate because I was around him for a lot of them. I think I met him his first day in SF at the SFOB in Nha Trang,and we were both running missions out of Kontum the entire time I was there. If I wasn't around when he did some of the things he talks about,I heard about them from him or others when I got back to the camp. Of course,he was there after I was medi-evaced in Nov of 1969,so I wasn't there when he earned the MOH.

In fact,I had gotten out of the army and did the same thing 99% of the veterans did,I tried to put it entirely out of my mind. I didn't speak about it and I didn't think about it. It came as a surprise to me to walk into Walden Books one day and spot him on the cover of his book getting his MOH! "Hey! I know that guy!" I immediately bought the book and took it home to read.

This was the first I even knew he had survived,and it was the reason I got back in touch with him after almost 30 years. We shared Thanskgiving Dinner together at the unit mess at Camp Mackall the November before he fell sick and died.

If you have ever wondered about the mindset of the people who run special operations,here are the answers. If you have only read VN books written by draftees who write about the heavy drama,drug abuse,and political crap,you are going to be surprised. Not everybody in VN were draftee war protestors,and not everbody there was doing their damndest to avoid combat. Some people were actually going out of their way to carry a rifle in a combat unit. Not only that,but most people would be surprised at the high number of recon and Hatchet Force troops that extended their tours for six months after surviving the intital tour. It even came as a surprise to ME when I extended my tour. I still can't tell you why,other than I felt like I was a part of something important doing a job that needed to be done.

If you want to buy and read this book,PLEASE consider going to the web site below to buy it. This is the hardcover version of the book,and all of the money from the sales of it go to his children. He left behind two teenage children and a infant when he died. I thank you in advance if you do.

(...)

Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers

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Death for those with so much to live for
A welcome, but limited perspective
A deeper perspective
Kamikaze pilot

Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226619516

Book Description

“We tried to live with 120 percent intensity, rather than waiting for death. We read and read, trying to understand why we had to die in our early twenties. We felt the clock ticking away towards our death, every sound of the clock shortening our lives.” So wrote Irokawa Daikichi, one of the many kamikaze pilots, or tokkotai, who faced almost certain death in the futile military operations conducted by Japan at the end of World War II.

This moving history presents diaries and correspondence left by members of the tokkotai and other Japanese student soldiers who perished during the war. Outside of Japan, these kamikaze pilots were considered unbridled fanatics who willingly sacrificed their lives for the emperor. But the writings explored here by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney clearly and eloquently speak otherwise. A significant number of the kamikaze were university students who were drafted and forced to volunteer, and in their diaries and correspondence they often wrote heartbreaking soliloquies in which they poured out their anguish and fear and expressed profound ambivalence toward the war as well as opposition to their nation’s imperialism.

A salutary correction to the many caricatures of the kamikaze, this poignant work will be essential to anyone interested in the history of Japan and World War II.

“Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney’s book is designed to challenge Western perceptions of the kamikaze generation. By assembling brief biographies of some of the young Japanese who perished on suicide missions, and by quoting extensively from their wartime diaries and poetry, she portrays a group of literate, thoughtful people, most of whom hated the war and were reluctant to die.”— Sunday Telegraph (UK)

Customer Reviews:

Death for those with so much to live for.......2007-08-11

This is a very intellectual study of tokkotai pilots. The long introduction details the high level of academic learning these young men had and their philosophical beliefs. The chosen diaries are filled with questioning and rationalizations of this honorable duty to their country and with poetic longings to live and to love. If you can wade through the academic language you will discover a new and sad perspective of these brilliant young men whose lives were wasted in an effort to win a war that was already lost.

A welcome, but limited perspective.......2007-07-08

I found this to be a somewhat disappointing book.

The book title refers to the author's presentation of the personal reflections of 5 Japanese tokkôtai (i.e., kamikaze), as revealed in their diaries. The author does an excellent job of describing the historical and cultural context of the tokkôtai in the first part of the introduction. However, the latter half of introduction (pages 17-33) is less useful as it moves away from the primary focus of the book to discuss tangential issues. For example, the section of the book entitled "A long road to the point of no return" focuses on Japanese nationalism, with minimal attention to the tokkôtai.

More important, the author's actual presentation of the pilot diaries is weak. Quotations from the diaries are limited, in some places being only 1 or 2 sentences. In comparison, the author's analyses and inferences take as much space as the actual quotations themselves. Thus, the pilots' personalities and thoughts are not allowed to speak for themselves; instead, they are obscured by the author's analyses.

