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notspacemanlee's review
2.0
It pains me to give this book just two stars.
Bissinger consulted 500 sources over five years to compile this book. The braveness of the Marines in Okinawa is beyond commendable. I use the word "hero" sparingly, but these American soldiers who charged into one of the bloodiest battles knowing that they were likely staring death in the face are true heroes.
Bissinger's telling of the battles in the Okinawa War are generally page turners. The rest is not.
Two enormous quibbles I have with the book.
Many others have commented on their reviews as well - but the Mosquito Bowl itself covers just one page of the book. The back stories of some of the soldiers at the beginning of the book generally failed to keep my interest - and I was close two DNFing a couple times - but I never do that with books. The title just felt like a bait and switch.
I really was never emotionally invested in the 5 or 6 football players whose back stories he introduced before battle. Furthermore, there were other casualties of football players who did not even merit mention in the book until they passed - and their deaths just seemed like a Kurt Vonnegut "And so it goes."
I did learn a lot about the battle of Okinawa though. My history classes in prep school and college generally focused on the European theaters in WWII. My electives were in the American West, expressions of theology in American History, and American History as told through literature.
Again, I feel a tad ashamed giving this book a two star rating in light of the heroism of all the soldiers in Okinawa, but it was just really disjointed. Maybe Bissinger should have just ditched the football aspect which took up maybe 10% of the book at most and focused on just Okinawa. I'm really not sure.
This had the makings of a 5 star book. Unfortunately, it was just written in an odd, and at times non-compelling manner. Everyone's mileage may vary with this book - but I wanted to review this honestly.
Bissinger consulted 500 sources over five years to compile this book. The braveness of the Marines in Okinawa is beyond commendable. I use the word "hero" sparingly, but these American soldiers who charged into one of the bloodiest battles knowing that they were likely staring death in the face are true heroes.
Bissinger's telling of the battles in the Okinawa War are generally page turners. The rest is not.
Two enormous quibbles I have with the book.
Many others have commented on their reviews as well - but the Mosquito Bowl itself covers just one page of the book. The back stories of some of the soldiers at the beginning of the book generally failed to keep my interest - and I was close two DNFing a couple times - but I never do that with books. The title just felt like a bait and switch.
I really was never emotionally invested in the 5 or 6 football players whose back stories he introduced before battle. Furthermore, there were other casualties of football players who did not even merit mention in the book until they passed - and their deaths just seemed like a Kurt Vonnegut "And so it goes."
I did learn a lot about the battle of Okinawa though. My history classes in prep school and college generally focused on the European theaters in WWII. My electives were in the American West, expressions of theology in American History, and American History as told through literature.
Again, I feel a tad ashamed giving this book a two star rating in light of the heroism of all the soldiers in Okinawa, but it was just really disjointed. Maybe Bissinger should have just ditched the football aspect which took up maybe 10% of the book at most and focused on just Okinawa. I'm really not sure.
This had the makings of a 5 star book. Unfortunately, it was just written in an odd, and at times non-compelling manner. Everyone's mileage may vary with this book - but I wanted to review this honestly.
lyssey's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
dale_kooyenga's review
5.0
This book is rich in details and makes many of the WW2 fallen come back to life. I greatly appreciated the strong Wisconsin connections in this book. No doubt that America lost its finest men in WW2. This book is a great contribution to history and to the memories of these men.
akmatz's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
It's a very informative book. I specifically enjoyed how the author went to lengths to humanize the men he was writing about. If you are a fan of antiwar books about war, especially ones that do not disrespect its victims, this is a read for you.
cari1268's review
3.0
This rating is by no means based off of the real stories covered but the writing and audiobook narrator. I had issues with both. The narrator was clipped and hard to understand. This might be because the writing felt similar. I could not keep track of who was who and was often confused. This was not my favorite writing style and I would be hesitant to read another Buzz Bissinger book.
3 Stars.
3 Stars.
chaddah's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
juliebcooper's review
4.0
This took me a while because, like many nonfiction books set during a war, it’s hard going at times. Brutal and astonishingly sad. What I like about what Bissinger has done here though, is he’s put this one group of young men who fought in the pacific theater into the foreground to tell not only their individual stories, but also as a way to highlight and lament the deaths of so many promising young men. Who knows what their futures might have held.
I didn’t know much about the battles fought at Bougainville, Guadalcanal or Okinawa before reading this. My grandfather was at Okinawa but never spoke of it. What I do know is he remained lifelong friends with his fellow marines with whom he was witness to the aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the surrendering at Okinawa. It turned him into a pacifist.
I didn’t know much about the battles fought at Bougainville, Guadalcanal or Okinawa before reading this. My grandfather was at Okinawa but never spoke of it. What I do know is he remained lifelong friends with his fellow marines with whom he was witness to the aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the surrendering at Okinawa. It turned him into a pacifist.
kristenshep's review
5.0
Extraordinary book! I learned a lot about WWII in the Pacific. The stories of men who fought and died for our country were moving, although I did have a hard time keeping the all of the individuals straight. I feel that this book gave a different, more nuanced perspective on WWII than other books that I’ve read. The best chapter was Chapter 17, The Patrol, about McLaughry and his men on their mission in Bougainville. It was so suspenseful I felt like I was in the hot, steamy jungle with them.