Review of Letters Home: Memoirs of a WW II Troop Carrier Pilot (Paperback)

This isn't a front line battle story, but rather the chronicle of one man who lived the war supporting his fellow troops from the inside.More than 60 years later, Hathaway tells his story with a lifetime of perspective juxtaposed against the youthful enthusiasm of his letters home, saved by his mother as she prayed for his safe return.

Hathaway paints a picture of life as a wartime recruit, from the time he enlists (leaning on the front edge of the scale to add pounds needed to meet the weight requirement), through his pilot training, and finally into the Pacific to serve his country.LETTERS HOME is a valuable read for anyone interested in WWII aviation, as Hathaway (flying troops before he was old enough to drink) shares the details of training and flying the B-25, C-46, and C-47.From his stories of hung-over flight instructors, to landing on blown out tires, he never fails to entertain.

And yet, each step of his story is told with the humble authenticity of a man looking only to share the history that he lived with the reader. This book offers a rare glimpse into the day to day life of one young man doing his part, for his country.


Product Description
Frank Hathaway was 17 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941.He enlisted in the Army Air Force and began his transformation from college student topilot. Writing home during his years away, Hathaway detailed as much about his life intraining and flying in the Southwest Pacific as censors would allow. Now quotingliberally from his correspondence, Hathaway tells the story of his service flying overjungle, mountains and long ocean passages in New Guinea, the Philippines and on toJapan. The book contains vivid descriptions of life in the cockpit as well asobservations about native village life, plane crashes and Japanese reaction to Americansin their midst after the occupation. This is the chronicle of one soldier, a man who waspart of what is now known as "The Greatest Generation."

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Review of A History of Zionism: From the French Revolution to the Establishment of the State of Israel (Paperback)

I do not know where else in history that we have a people disposed from a land for two thousand years, scattered all over the world, who reconvene through an international movement and regain their homeland.I also can not recall any group suffering the violent and irrational hatred of so many nations as the Jews have.

Lacqueur's history traces this unique movement.It's success was very fragile; the many decisions from world leaders could have gone much differently if made a few years sooner or later.Jews did not initially support it broadly; many prefered assimilation to their country of birth and some felt that the growing socialist movement provided a better answer to anti-Semitism. Even within the Zionist movement political infighting was strong.

Yet the worst fears of those seeking a refuge from growing European anti-Semitism did not forsee the scope of the Holocaust, exterminating 6 out of 7 Jews in Europe.This emboldened the survivors and motivated just barely enough world sympathy to formulate the creation of the Jewish state.

The reaction of the Arabs was neither surprising or unique in the course of developing nations.Lacqueur has the advantage of hindsight to examine policy mistakes and examine how it could have been different, but concludes the difficulty would have remained regardless.

This examination shows Zionism not as a righteous holy ordained movement,nor is it a an evil racist colonial movement as the modern Arab media prefers to portray it.It was a politically and diplomatically unique solution to a very serious and unique problem.

That the success of the Zionist enterprise has not yet yielded the peace they so desperately seek, makes this work only an introduction, but a valuable source to those seeking to understand the volatile Middle Middle East of the 21st century.There are many more chapters to be written.



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