I will note, as a minor point, that the author uses the word tokkôtai as referring to the Japanese "special attack force." It is not until page 174 in the book, that the author notes that tokkôtai is actually an abbreviation for "tokubetsu kôgekitai," which is the full term for "special attack force."

The book provides a useful and welcome alternate perspective on the kamikaze. Recognize, however, that you will have to wade through a lot of tangents and academic analyses, rather than directly hearing what the tokkôtai have to say for themselves.

A deeper perspective.......2007-03-14

The book covers a lot of the same ground (identical content in some places) as the author's "Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms". The discussion of how Japan's leaders appropriated the cherry blossom iconography for military indoctrination is highly stimulating, though at times the author pushes her theme beyond its the capacity to explain certain aspects of Japanese fanaticism. In part, the problem is that the reader has to accept the diaries and other writings of a small number of highly educated young men as "representative" of the kamikaze (the author avoids the word in her text because she says it has become a synonym for "mindlessness") when, of course, they were a minority. Nevertheless, taken together with other first-hand sources (diaries, letters, memoires, etc.) increasingly becoming available in translation, this collection makes a valuable contribution to deepening our understanding of the human dimenson of wartime Japan.

Kamikaze pilot.......2006-11-03

This should be read by all the young people today. The book is a diary of a young university student who was drafted and forced to become a Kamikaze pilot against his will like many others in ca 1945. They had no other choice then. I could not read this book without a box of tissues. Because I lived in their generation and in the same country.

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retaliation
Reflections on a mirage
TOO ACADEMIC

Spartan Reflections
Paul Cartledge
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520231244

Book Description

The complex and distinctive Spartan tradition has been a prominent theme in western thinking from antiquity to today. Sparta is also one of a handful of ancient Greek cities with enough existing evidence for historians to create a realistic social portrait. Over the past quarter-century Paul Cartledge has established himself as the leading international authority on ancient Sparta. Spartan Reflections is a superb collection of his essays--two are published here for the first time, and the rest, often difficult to locate, have been revised and updated for publication in book form. Giving us a real sense of what Sparta was like as a culture, these essays constitute a fascinating introduction to and overview of ancient Spartan history and its reception. This collection, unique in breadth and scope, will be an essential source for anyone interested in this idiosyncratic society.
Cartledge brings us up to date on what is known about the most important and intriguing aspects of Sparta: its military development, questions of gender and sexuality, and the difficult problem of artistic and literary aspects of Sparta. We learn about the institutions that distinguished Sparta from other city-states, including its religion, education process, degree of literacy, secret service, unusual system of servitude, and institutionalized pederasty. Throughout, Cartledge also makes important comparisons with Athens, helping us grasp what is really striking about Sparta.
Cartledge's writing is clear and engaging as he draws from myriad sources both ancient and modern, as well as from political and cultural theory. These essays, together with their magisterial bibliography, demonstrate his remarkable scholarly and intellectual range. Spartan Reflections will be an important source on the most significant issues in Sparta scholarship today as well as a fascinating look at this culture for general readers.
A Selection of the History Book Club

Customer Reviews:

retaliation.......2004-11-14

for the above reviewer, too academic you say, how much so are you the general reader. i'm 20, in my second year at uni studying classical greece and it's at a level to which everyone can read. it is an insult to the general readers intelligence that you refer to it as too academic. may i suggest concentration!

Reflections on a mirage.......2004-04-26

Paul Cartledge of Cambridge university is one of the foremost philhellenes and classical scholars in the world. Beyond that, to my knowledge he is the preeminent authority on ancient Sparta of the present age. In fact, I can only think of a handful of names that would qualify as being in his class.

The present book is a compilation of essays that Cartledge wrote during various times during his intellectual career. Cartledge engages sundry enduring questions that the in inquisitor of Spartan history is apt to have.

Some of the topics covered include the Laconian approach to slavery, homosexuality, the art of war, the duel kingship concept, the idea of the egalitarian citizen, the position and treatment of Lacedamon women as well as the AGOGE [i.e.: public education] of young Spartan males.

Through it all, Cartledge attempts an elucidation between what Sparta was "really" like and what he liked to call the Spartan "mirage" would have outsiders believe. The latter was how Sparta wished to project herself to all other Greek city states.

The present text is far easier to read than his SPARTA AND LACONIA (which was his doctoral dissertation presented in book form). Nevertheless, it would be prudent for the reader to have at least some familiarity with the Homeric epics as well as Herodotus and Thucydides. If you're able to grasp some of the inferences Cartledge makes, you'll be fine. If not, you might get lost.

