To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.00 You Save: $7.00 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.35 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of To Hell and Back
Book Review: THE American War Hero
Summary: 5 Stars
The cover of this new edition of "To Hell And Back" shows a very young soldier with an incredible display of decorations, behind the cover are the exploits of how the most decorated combat soldier of WWII earned those medals, although you would never know that from the text of this book. Nowhere in this book does Audie Murphy mention that he was ever decorated, the deeds speak for themselves. Because of several bios of Audie Murphy it is known that while Audie wrote, or told to a writer, the combat stories in this book are is own, Audie's ghost writer connected his first hand accounts with pages of banter from Audie's fictionalized platoon buddies. When Audie Murphy tells his story it rings true. Only a combat veteran would write that when he stood alone, blazing away with a 50 cal. machine gun on top of a burning vehicle against six tanks and infantry that "...for the first time in three days, my feet were warm." This book follows Audie from his first day, as a green soldier on the beaches of Sicily and follows him through combat in Italy, France, and Germany. When Audie landed in France, in August of '44 he had been awarded two Bronze Stars, from August to January '45 he would earn the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, three Purple Hearts, and the Medal of Honor. Germany made two errors in WWII, one was attacking Russia, the other was on the first day that Audie Murphy landed in France they killed his best friend, after they pretended to surrender. The last paragraph of this book is as powerful as anything that you will read in war fiction. This is a great book, I'm glad that the legend of Audie Murphy is available to new generations.Book Review: I came mostly to see what the town looked like
Summary: 5 Stars
This story of a military hero who became a movie star begins in Texas where 5 yr old Leon (Audie) lives in a shack, plants, weeds and picks cotton. After Pearl harbor at 112 pounds, he was rejected by the marines and paratroops before enlisting in the infantry. In basic training at Camp Wolters in June, 1942 he passed out in close-order drill and his cmdr tried to shove him into cook's school. At Fort Meade an officer tried to make him a clerk. He then went to Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany spending over 400 days in the front lines, receiving 21 medals for capturing, wounding and killing 240 enemy. Published in 1949 before he was a movie star, Murphy said "The main reason I wanted the book to be written was to remind a forgetful public of a lot of boys who never made it home." Don Graham's biography "No Name On The Bullet" reports that of the original 235-man roster of Company B, only 2 remained at the end, Audie and a supply sergeant. Only a few had transferred, all the rest were wounded or killed. By 1955 Murphy was the most popular western actor in America. I have over 40 of his films on DVD and VHS. Recommended viewing: To Hell and Back, Red Badge of Courage, Night Passage (with Jimmy Stewart), The Texican, The Unforgiven (with Burt Lancaster), and No Name on the Bullet. Watching these movies is not like watching a hero or movie star, Murphy embodies all of the 18 yr old guys that never came home from Tarawa, Normandy, Viet Nam and Iraq to have a career, family and enjoy old age. A tribute to guys like Private Joe Sieja, Lattie Tipton, Jim Fife and John J. Fredericks.Book Review: To Hell and Back
Summary: 5 Stars
To Hell and Back
One of the great things about reading the Audie Murphy bio is that you hear his voice in your head. You see him on every page, if you have seen his movies and remember his Texas drawl.
What struck me as remarkable was how modest Murphy was in recalling his exploits. We are talking about the most decorated man of World War 2. His humility is probably the biggest drawback in the book. The first half of the book is really a tribute to the men that he served with in the war.
Murphy was orphaned as a child and the state broke up the remaining family. He finds a new family in the army. When you read the first chapters you see his status in the group escalate until he is basically in charge of everyone, but he never mentions how this happened. The infantry does not choose young, short, baby-faced men to lead them into battle: obviously his courage and leadership have propelled him into that role. Instead of telling us how this has happened he recalls his conversations and interactions with his friends. It is not until every single one of them is dead or wounded that he turns his attention to describing his own efforts to win the war. It is really incredible. From that point on the book is non-stop action and you cannot help but wonder how he survives. Did he have a death wish after losing his buddies? He admits to having incredible luck and wonders when it will run out, yet he continues to volunteer for missions out of boredom.
Audie Murphy is the ten on the scales for courage and character. Needless to say I loved the book.
Book Review: A Dogface Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a classic of infantry warfare. It should be noted that Murphy wrote less than 10 percent of the book himself. In fact, the bulk of the book was written buy a fellow veteran and Hollywood screenwriter (and full-time alcoholic) David "Spec" McClure. Their collaborative process in writing the book is interesting. McClure would use Murphy's medal citations and Donald Taggart's classic "History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II," for solid reference, then he would interview Murphy, that is, provided if he was so inclined to speak. If the session was fruitful, much was done. If it wasn't, it went slow. Murphy would then read over what was done and either he would approve it or send it back. Sometimes, McClure would get so annoyed when Audie would send a passage back he'd yell at Murphy, "Well what DID happen?" then Murphy would tell him. It took them a year, but they finally completed it. The result was a bestseller and a future movie adaptation.One thing about this book for a more contemporary reader: this book is packed with a lot of dialogue much of which borders on the hokey. Still, that doesn't lessen the impact of Murphy's story. Also he never mentions his medals. His tone at times screams of modesty. Sometimes, you don't even know he's there, he lets his friends and comrades-in-arms do most of the talking (in here, their names are fictionalized). The book's dedication to two of his buddies who were killed in action should come off as no surprise.
I'm glad to see this classic being reprinted. Let's hope it never goes out of print.
Book Review: A must read
Summary: 5 Stars
Audie Murphy is truly a hero. This is self-evident. His book deals very well with giving the feeling of being a soldier, with the incredible stress that comes from being in a life-and-death situation. This feeling includes anger, and apathy, and friendship. Murphy describes the events of his time in service straight-forwardly and clearly.For anyone studying war, whether in terms of history, military science, morality in war, etc., this book is a must read. In the bird's eye view of war, one sees strategies, tactics, political imperatives, and the like. This work will always serve to remind scholars and interested amatuers of the costs of battle, and the strength of the men who risk their lives for their country. The reader will remember, not just that battles occur, but that in these conflicts, soldiers must face (as Murphy talks about) friends dying, men they were just talking to being vaporized by a mortar, good soldiers having their nerves suddenly break (having heard one bomb too many), and the like.
This book helps those who study war to always remember the human element - both in terms of the tragedy for those involved, but also the courage of those involved. Highly recommended.