Rating: 
Summary: A must read for all Americans
Review: The single finest work written about men and war. This should be required reading for all Americans. A deeply moving tribute to the men and women whose sacrifice has provided the freedom we so richly enjoy. I cried for hours after reading the last chapter and still carry the weight of Bradley's words with me today.
Rating:
Summary: Flags of our Fathers
Review: Great book! Since my father fought on Imo Jima, this book gave me a descriptive idea of what my father went through. He went through hell, and the author does a great job of explaining in detail the magnitude of this brutal battle. I could not put this book down!If you want to know everything about Imo Jima and the significance of this battle, this is a must read. Also, if you have a father who fought at Imo Jima or any war battle, you will have a new respect for him.
Rating:
Summary: If six stars were possible, this book would get them.
Review: No words can describe what I felt after having finished this book. I have served some time in the special forces of my country and have some experience with the sort of feeling Mr. Bradley's father felt for his comrades in arms. Reading "Flags of Our Fathers" has been an extraordinary experience for me and I cannot adequately expres my deepest appreciation toward Mr. James Bradley for sharing with the public this magnificently honest story of one of the major battles of WW II during which his father together with several of his comrades just happened to raise a flag on a tiny island of the Pacific coast of Japan. The vast number of reviews this book has received up until now, and mind you it has only been published a couple of months ago, with an average appreciation of five stars says it all. Mr. James Bradley's "Flags of Our Fathers" is a superb work, and I wouldn't be surprised if before long it would come to be considered a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Reluctant Heros
Review: James Bradley is to be commended for telling the rich history of his Navy father and Marine Corp Members who raised the flag on Iwo Jima in February 1945. The exploits of these men was one of valour, though the participants play down their roll and even seem to have been embarrassed by the feat. Only three of the original six men lived to tell the tale. Bradley's story takes the reader through boyhood backgrounds, Marine Corp training and the battle for Iwo Jima in what I could only guess is vivid reality. He then goes on to tell the aftermath of thier lives. Though other books may have been written that disagree with some aspects of Bradley's assessment, one thing is sure. Iwo Jima was not only America's costliest battle, it was also a huge blunder in the way it was carried out. Would this account for the Flag Raisers discounting their feat of valour? Consider the historical perspective. On Iwo Jima the bombing preparation lasted two or three days, the siege thirty-one days. The 1991 Persian Gulf War bombing lasted thirty days, the siege about a week. There was minimal resistance for our ground troops in the Gulf though more than one hundred men and women gave thier lives for the effort. General H. Stormin' Norman Schwarzkof of rescent history could have given Howlin' Mad-Dog Holland M. Smith, the Iwo Jima Marine Commander a lesson or two in tactics. Perhaps the Bush Administration had learned something from Iwo Jima given the advantage of modern 'smart-bomb' tactics. But what about the flag raisers? I would suggest that the Roosevelt/Truman Administrations knew they must make 'political hay' from the ill-conceived plan to take Iwo Jima. Therefore, the Iwo "Straw Men" (flag raisers) were perfect diversions. If there could have been recording equipment in the Oval Office at that time, I'm betting the conversation was a 'smoker'. Bradley aludes to this idea. Perhaps it went something like, "Get those guys over here", Roosevelt may have said, "We need to get the minds of the American Public off the body count. Have these men lead the War Bond Drive! And buy the way, use this picture of them raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi." Enter our reluctant heros, Bradley, Hays and Gagnon, the surviving threesome. The Author's father, John Bradley summed it up on the last page, "People refer to us as heroes. We certainly weren't heros. And I speak for the rest of the guys as well . . . certainly not heros." If Monday morning quarterbacking about the Battle for Iwo Jima is not being practiced in the halls of our nations war colleges, it should be. Bradley's book, though insightful and worth reading is a fragment of the big picture (pardon the pun) that of America learning to conduct war with words instead of hardware.
Rating:
Summary: I'll Make my Contribution to the World War II Memorial!
Review: May I suggest an appropriate "thank you" to those who gave their young lives during the war, and, to those veterans who lived with the pain and memories after the war -> a contribution to help build the World War II Memorial. Certainly Ira, Doc, Rene, Mike, Franklin, Harlin and "Iggy" (and all the other heros of Iwo Jima) deserve no less from we who take for granted what they so willingly fought and died for.
Rating:
Summary: A Great look into the hearts and minds of 6 American Heros!
Review: This was a very detailed book about the 6 "boys" who raised the flag on Iwo Jima in WWII. Bradley does a great job of discovering the joys and fears of "boys" who went into battle and change the course of world history forever. The photo on the cover is the world's most reproduced. I would highly recomend this book to anyone! If you are a WWII buff or just an American read this book! It will make you proud and gratefull to the vets who "save the world"!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I have served, but never in combat. WWII interests me immensely, as I am Jewish and have made a point to study the Holocaust and the American war in Europe at length. This was a great book with some of the most vivid descriptions of training and war I have ever read. This book is a must read, and I would agree with the author's premise that the Pacific theatre was America's war. Read this book if you, and you will know 6 boys of the war as if you were there.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: I have just finished this book and cannot say enough about it. Mr. Bradley has a keepsake for his family that they will treasure for all time. I cried in the beginning and at the end. I learned things that I never new about the battle, the flag raising, and the men who raised it. Both my father and my uncle were in WW2, and I never asked them about their experiences, my loss, as both are gone now. I recommened this book to anyone who wants to know the truth from the men wo were there.
Rating: 
Summary: Iwo Jima
Review: I enjoyed this book throughly. However, other accounts I read of the battle for Iwo Jima delved into the unavoidable accounts of Japanese atrocities committed against our fighting men. This author only glossed over such facts when in reality the issue of the brutal treatment of our Marines was the turning point in the ferocity our boys displayed toward an enemy bent on total war. Our boys actually were forced to become almost non-human in order to win. In essence the Japanese on Iwo and in the pacific in general became mere mortals under arms compared to the super-human blood-in-the-eye effort of our U.S. Marines. The story of the flag raisers before and after the war was very interesting. Good book!
Rating:
Summary: A Marine's Daughter
Review: "Flags of Our Fathers" touched my heart in a way no other book could ever come close to. Growing up as the daughter of a Marine, I never realized the intense bond my father developed with his fellow soldiers. When I finished reading "Flags of Our Fathers" I called him and when we weren't crying, he emphasized the same sense of brotherhood he felt for his fellow Marines in Korea that "Doc" Bradley felt during World War II. It's hard to believe that a book could have such an impact on a father-daughter relationship, but "Flags of Our Fathers" introduced me to a part of my dad's life that I might have never known.
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