This is a book that should be read by all graduate and undergraduate classrooms where the course is has in mind a focus on ancient Sparta. If Sparta is what you're interested in, then Cartledge is whom you should be reading. He really is that good.

TOO ACADEMIC.......2002-02-12

This book is not for the general reader interested in Sparta or Greek history. It is much too academic, with numerous references to other Greek scholars and to their writings. I know Paul Cartledge is an expert in the subject, but because of the schoarly manner in which this book was written, I just could not finish it.

Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens: His Diary Kept When a Prisoner at Fort Warren, Boston Harbour, 1865; Giving Incidents and Reflections of His Prison ... reminisc (Library of Southern Civilization)

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A Fascinating Diary
Fort Warren's last prisoner

Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens: His Diary Kept When a Prisoner at Fort Warren, Boston Harbour, 1865; Giving Incidents and Reflections of His Prison ... reminisc (Library of Southern Civilization)
Ben Forkner
Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807122688

Customer Reviews:

A Fascinating Diary.......2004-03-23

This book is a fascinating voyage through one of the great 19th Century Southern political minds; perhaps second only to John C. Calhoun. Alexander H. Stephens was a strange little man, never weighing more than 100 pounds, and standing only 5' 7" tall; but "Little Aleck" had the heart of a lion. He was possessed of a small head with protruding ears and piercing black eyes. Trained as a lawyer, with a frail almost boyish figure, he never married and was totally devoted to his half-brother, Linton, who served in the Georgia Legislature, on the Georgia Supreme Court and as a Confederate officer, and whose family Alexander Stephens adopted as his own.
This diary covers Stephens experiences as a prisoner after the War Between the States had ended. The War basically ended in April, 1865, but Stephens who had served as the Vice President of the Confederacy, had already gone home to Crawfordville, Georgia, his home town. On May 11, 1865, Tim, one of his servants, came running into the parlor saying: "Master! Yankees have come! a whole heap are in town, galloping all about with guns." Thus Stephens, who unlike other Confederate cabinet officials had never attempted to flee to the sanctuary of another country, came to be a prisoner. He was transported to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor and thus begins this diary.
Throughout the diary, Stephens was indignant that he was even a prisoner, for in his mind (he was probably right) he had done nothing wrong. He had always acted according to the principles of the United States Constitution to which he was totally devoted. He had served 16 years in Congress and had retired in 1859, and when the War started in 1861 he was called upon to serve the Confederacy. As he repeatedly points out the States created the Federal Government, not the other way around. The Federal Government's rights were limited. He had served as a Whig in Congress in the beginning of his career and served with Lincoln who also served as a Whig in the 30th Congress in 1847, when Lincoln served his only term in Congress before becoming president in 1861. Stephens felt he knew Lincoln well and this may be one of the reasons he was elected vice president of the Confederacy, in addition to the fact that he cautioned against secession and for this reason it was felt perhaps he may have had gained some influence with Lincoln.
In any case, the diary covers everything about his life at Fort Warren, where after an initial period of discomfort and apprehension (there was the possibility he may be hanged), he was treated rather kindly by his captors. Stephens read and discusses such books as the Bible, Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, Swedenborg's Doctrine Concerning the Lord, Cicero on Duties, Cicero on Oratory, Aristotle on Economics, Aristotle on Politics, and so forth demonstrating that he was a true intellectual. He discusses the food he ate, his living conditions, and people he met and dealt with such as his guards, other prisoners, and even the little girl who was the daughter of one of his wardens who would bring him flowers and thrust her little hand through the bars to put them in a little flower pot in his cell. Stephens only spent four months and nineteen days in prison. His treatment was much less harsh than that of Jefferson Davis who served two years at Fort Monroe. In the end, like Jefferson Davis and others, he was released and not prosecuted for any offenses. It has been said this was because in truth they had committed no offenses and acted against the Federal Government in much the same way the leaders of the 13 Colonies had acted against the Crown when the 13 Colonies sought their independence from England and thus could not have been convicted of anything.
All in all, a wonderful diary; I have not enjoyed reading a diary as much since I read James Boswell's London Journal 40 years ago.

Fort Warren's last prisoner.......2002-11-19

This is a reprint of the original diary kept by Stephens while at the fort. It is the only book still in print that was written at Fort Warren. If you had a Confederate relative imprisoned at Fort Warren, this gives a terrific insight to the daily routine at the famous bastille.

