Old Man in a Baseball Cap: A Memoir of World War II

Rating:
Summary: A powerful storytelling experience
Review: Fred Rochlin has brilliantly achieved the goal of the storyteller: he has endeared his carefully chiseled character to his audience and set him solidly in a time and place to which the audience member can offer his own identification. At once hillarious and poignant, the piercing reality of the horror of war is humanized and tempered when seen through the young, fresh eyes of Rochlin. I found the story so much richer knowing that the author had been holding this story in him for the last 50 years. Really fine storytelling involves a balance between an individual's experience and an universal theme. Mr. Rochlin has managed to share his unique self with us, but at the same time, has chosen to frame each tender, funny, horrific moment of his WWII stint within the larger life concepts such as LOVE, HONOR, EVIL, DEATH. I absolutely loved this book -- I laughed, I cried, I thought about stuff. Fred Rochlin is a masterful storyteller and I feel lucky to have his story now inside of me. Thank you, Fred Rochlin!

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious and heartwarming story
Review: Fred Rochlin's account of his experiences as a navigator in WWII are droll and nostalgic, but also a sad reminder of the impact of this catastrophic time in history. His book reminds me of Catch 22 but it's an easier, faster read. This would be a great Father's Day gift even for the non-reader. Reading Rochlin is like sitting at a table where men are exchanging war stories, only these are all Rochlin's, and they are engaging and memorable. He clearly had fun writing it, and you will have fun reading it!

Rating:
Summary: Priceless
Review: My first thought, after finishing this marvelous memoir, was, "He did it better than I ever could have done." And, with grudging admiration, I began rereading it (at two a.m.!). Mr. Rochlin has conveyed a dimension of truth and reality few writers are capable of managing. I laughed, and I felt tears, and laughed again. I've been there (to be sure, in a different fashion but in the same war and in another war after that one), and through Mr. Rochlin's book I vividly relived some of those days. What is "priceless" about "Old Man" is that is transcends all generations. And there are layers of meanings to it that reveal themselves with each new reading. This is infinitely more than a "war book" because the reader, be he a war veteran or present day high school student, can relate to the author's universal theme of life and death, courage and fear, triumph and tragedy, love and hate. In a word, then, one hell of a fine book.

Rating:
Summary: Making fig-fig
Review: OLD MAN IN A BASEBALL CAP is a quick and easy read due, no doubt, to the late Fred Rochlin's monologue style which he developed after attending a workshop with the incomparable Spalding Grey. After performing a number of his wartime monologues live, they were collected and published in this rather short book.

Rochlin was a B-24 navigator during WWII and his tale of his war experiences is raw, rather course, not pretty at times, and yet darkly humorous. Rochlin is remarkably frank about his experiences, more than one of which may shock the sensitive reader. This is unlike any other narrative I have ever read about the Second World War: more personal and in many ways far more human.

Whether the events of this monologue are true or not does not really matter; I am sure that Rochlin (like David Sedaris) would say that they are "true enough." They form a story in Rochlin's mind, a narrative that he feels compelled to tell. I for one am more than willing to listen.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

Rating:
Summary: Better on Tape
Review: The audio version is the only way to go. Do not listen if you are easily offended by frank talk of the things young men do when they have resigned themselves to unpleasant circumstances. Rochlin is NOT an exemplar of Brokaw's "Greatest Generation." He and his comrades at arms were decidedly human.
Rochlin acknowledges that men of his generation were discouraged from talking about traumatic experiences. He also acknowledges that his memories are factually suspect. While current opinion seems to hold listening in higher esteem than talking, Rochlin maintains that sharing one's stories is a gift to others. It's too bad they didn't give WWII combat veterans a "transition debrief" before they sent them home. Many of them suffered from post traumatic stress for decades and their loved ones never knew exactly what had happened to them. A chance to talk to someone about their experiences might have helped many combat veterans and there might be a better understanding of what that war was really like.

Rating:
Summary: Rewrite this book and tell us the *real* story!
Review: The author is a funny guy and tells a riotous story. However, this book is a bit brash and irreverant for my taste. There are some things in life, such as friendship and death, that I find somewhat offensive to belittle with humor. There's a much more powerful story underneath the author's amusing anecdotes of his life during World War II. I'd love to hear the more serious side of his story. It's good of the author, even in the humorous way that he does, to share his war experiences with others who were not yet born at that time in history .

Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary: funny, tragic, thoughtful, entertaining
Review: This books SEEMS slim at first: justa collection of war stories. But within a page or two I was hooked. Rochlin is a spare, vivid story-teller, the WWII stories he tells based on his experiences as a pilot are jaw-dropping. This book scares you, makes you cry, arouses you (yes, it's true) and in the end sears itself in your mind. I idly thumbed through it in my car outside the bookstore and stayed in the parking lot reading it for two hours. What a gift he's given us!

Rating:
Summary: what a great book (i know that's corny, but so what)
Review: This is a book about my favorite time period, WWII, and the men who flew and fought in it, told by a regular guy, who happened to be a navigator on a B-24. Fred is a good writer, and you get the impression that he had a lot of fun, along with the tough, scary things that he and his fellow crew men had to endure. As an ex-flier, I can understand why Fred wanted to tell his story. I burst out laughing at some of the language, but none of what he wrote is offensive. He is obviously proud of his exploits, and he should be. This is a great book. Thanks, Fred.