Into the Rising Sun

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Presentation and Stories!
Review: "Into the Rising Sun" is a spellbinding oral and narrative history written by Patrick O'Donnell. Over one hundred veteran's stories are cemented together by O'Donnell's cogent narrative. The entire PTO comes alive again through this amazing book. To say it is a watershed in oral history is an understatement. I started reading the book on the metro and became so engrossed in it that I missed my stop. Some of the accounts that stay with me include a Marine's description of the fighting after the battle for Hill 40, on Guam, "Arms, legs, and body parts were everywhere. We had to shoot those in the head that weren't dead yet." Or conversely, even after all they went through tender moments such as Marines caring for a baby or an old woman. THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: Stories about the Pacific War.
Review: A fairly interesting book. O'Donnell lists the campaigns of the elite troops of this theater of command, details the plan of battle, and then gives the oral histories of those who served in those campaigns. Most of the veterans are at the end of their lives, so these oral histories present a heartfelt tribute to the difficulties these soldiers endured during combat. What surprised me most was how these soldiers/veterans got choked up recounting the battles they went through, and the friends they lost. Freedom isn't cheap, and these soldiers are living proof of how America was affected by the battle.
This is a good read. Oral histories are good at describing the personal experiences of soldiers, but they don't put perspective on the actual battle campaigns. If one wants to know more about the War in the Pacific, one needs to read a general history, before reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Stories about the Pacific War.
Review: A fairly interesting book. O'Donnell lists the campaigns of the elite troops of this theater of command, details the plan of battle, and then gives the oral histories of those who served in those campaigns. Most of the veterans are at the end of their lives, so these oral histories present a heartfelt tribute to the difficulties these soldiers endured during combat. What surprised me most was how these soldiers/veterans got choked up recounting the battles they went through, and the friends they lost. Freedom isn't cheap, and these soldiers are living proof of how America was affected by the battle.
This is a good read. Oral histories are good at describing the personal experiences of soldiers, but they don't put perspective on the actual battle campaigns. If one wants to know more about the War in the Pacific, one needs to read a general history, before reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Experience Battle from your Armchair!
Review: Author Patrick O'Donnell has done a masterful job of interviewing surviving Pacific war veterans for this marvelous book. From the first American offensive at Guadalcanal to the final shots on Okinawa, McDonnell's interviews take the reader into the heart of combat in the Pacific. Often graphic and touching at the same time, these interviews tell the reader firsthand what it was like to fight against the Japanese. The soldiers often speak of the horrors of war, such as having a buddy die in their arms, seeing a fellow soldier break down mentally, or facing the atrocities of the Japanese, such as cannibalism of dead American soldiers.

The heart-felt interviews by these veterans were touching to read, and they brought a human element to the war. Many of the vets said that they tried to never get too close to another soldier because of the risk of death, but inevitably, friendships were formed, and when someone died, it usually affected other soldiers in a very personal way. Many of these men would cry like babies after losing a buddy, especially if his dying had saved someone else's life. Uncommon valor was a common virtue amongst these men. The vets spoke of men hurling themselves on live grenades to save their platoon or crawling great distances under enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade. Compassion was also talked about by the vets. American soldiers on Okinawa continuously helped the civillian population after the Japanese tried to use them as human shields to stop the Americans.

This book moved me in a way I've never felt by a book before. I found myself grimmacing with every bullet wound and crying with the men as they discussed the death of a friend or some horrible act committed by the Japanese. This book offers a perspective on the war which can only be told by the men themselves. I highly recommend this excellent work. The stories contained inside will truly move you, and I'm sure your emotions will come out as well.

Rating:
Summary: Memoirs of the Pacific War by the Men who Fought There
Review: Author Patrick O'Donnell has done a masterful job of interviewing surviving Pacific war veterans for this marvelous book. From the first American offensive at Guadalcanal to the final shots on Okinawa, McDonnell's interviews take the reader into the heart of combat in the Pacific. Often graphic and touching at the same time, these interviews tell the reader firsthand what it was like to fight against the Japanese. The soldiers often speak of the horrors of war, such as having a buddy die in their arms, seeing a fellow soldier break down mentally, or facing the atrocities of the Japanese, such as cannibalism of dead American soldiers.

The heart-felt interviews by these veterans were touching to read, and they brought a human element to the war. Many of the vets said that they tried to never get too close to another soldier because of the risk of death, but inevitably, friendships were formed, and when someone died, it usually affected other soldiers in a very personal way. Many of these men would cry like babies after losing a buddy, especially if his dying had saved someone else's life. Uncommon valor was a common virtue amongst these men. The vets spoke of men hurling themselves on live grenades to save their platoon or crawling great distances under enemy fire to rescue a wounded comrade. Compassion was also talked about by the vets. American soldiers on Okinawa continuously helped the civillian population after the Japanese tried to use them as human shields to stop the Americans.