The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections

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A Compilation of Worthwhile Memories
Sequel and the Normal drop you Expect
Responses from the "Greatest Generation"
Not Just Brokaw
The Greatest Generation

The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections
Tom Brokaw
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375503943
Release Date: 1999-11-30

Amazon.com

The popularity and credibility of charismatic news anchor Tom Brokaw ensured bestseller status for The Greatest Generation, Brokaw's homage to the Americans who survived and overcame the depression and World War II. The Greatest Generation Speaks expands his thesis that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to those tough and courageous men and women for ensuring the freedoms and comforts that Americans enjoy today. Their stories, culled from letters, interviews, and personal histories of the Greatest Generation and their family members, are anecdotal but extremely powerful, showing how men and women were sustained by simple ideals of patriotism, family, and fair play. This individualistic portrait is exactly how Americans saw themselves: Brokaw's book is a valid reflection of the times.

During a period of economic hardship and in a country united by the war effort, choices were simple; few people questioned why America was fighting Germany and Japan. Adversity brought out the best, especially in an optimistic culture like America's. As the soldier who found Beethoven's pianos in a Weimar house says after his unit is shelled, "Nothing like a close call to make the morning more beautiful." The greatest impression that war veterans seem to carry back from war is a sense of comradeship that, in spite of pain and loss, render their war years the most rewarding of all their life experiences. Modern life doesn't necessarily have the same certainties. The Greatest Generation Speaks is a healthy reminder of the foundations on which American society is built. --John Stevenson

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"I first began to appreciate fully all we owed the World War II generation while I was covering the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of D-Day for NBC News. When I wrote in The Greatest Generation about the men and women who came out of the Depression, who won great victories and made lasting sacrifices in World War II and then returned home to begin building the world we have today--the people I called the Greatest Generation--it was my way of saying thank you. I felt that this tribute was long overdue, but I was not prepared for the avalanche of letters and responses touched off by that book.

Members of that generation were, characteristically, grateful for the attention and modest about their own lives as they shared more remarkable stories about their experiences in the Depression and during the war years.

"Their children and grandchildren were eager to share the lessons and insights they gained from the stories they heard about the lives of a generation now passing on too swiftly. They wanted to say thank you in their own way. I had wanted to write a book about America, and now America was writing back.

"The letters, many of them written in firm Palmer penmanship on flowered stationery, have given me a much richer understanding not only of those difficult years but also of my own life. They give us new, intensely personal perspectives of a momentous time in our history. They are the voices of a generation that has given so much and wants to share even more.

"Some of the letters were written from the front during the war, or from families to their loved ones in harm's way in distant places. There were firsthand accounts of battles and poignant reflections on loneliness, exuberant expressions of love and somber accounts of loss.

"It seems that everyone in that generation has something worthwhile to contribute, and so we have included some pages in The Greatest Generation Speaks for others to share memories at once inspirational and instructive.

"If we are to heed the past to prepare for the future, we should listen to these quiet voices of a generation that speaks to us of duty and honor, sacrifice and accomplishment. I hope more of their stories will be preserved and cherished as reminders of all that we owe them and all that we can learn from them." --Tom Brokaw

Front-jacket photo: "She said yes!" An American G.I. had proposed marriage to his girlfriend back home, and when her letter arrived, saying yes, he propped her photograph up in his helmet and had a buddy take this picture.
--(UPICorbis-Bettmann)

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Inspired by Tom Brokaw's bestselling book, The Greatest Generation, members of the World War II generation and their families speak for themselves in these powerful letters -- and Brokaw reflects on why their lives of difficulty and triumph continue to strike such a deep chord in Americans today. Millions of people around the world have read and loved Tom Brokaw's book about the World War H generation and how ordinary people, through lives of duty, honor, and courage, gave us the America we have today. Thousands of people wrote letters to Brokaw about how The Greatest Generation provoked a reevaluation of their own lives and the experiences of their parents and grandparents, bringing families together around a core of memories and beliefs -- stories of war, love, family, faith, and country. From the thousands of letters he received, Tom Brokaw has selected some that capture in raw and beautiful detail everyday lives richly lived, lives of courage, achievement, and honor, rooted in a core of values that made a people and a nation great.

Customer Reviews:

A Compilation of Worthwhile Memories.......2006-10-20

This is just a great book containing letters from some of this nation's finest people. It's all about WWII heros, not only on the battle field but also on the home front. It's all about a generation that faced the depression and then WWII with bravery, character, and resolve rarely seen.

