No Name on the Bullet: A Biography of Audie Murphy

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Summary: A hard look at the most decorated soldier of WW2
Review: Don Graham goes beyond the mystique of the hero and probes the fascinating post-war life of the soldier turned movie star. He paints a portait of a deeply disturbed man who suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome which manifested itself in assorted high-risk activities including gambling, women, undercover police work and an addiction to sleeping pills. The war's most honored veteran was one of it's most wounded, too.

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Summary: Audie Murphy, A Flawed Hero
Review: Don Graham's book, "No Name on the Bullet," is out of print, but I think should be reprinted. Bios of Audie Murphy are either too worshipful or try to highlight his all too obvious flaws. Mr. Graham to his credit does neither. No doubt he clearly admires Murphy's accomplishments as a soldier but he is less than enamored with his postwar record. Murphy fans will either love or hate this book. I enjoyed it, though I had to deduct a star when Mr. Graham wrote that the Battle of the Bulge began on December 18 (it opened on the 16th). If you make a basic mistake on that level, your book might have other such errors. Still, it's a good book and if you want an honest portrait of this tragically flawed hero, you won't do any better than this.

Rating:
Summary: Audie Murphy, A Flawed Hero
Review: Don Graham's book, "No Name on the Bullet," is out of print, but I think should be reprinted. Bios of Audie Murphy are either too worshipful or try to highlight his all too obvious flaws. Mr. Graham to his credit does neither. No doubt he clearly admires Murphy's accomplishments as a soldier but he is less than enamored with his postwar record. Murphy fans will either love or hate this book. I enjoyed it, though I had to deduct a star when Mr. Graham wrote that the Battle of the Bulge began on December 18 (it opened on the 16th). If you make a basic mistake on that level, your book might have other such errors. Still, it's a good book and if you want an honest portrait of this tragically flawed hero, you won't do any better than this.

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Summary: still my hero after all these years-audie murphy
Review: I read a review of this book in the early 90's,and decided I had to read it.I think I saw all his movies ,good and bad ones,it did'nt matter.Growing up in the fifties and sixties I always admired Audie Murphy,playing boys games I always played him.To get the book was an exersize by itself.My aunt in New York tried most stores until one ordered it for her.It took nearly 6 months to locate and deliver.I savoured the book reading it twice.My hero was in trouble, again,I hoped he will make it,drugs,insomnia,bankruptcy,I was sad,butI still loved my hero.I will cherish this book forever.But this was not to be as working on a tug supply boat on the east coast of Trinidad a US engineer from Louisiana asked to read the book while I had time ashore,the boat went down a few days later,all personel were saved,except my book.I have tried to get another copy whenever I travel but have not been sucessful.It is ironic that I lost Audie and the book tragically.I still think of him and look for his movies.Whether Mr.Graham did justice to Audie Murphy or not,Audie Murphy will always be my hero.

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Summary: Tragic story of a true American hero
Review: I remember seeing "To Hell and Back" as an eight year old kid and the theater had a display in the lobby of all the medals awarded to Audie Murphy in his military career. I have probably seen the movie 200 times since then, and read his autobiography by the same name years ago. I probably saw most of not all of his "B" movies in my formative years as I rarely missed a western or war movie at the local theater. I found a copy of "No Name of the Bullet" in my local library and read it quickly. I was struck by how tragic Murphy's life was, and I certainly believe his was a classic case of post-traumatic stress syndrome, simply called "battle fatigue" in his day. Had he lived in a later time he certainly would have been better cared for and possibly not have suffered so terribly from his war experiences. I remember feeling very sad when I learned of his death in the early 70's but also remember that I had lost track of him and I certainly didn't know of how low he had sunk after his movie career ended. His flaws were many, but I believe they can almost all be traced back to the horrors he experienced during battle, and we are still learning how the human mind reacts to such terrible experiences. This book also gives insight into why so many war veterans are reluctant to discuss their experiences, it is just too horrible to bring to mind. I highly recommend this book if you can find it.

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Summary: An honest and true look at Audie Murphy, the whole person.
Review: I've read this book twice: once when it was new and then recently. I was a fan of Audie Murphy growing up and remember hearing of some of his problems after the war. Even so, this book is hard to read. It's hard to read because it's true. This book is not sentimental, but it is compassionate. It's also objective and well researched. Personally, I don't think Don Graham particularly liked his subject very much, but he certainly respected him. He respected him enough to stand back and let Audie Murphy, finally, more than 50 years after his medals and almost 30 years after his death, become a REAL person. Most of this book is on his post-war life because that's where most of his life played out. Exceptionally well written, this is the story of a man who was not always brave, not always right, not always faithful to his family or his friends, not even always law-abiding. This is the story of a man terribly tormented by his war experiences, living in a time and in a profession that made no allowances for it's heros. I have more respect for Audie Murphy now than I ever did before. But I also have a sense of guilt.