This book moved me in a way I've never felt by a book before. I found myself grimmacing with every bullet wound and crying with the men as they discussed the death of a friend or some horrible act committed by the Japanese. This book offers a perspective on the war which can only be told by the men themselves. I highly recommend this excellent work. The stories contained inside will truly move you, and I'm sure your emotions will come out as well.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling and Thoroughly Readable
Review: Despite the publicity,inside and outside historical circles, of such oral historians as Ambrose and Gerald Astor, Patrick O'Donnell must rank as a "rising star" in the genre of the art of interviews. His current work is nothing less than brilliant covering a subject that has been somewhat neglected--the land war in the Pacific and Asia. INTO THE RISING SUN grips the reader with accounts of combat that are nothing less than compelling,fascinating and mesmerizing. Of particular interest is the section on Merrill's Marauders, one of the least researched units during the war. O'Donnell, as in his previous work on the European war, organizes his work into chonological sequence thereby providing the reader with not only a factual based account of World War II, but a topical one as well. But what makes the book so thought-provoking is O'Donnell's ability to evoke emotion from these men who were tempered by an economic depression which had existed for more than l0 years prior to Pearl Harbor. The stereotype of the hardened veteran, oblivious to any feelings at all, is dispelled in INTO THE RISING SUN as numerous vets disclose (many for the first time) their perspectives on seeing friends and the enemy meeting sudden and horrendously violent deaths. As is widely noted, the World War II generation is passing on at the rate of more than l000 per day but with works such as INTO THE RISING SUN their legacy will continue so that future generations can understand (and appreciate) what these men did in the most difficult of circumstances. Of the spate of World War II books release in the past few years, this one must rank as a true contribution to the literary side of the war.

Rating:
Summary: Very unusual, readable format which grips your attention
Review: I found this an unusually readable book as first person narratives of combat. The emotion was left in the accounts and you can't help but be touched by the various stories as opposed to a detached historical rendering. The latter is important as a context for these highly personal accounts. There is no attempt to cover the gore and pathos of combat. The accompanying maps were very good also and helped to pinpoint actual events; many of the battles I never heard of. Reminds me of With The Old Breed and Pacific War Diary for its impact, also Flags of Our Fathers. It's great that these veterans lived until a time when they could have permission to express these emotions; they weren't allowed this I don't think until the last decade or two.

Rating:
Summary: Experience Battle from your Armchair!
Review: I read this book after "Beyond Valor" by the same author and I wasn't disappointed. "Into the Rising Sun" is a collection of first hand accounts of the brave men who fought in the Pacific. The author sets up the accounts with some background material to make more sense to it all. After re-living some of these battle through this book, I started to understand what a living Hell these guys lived through. The intensity of the Japanese soldier was astonishing.

This book has special meaning to me since my father was a Marine fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. He was at Guadalcanal and Okinawa .I now know what a hero he was!

Rating:
Summary: A MAGNIFICANT EPIC ACCOUNT OF THE PACIFIC - BEYOND FIVE STAR
Review: Into the Rising Sun is simply the finest oral and narrative history on the Pacific War. After reading this book I felt like back in time with these heroic soldiers and Marines. This book takes you to the sharp end of the combat, placing the reading in foxholes, trudging through jungle swamps, or facing the full-weight of Japanese banzai attack. Each story is seamlessly integrated into a narrative and a part of a larger whole that covers all of the major campaigns of the Pacific and Burma.

The stories hit you like a sledgehammer. Robert Moore describes America's first contested assault landing on the tiny island of Gavutu a few miles off Guadalcanal.

"Over 30 dead. Many were shot in the head. Brains were all over the place. I'll never forget this."
After being discharged for his wounds on Guadalcanal Moore reenlist in the Merchant Marines and ironically gets dropped off at Iwo Jima months after the battle only to find almost his entire platoon buried in the cemetery.

Harry Clark who describes his condition after trudging through New Georgia's jungle swamps for over a month. "I had dozens of ulcers on each leg and they went right down to the bone. Our medic used o keep us going by putting cotton on a pencil and putting it down and taking the puss out. We were all ill from every illness you could get from the jungle. I weighted ninety-seven pounds."

One of the Marines describes an all night assault by the Japanese on their positions on Guam's Hill 40.

"They pulled on all-night assault. They hit our positions hard and had visible targets for an hour. We could see them moving forward; their helmets would throw a shadow on their faces." ....the next day there were hundreds of bodies lying out in front of us. You feel guilty killing guys that were wounded. I cut a guy's throat with a my knife. That hurts. [Chocks up] I've never really talked about this to anyone."

Merrill's Marauder veteran Ed McLogan describes Sgt. Roy Matsumoto's amazing exploits that saved the battalion: "We vacated and booby trapped our foxholes after the after Roy crawled behind their lines and found out were and when they were going to attack." Matsumoto went back behind Japanese lines, again, the next morning. "He ordered them to Charge! Charge! In Japanese, and we mowed them down."

11th Airborne Division, Medic Bernard Coon describes the heartache of a man dying in his arms. "Our medic got shot through both femurs and was heavily bleeding. We had no instruments - we last them on the jump - we couldn't do anything for him. He turned to me and asked, "Are am I going to die?" and I said yes, you are." We started talking about baseball and slowly he bled to death. I had to go through his pockets and pull out pictures of his family."

A Marine describes the opening assault on the beaches Iwo Jima's Beaches:

"I was only twenty years old and my birthday was on the twenty-eighth. I thought to myself, "God am I ever going to make twenty-one?" The ramp went down, and honest to God the, bullets came in. Many of the men were machine gunned to death. I was pulling bodies of my men aside as I tried to make my way out."

This book is a watershed in the reporting of battlefield accounts. Anyone interested in World War II, the heroism of American fighting men, or both, will surely want to read this splendid tome. THIS BOOK IS BEYOND FIVE STARS!!

Rating:
Summary: Another great work by Patrick O'Donnell
Review: Into the Rising Sun takes the reader even further into the minds and hearts of WWII veterans than his previous book "Beyond Valor." The stories in this latest book are unbelievably intense and honest. Revealing incidents that have gone unspoken for almost 60 years, the story tellers really underscore the horrific nature of the Pacific theater during WWII. The stories at times made me wince. The description of the jungle warfare that took place and the suicidal nature of the japanese soldiers really brought out a lot of the "unglamorized" nature of war in the Pacific. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wants to learn the true nature of war and understand the complete human side of it.