Rating: 
Summary: Puts one's life into focus
Review: A riviting story of two worlds. The world of a young man going through the training that makes a US Marine a US Marine and his father trying to make sense of the new world that has been in front of his face all of his life but unnoticed on his part.In terms of interest John's story is of more interest since it is a world I don't know, we see how a marine is made and how he copes with all that is expected of him. The great revelation is the purpose for all of the many things demanded of him that seem useless but have a purpose (such as shouting since a battlefield is a world of loud noise etc...) I regret to say I most related to the father Frank's story. I never served (although my father did in the 2nd World War) Reading his story filled me with sympathy and respect for him and contempt for two : The first being all those who treated his son's decistion as an error at best or a betrayal at worst. The second batch of contempt however was reserved for me. I didn't serve and am now past the age. I look at what Frank's son is doing and find myself questioning why he is doing my job. Its a not pleasant mirror and puts one own life in sharp relief, making one's own problems seem small and unimportant. This book was finished on Sept 10 2001. It should be required reading for all Americans.
Rating:
Summary: Puts one's life into focus
Review: A riviting story of two worlds. The world of a young man going through the training that makes a US Marine a US Marine and his father trying to make sense of the new world that has been in front of his face all of his life but unnoticed on his part. In terms of interest John's story is of more interest since it is a world I don't know, we see how a marine is made and how he copes with all that is expected of him. The great revelation is the purpose for all of the many things demanded of him that seem useless but have a purpose (such as shouting since a battlefield is a world of loud noise etc...) I regret to say I most related to the father Frank's story. I never served (although my father did in the 2nd World War) Reading his story filled me with sympathy and respect for him and contempt for two : The first being all those who treated his son's decistion as an error at best or a betrayal at worst. The second batch of contempt however was reserved for me. I didn't serve and am now past the age. I look at what Frank's son is doing and find myself questioning why he is doing my job. Its a not pleasant mirror and puts one own life in sharp relief, making one's own problems seem small and unimportant. This book was finished on Sept 10 2001. It should be required reading for all Americans.
Rating: 
Summary: Former Marine who can relate
Review: After seeing Frank and John Schaeffer during a question and answer session on CSPAN, I quickly went out and bought the book. It took me three nightly readings to complete, after which I found myself profoundly moved. My life path was in fact very similar to that of John Schaeffer. A previledged youth trying to find my way in the world. After two years attending the University of Southern California I joined the Marine Corps Reserves in 1990. I was drinking too much beer and smoking too much pot and found myself afloat in self doubt. This book has brought back many old memories of my time at MCRD San Diego, and what it ment to be a Marine. Being a Reservist, I had only anticipated completing my initial basic training and then doing my one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. However, the day I graduated from my MOS 0311 SOI (School of Infantry)August 3, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. I returned to USC for 1/2 of a semester and then was activated to full time duty and deployeed to Okinawa for nine months. I did not see the desert and was grateful for that. But it showed that all who serve as John Schaeffer do, are at some risk, especially today. This wonderful book brought back many emotions that had been dormant for most of a decade. But to hear someone experiencing the Marines now, today, was a very heart warming experience. I have since moved on and have a good job and a wonderful family. But like John with his friends from school, I was never really able to explain to them in a way they could understand why I had joined the Corps. Now, with this book, if someone is truely interested in that answer, I can tell them where to find it. Being a Marine is one of the things I'm most proud of in my life. Semper Fidelis John and Frank Schaeffer, and congratulations on your success and loving relationship.
Rating:
Summary: Soccer game justifications
Review: Amazon had this book delivered to me at 2 p.m. and, though I resented having to feed the dogs at 6 p.m., I am finished on the same day. John Schaeffer tells his sublime transformation from boy to Marine sweetly, painfully, and hungrily. Read this then get thee to a Burger King. And a podiatrist. He brought me to tears and the refrigerator. Loved it. I have a quarrel with Frank Schaeffer, John's great and passionate father. Frank didn't write his part for us out here in Indiana where, except at the universities (we have them here, you know), we always did love our country. Frank wrote his part as a plea to his fashionable brethren who think, as he puts it, the sanitation department is protecting them. He seems to think that if he just explains it properly, explains from THEIR perspective (diversity, good taste, automobile choice) they surely must understand ... I'm talking to you, Frank: They will not. I understand your passion, but I do not applaud your method. It doesn't matter how diverse or humble or even successful the military is, the swells aren't going to like it. You are STILL making justifications at Waring soccer games because your son is a Marine. You've learned nothing about Marine BEARING...Read this book. Great story about a father and son. And, of course, a Marine. OORah.
