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Title: The War Journal of Major Damon "Rocky" Gause by Damon Major 'Rocky' Gause, Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0-7868-8421-5 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: 22 November, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 (30 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great first-person WWII narrative
Comment: "The War Journal of Major Damon 'Rocky' Gause" is a well-told, exciting survival and escape story of World War II. Lieutenant (at the time of the events related in this book) Gause was a pilot stationed in the Phillipines when General MacArthur was ordered to retreat. His plane being destroyed, he fought with the American troops to the bitter end of the defeat of Corregidor, and through the kindness of the Filipinos and natives of the South Pacific, escaped via a 3,200 mile route to Australia.
This story may perhaps be the greatest survival and escape tale from World War II. It's full of close calls (a Japanese submarine surfacing next to their craft), thrills (a disguised Nazi officer trying to murder Gause and his companion, Lt. Osbourne, in their sleep), quirks (getting much-needed help from a leper colony) and hardships (their small wooden craft being thrown about in a storm). The book also has some truly touching moments--the kindness and loyalty of the Filipinos who were willing to aid Gause despite the risk, and the picture of Gause with his son, whom he saw for a mere few hours before his deployment and subsequent death in Europe in a training exercise.
The book is written simply (but is not a simple book), and not too politically correct (which I don't think Maj. Gause would care for being, anyway). The story flows well, and the foreward and afterword by Maj. Gause's son are well-done. The book would be improved by the inclusion of more maps showing their route and a timeline, and perhaps the reproduction of some of the original ship's log pages.
The book also has a prologue by Stephen Ambrose (whose imprimatur should promptly silence those questioning the credibility of the story).
Rating: 4
Summary: Endless Journey
Comment: Overall, in my opinion, the book was very good. The characteristic that I liked most was that it was written in first person. It is the actual account in Gause's words of what happened. If the story had been fiction, it would not have been as enjoyable. It would have been unfair to all the brave soldiers who actually fought in the war to make up a story such as this. However, since the story was real, it gave me a lot of respect for everything that Gause had to go through. He was so brave and so determined. Many people never would have even thought of risking the 3,200-mile voyage to Australia. Gause never gave up, though, even when all hope seemed lost and it did not look like the trip could get any worse. Another characteristic that made the book enjoyable was that it was easy to read. The book used short sentences and simple words. Gause was writing everything in his log, so he did not need long elaborate sentences, or have the time to write them. The book also teaches many lessons. Whenever I look at a challenge that I'm facing, I will realize that maybe it really is not so bad after all. Chances are, I will not be running from the Japanese in a leaky boat like Gause was. The book helps me to put my own problems in perspective. Never, ever, give up. It also teaches the value of friendship. Without the support that Gause and Osborne gave to each other, they never would have made it to Australia. They had their disagreements, but they always managed to settle them. It was very important that they were able to communicate with each other. The book also it gave a real feel for how hard the journey was. There was not anything covering up the hardships. Many times Gause wrote about how bad the conditions were and how he had been overly optimistic right from the beginning. Nothing was done to try and "sugar-coat" the story. Gause was just telling it as it was.
Rating: 1
Summary: Incredible, yes...as in "not credible"
Comment: If half of this stuff actually happened, I would be the most surprised man on earth. I've read a great deal about WWII and this story smells like bologna to me. Had I approached the book as fiction I would have enjoyed it much more. Knowing that it was written as a first person account you aren't expecting Hemingway, but Gause managed to take exciting events and make them rather dull.
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Title: Currahee! : A Screaming Eagle at Normandy by Donald R. Burgett ISBN: 0440236304 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Parachute Infantry : An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich by David Kenyon Webster, Stephen E. Ambrose ISBN: 0385336497 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 29 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene B. Sledge, Paul Fussell ISBN: 0195067142 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: September, 1990 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy, Tom Brokaw ISBN: 0805070869 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Baa Baa Black Sheep by Gregory Pappy Boyington ISBN: 0553263501 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 January, 1977 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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