When he came home, he was cheered as a hero but we never let him get beyond that. We saw him as we WANTED HIM TO BE, not as he really was. I was born and reared in "Audie Murphy" country, and some people still do that. As if he couldn't be BOTH a hero and a terribly troubled man. He gave his life for his country, but not because of a German bullet. He gave his life for his country because of well-meaning people who, even to this day, will not allow even his memory to be real. It took guts for Don Graham to write this book and it will take guts for you to read it. I recommend you do.

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Summary: This book is a tabloid type hatch-job.
Review: The first half of this book is quite factual because virtually all of the material was lifted from Col. Harold Simpson's biography of Audie Murphy titled "Audie Murphy: American Soldier". But the second half of the book has very little to do with reality. Dr. Graham, an English teacher, not a historian, clearly wished to write a book about the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and fame have on returning war veterans. He began with preconceived conclusions which he was determined to "prove" regardless of the facts and chose to use Audie Murphy as a vehicle to attract attention to the book. Avoiding legitimate historical research, Dr. Graham chose to repeat malicious tabloid type rumors and innuendos rather than spend the time to seek out the truth. Dr. Graham often resorted to purposeful distortions of the truth. For example, Dr. Graham states that Audie Murphy was so far in debt that he had been unable to pay his Federal Income Taxes for 7 years. The LA County Superior Court Records show that Audie Murphy owned a horse ranch named AM Farms in Parris, CA and that Mr. Murphy's accountants had been deducting business expenses based on the ranch. When the IRS audited Mr. Murphy, they decided to disallow the business deductions on the grounds that Mr. Murphy had a caretaker who lived on the ranch. Therefore they reclassified it as a "hobby" and assessed 7 years back taxes. There is a huge difference between not being able to pay your taxes and having deductions disallowed. This is just one example of how Dr. Graham twisted and distorted facts to suit his purposes. Dr. Graham's area of specialty is English Literature, NOT history. This book should go in the fiction category, NOT biography, because the character portrayed exists only in the author's mind and has very little resemblance to Audie Murphy himself.

Larryann Willis, B.S., M.S. J.D. Executive Director Audie Murphy Research Foundation

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Summary: TO HELL, AND NOT QUITE BACK.
Review: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ENGLISH PROFESSER DON GRAHAM DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF RESEARCH AND WRITING HERE. 'NO NAME ON THE BULLET' HITS ITS MARK WITH ACCURACY AND EMOTIONAL ENERGY. WHY SOMEONE HASNT MADE A MOVIE ABOUT MURPHYS POST WAR TRAUMA BASED ON THIS BIOGRAPHY IS BEYOND REASON. THIS TEXT SHOWS HEROES IN A LIGHT NOT ALL THAT RIGHTEOUS BUT DANG SURE REALISTIC. MURPHYS AFTER THE FACT LIFESTYLE AND HIS EMOTIONAL UNRAVELING IS PRSENTED IN A FACTUAL MANNER WITHOUT BEING DISRESPECTFUL OR PATRONIZING TO THIS GREAT HERO. THIS BOOK DOCUMENTS AUDIES MIRACULOUS WARTIME ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND THEN FOCUSES ON THE LIFELONG BATTLES HE FOUGHT AFTERWARDS. IT IS WRITTEN IN A CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER WITH THE VARIOUS EVENTS INTERPRETED IN AN ALMOST SURGICAL PSYCOLOGICAL MANNER. I COULDNT PUT IT DOWN. IT IS FACT THAT BECAUSE OF ITS FEROCITY STIMULATES LIKE FICTION. DON GRAHAM SHOULD HAVE RECIEVED HIGH PRAISE UPON THIS BOOKS RELEASE IN 1989. THE FACT THAT A TEXAS WRITER IS COMMENTING ON A

FELLOW TEXAN HERO ADDS A TOUCH OF ADMIRATION TO THE MIX. FORGET WHAT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS CALLS A HERO, AUDIE MURPY WAS THE GENUINE ARTICLE. AND GRAHAMS BOOK IS THE BEST IVE SEEN ON THIS SUBJECT.