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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.
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Summary: Thanks so much, Patrick
Review: My dad has shared some, but not a great deal, about his S. Pacific experiences as a demo specialist w/ the rangers. Your work will allow his grandchildren to get a sense of the sacrifices that he and others made. Thank you so much for researching and publishing it.
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Summary: Thanks so much, Patrick
Review: My dad has shared some, but not a great deal, about his S. Pacific experiences as a demo specialist w/ the rangers. Your work will allow his grandchildren to get a sense of the sacrifices that he and others made. Thank you so much for researching and publishing it.
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Summary: Better than Beyond Valor?
Review: Pat O'Donnell's new book, "Into the Rising Sun", is a serious piece of historical research, but extremely "readable", interesting, and maybe even addicting. He has done a great service to our nation and to the heroes he has dedicated his life to honoring, our WWII veterans. In some ways, this book exceeds the fine job he did in his first book, "Beyond Valor", in the sometimes gruesome, sometimes funny, and always incredible stories of heroism and valor shown by our soldiers and Marines and their personal battles during WWII in the Pacific and CBI theaters. The stories of Japanese cannibalism shocked me, and descriptions of other horrors, and sacrifices, suffered on both sides moved me emotionally. No wonder my father's generation never wanted to talk about their experiences! The descriptions of the battles, as told by the veterans themselves, are exceptional, and confusing, and emotionally draining, and so realistic. Where these men went, and what they went through, no one should have to experience. Pat has done another great job with this book, and I don't know if I can wait another year for his third book. At least I hope there is a third.
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Summary: Elite Units of
Review: Reading "Into the Rising Sun" takes one to places of great emotion and leaves the reader's mind going over and over what those courageous Forces went through and had experienced. If you want the truth of battle and just what took place, this is the book to read. Mr. O'Donnell's book "Beyond Valor" is emotionally charged reading. Now, "Into the Rising Sun" gives oral histories a new and deeper perspective. The variation of Airborne, Rangers, Marine Raiders, Paramarines and Merrill's Marauders' stories go to the heart. From bloodshed, cannibalism, distribution of body parts on the battlefield to the compassion of Marines taking care of a crying baby are just a part of what can be found in the author's expertise of drawing out the many stories of these great men. For those that returned -- their lives went on building families and careers, but feeling and knowing that they had done the job of their country's call. They are the forerunners of our Elite & Special forces of today of whom we can be so very proud.
Mr. O'Donnell, thank you for bringing to 'life & lite' one of the greatest wars of time and introducing us to yet, more of it's 'heroes' as no other as done.
Recommend: Beyond Valor, Author Patrick O'Donnell
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Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ
Review: This book is one of the best documentaries of Pacific war veterans that I have ever read. I was spellbound for the two days it took me to read this book. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to know what it was like on the front lines against a vicious and determined enemy in WW2.
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Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ
Review: This book is one of the best documentaries of Pacific war veterans that I have ever read. I was spellbound for the two days it took me to read this book. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to know what it was like on the front lines against a vicious and determined enemy in WW2.
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Summary: Interesting, if a bit limited in scope
Review: This is the second of Patrick O'Donnell's books. O'Donnell is a gifted oral historian who's been collecting the recollections of men who were soldiers and served in the Second World War, partially through a website he set up some years ago, and partially through other sources. This compilation shows off O'Donnnell's strengths, and weaknesses (such as they are) and is a good example of his work.
O'Donnell, for whatever reason, is very attached to "elite" infantry units. In his book on the European Theater, this included paratroopers, rangers, and the members of the 1st Special Service Force. In the current book, which covers the Pacific Theater, the distinction between "elite" forces and the regular ones is somewhat more blurry: Army Rangers, paratroopers, and members of Merril's Marauders are the participants from the army, but the author chose to distinguish the Marine Raider and Parachute units from other Marine outfits. This is a weakness as all of these forces were disbanded in 1943-4, and so the book would be rather truncated as far as the Marine Corps went for the last 18 months or so of the war. This (of course) is unacceptable, so the author merely follows former members of these specialized units who were absorbed into other, regular Marine regiments.
The result is that some battles are covered in considerable detail here, while others (notably Saipan and Peleliu) are ignored because the Marines who participated in these campaigns weren't "elite." This includes members of the 1st Marine Division, who were arguably the most experienced in terms of combat against Japanese soldiers. So what's here is rather skewed and somewhat disjointed, but if you accept that, then the material that's here is worthwhile.
I enjoyed this book, within its limitations, and I would recommend it and the others in O'Donnell's series, provided you accept what they are.
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Summary: A measure of the sacrifices
Review: This review is of the Audio CD version of this excellent book. Jeff Riggenbach did a fantastic job reading this text. He managed to give proper emphasis without drowning the material.Many soldiers are reluctant to talk of their wartime experiences for fear of seeming boastful. O'Donnell got these veterans to open up and tell their stories. They did so that the fallen heroes would get proper credit, not to tell of their own exploits in a grand fashion. Many of the other reviewers have told of the specific episodes relayed in the book, but what struck me was the depth of feeling that these men had many decades after the fact. One soldier tells of looking up the family of a fallen buddy after the war. It was as if he felt driven to tell them of their son's valor and his worth to his fellow soldiers. Another tells of a friend he saw die in combat after having met his wife and been their with him during the arrival of their child. It was a common theme that these men had these experiences with them every day, if only just beneath the surface. I highly recommend it to those who would like to grasp the depth of the sacrifice these individuals made on our behalf.
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Summary: One of the most honest books about combat in the Pacific War
Review: Well, if other reviews don't say it already, this book was one of the more brutally honest books written about war against Japan. Its honest because its brutally politically incorrect. The American soldiers who relates their stories, tell not only of the horrors that the Japanese troops committed but additional horrors of what they did to the Japanese troops. This was no-hold bar combat, where there were no "good guys" or "bad guys" per say. The stories related in this book was all about killing, surviving and living on. In doing so, anything goes and there were no rules. It may be that many general readers may be kind of shock to read so honest account. Some of them may not like the read how the Americans in these pages acted with certain amount of brutality that almost mirror their enemies. But then, what is war after all, right?
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