Rating:
Summary: Great boot camp info with plenty of Yuppy whine
Review: Any Marine will feel right at home with this recruit's descriptions of Marine boot camp. Little has changed since I was a recruit in 1962 but what has changed is all for the better. This young man from a privileged family describes the life of a recruit perfectly. If I could have read it without the whiney Yuppie tripe from the father and the history of his life and times it would have earned five stars.... Semper Fi
Rating: 
Summary: Keeping Faith...in what?
Review: As a Marine, and as an instructor at one of the schools the young co-author attended, I am disgusted by this book. When a person uses their experience in the military, you expect them to actually have some experience. The few stories included in the book that related to the Marines were far-fetched and exaggerated, at best. John's outlook and those of his friends that he chose to portray for financial gain are demonstrative of all that is wrong with today's Marine Corps. In the few pages that included "war stories" based on John's vast experience, there is a great deal of tough talk. All of it coming from young men who haven't spent one day in the Fleet Marine Force. One would be hard-pressed to find an honest look into the life of a Marine within these pages. The only reason I rated this book so much higher than it actually deserved, is because 1 star is as low as the rating system goes.
Rating:
Summary: Keeping Faith...in what?
Review: As a Marine, and as an instructor at one of the schools the young co-author attended, I am disgusted by this book. When a person uses their experience in the military, you expect them to actually have some experience. The few stories included in the book that related to the Marines were far-fetched and exaggerated, at best. John's outlook and those of his friends that he chose to portray for financial gain are demonstrative of all that is wrong with today's Marine Corps. In the few pages that included "war stories" based on John's vast experience, there is a great deal of tough talk. All of it coming from young men who haven't spent one day in the Fleet Marine Force. One would be hard-pressed to find an honest look into the life of a Marine within these pages. The only reason I rated this book so much higher than it actually deserved, is because 1 star is as low as the rating system goes.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST READ I'VE HAD IN YEARS
Review: As a mother I have a lot of books to choose from when it comes to mother-daughter relationships. God knows there are enough books about women these days! KEEPING FAITH is a lone voice crying in the wilderness. This is the best book I have ever read for getting under the skin of our menfolk. Want to undersand what really makes men "tick?" Then KEEPING FAITH is for you. Sure it is about the Marines but this book is really a profound and touching self-revelation about family love and the gentle side of manliness. Any one who has ever loved a child (or a man) will find their heart beating a little faster as she turns the pages. On thing: You won't be able to put it down. Get three pages in you'll be hooked. Do you want to know what the men and women of our armed services do for our sakes? Do you want to understand what it is like to be the parent of someone in the military? Do you want to know what the voice of a loving father sounds like? Then read KEEPING FAITH. And if you happen to have a Marine or former Marine in the family then forget about your Christmas list. KEEPING FAITH is the only present to give. It is the best read I've had in years. I REALLY DID LAUGH AND CRY.
Rating:
Summary: Stirred old memories...
Review: As a Vietnam era Marine, the accurate desrciption that John provided as he progressed through boot camp brought much of a forgotten period back to life for me. The struggle that his father endured as he tries to understand what is happening to his son help bring a different and important perspective to the story. As a person who went through the entire experience so long ago, the reality was quite remarkable. Of course, in 1965 the situation was quite different, as we all knew that we were going to go into a foriegn war, but the Marine Corps is what it is, and I hope always will be. Sadly, as John waits for his clearance (I have one, and we ALL must wait for that process to complete!) the failure to understand the whys of that situation led to unnessary frustration. Sometimes, things are they way they are, and nothing can be easily changed, simply accepted. That process is one that is a "black box" for a reason, not apparent at first glance. Much like the values of the USMC.
Rating:
Summary: From a Civillian
Review: As soon as I saw Frank Schaeffer's essay on "The News Hour with Jim Leher" I ordered the book immediately. The book is so compelling that I could not put the book down. It brought back memories of fighting with my parents when I signed up for ROTC in college. It shows you what teamwork, self sacrifice, and giving yourself over to a greater good can accomplish. The very values that made this country great. This book brings back the same emotions during the three times ,that I have visited the USS Arizona Memorial. The men and women in the military put their lives on the line guarding my freedom. This civillian can only say THANK YOU, when I did not stand the post!
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