Sequel and the Normal drop you Expect.......2004-12-26

I thought The Greatest Generation was an American treasure and could not recommend it higher. But this book tries to mine more of that gold and not quite as well. The Great Generation told stories by Brokaw. This book is a sampling of letters written based upon reading the Greatest Generation. And while many of the letters are touching, it doesn't read as professionally as the first book and in many cases becomes redundant. A worthwhile read but not nearly as good as the first.

Responses from the "Greatest Generation".......2004-08-04

In this follow-up to "The Greatest Generation," the members and children of the generation that came of age during World War II describe their experiences, in their own words. This is a first-hand look at the hardships faced and overcome by these individuals, as well as the impact these experiences had on them and their children. Many of these letters were written during the war, and are invaluable in connecting us to that period. I can't help wondering, though, how our age of e-mail, cell phones and instant messaging will be remembered without a permenant record of letters to speak for us to future generations...

Not Just Brokaw.......2003-12-19

I was terrifically moved by this recording, and Tom Brokaw was the least of it. The supporting cast really throws themselves into the letters from The Greatest Generation. Nothing is hokey or excessive, but the honest human sentiment is tough to resist.

By contrast, Tom Brokaw sounds like he's phoning in his part of the script. But he has comparatively little to do here. The heavy lifting is done by the professional narrator and actors. A stunner. It's impossible to recommend this edition too highly.

The Greatest Generation.......2001-11-28

As the daughter of a Korean War Marine veteran, I must say it was the best gift I ever purchased for my father. This book brought light into the eyes of those who lived during this incredible time and who understood the consequences of war. I believe my father felt relieved to read the stories and letters-to see the images and to realize that his experiences as a soldier and a civilian were very similiar. I am so glad our children have a book of reference such as this; especially after the tragedy of 9/11.... it will help them to understand and appreciate the price of freedom and to better understand the stories of their grandparents. Hats off to you Tom Brokaw!

Reflections of Pearl Harbor: An Oral History of December 7, 1941

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Reflections of Pearl Harbor: An Oral History of December 7, 1941
K. D. Richardson
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0275985164

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When the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on American bases in Hawaii, the people of the United States knew instantly that the nation was at war. So devastating was the news to a country still largely in the throes of a depression that survivors can still recall some six decades later where they were, who gave them the news, the clothes they were wearing, and the confusion and eventual hardships that such a development brought. This collection of memories, told in participants' own words, gathers accounts from both military and civilians, children and adults, people of many ethnic backgrounds, from all over of the United States. Together, these ordinary Americans paint a portrait of a nation stunned, but determined to rise again. While few if any were left unmoved by the prospect of war, some grief was immediate: "The hangar was bombed causing it to collapse, killing my brother." For others, it raised deep questions about a once secure sense of identity: "I did wonder why we (Japanese Americans) were singled out. What about the German Americans?" With each passing year, more members of this generation pass from our midst, taking a piece of history with them. Determined to preserve these accounts, Richardson includes 160 personal narratives that describe a day in the life of America; that day was December 7, 1941.

A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)

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A good read for the dedicated military historian
Interesting Read...must have for any Military History buffs

A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)
John Shy
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0472064312

Book Description

A series of essays about the social, political, and intellectual dimensions of the Revolutionary War

Customer Reviews:

A good read for the dedicated military historian.......2001-03-02

This book is not meant for the casual reader. However, if you are a serious history buff and don't mind engaging a book intellectually this is a good book to spend some time with. I had the pleasure of having John Shy as a professor at the University of Michigan. I have nothing but positive feedback on his scholarly work. The somewhat narrow scope of the book's topic and the assumed background knowledge might deter a casual reader. History buff who wants to dig deeper into Revolutionary War issues? Then this book is a good one to pick up!

Interesting Read...must have for any Military History buffs.......2000-11-13

This was a nice collection of intelligent and well written essays on the American Revolution. I chose this book based on a recommendation from my history teacher. It was a requirement to write a book review on it.

This book contains a great amount of information on the American Revolution. The author seems to have done much pain-staking research to bring details to life. Unlike a traditional history book, this book focuses on specific aspects of the Revolution. It brings to light much of went on militaristically and socially on both sides of the ocean during that time. If you have ever wanted to know more about the American Revolution then what you learn in College or High School US History, this book is a must have. It is written on an academic level and requires a high degree of English comprehension.

Overall an enjoyable experience.

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