Overview

The nightmares began for William Manchester twenty-three years after World War II. In his dreams he lived with the recurring image of himself as a battle-weary youth angrily demanding to know what had happened to the three decades since he had laid down his arms. To find out, Manchester visited those places in the Pacific where as a young Marine he fought the Japanese. In this intensely powerful memoir, America's preeminent biographer-historian, who has written so brilliantly about World War II in his acclaimed lives of General Douglas MacArthur (American Caesar) and Winston Churchill (The Last Lion), looks back at his own early life. He offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific: of what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.

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9780786169221

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Reviews

Narrator Barrett Whitener...knows how to keep the writer in the limelight, letting the fun come from Manchester's style and content. Whitener's quiet manner sometimes morphs to a whisper in a delivery perfect for a warrior's memories. Although this is an entertaining memoir, it also serves as an excellent history of the Pacific Campaign. -- AudioFile When Manchester speaks of the awesome heroism and hideous suffering of the Marines he lived with and fought with, he is reverent before the mystery of individual courage and gallantry. -- Baltimore Sun Gripping...It is impossible for an American to read this book without pride in what his country accomplished in those days of enormous challenge. -- Christian Science Monitor Belongs with the best war memoirs ever written. -- Los Angeles Times Compelling...No other living author could have gotten it all down so well. -- New York Daily News A strong and honest account...Manchester's combat writing...stands comparison with the best. -- New York Times Book Review

"A strong and honest account...Manchester's combat writing...stands comparison with the best. -- ""New York Times Book Review"" Belongs with the best war memoirs ever written. -- ""Los Angeles Times"" Compelling...No other living author could have gotten it all down so well. -- ""New York Daily News"" Gripping...It is impossible for an American to read this book without pride in what his country accomplished in those days of enormous challenge. -- ""Christian Science Monitor"" Narrator Barrett Whitener...knows how to keep the writer in the limelight, letting the fun come from Manchester's style and content. Whitener's quiet manner sometimes morphs to a whisper in a delivery perfect for a warrior's memories. Although this is an entertaining memoir, it also serves as an excellent history of the Pacific Campaign. -- ""AudioFile"" When Manchester speaks of the awesome heroism and hideous suffering of the Marines he lived with and fought with, he is reverent before the mystery of individual courage and gallantry. -- ""Baltimore Sun"""

Author Information

William Manchester (1922-2004) was an award-winning American author, biographer, historian, and a professor emeritus of history at Wesleyan University. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the Abraham Lincoln Literary Award. Among his many New York Times bestselling books are two which made the #1 spot on the list: The Death of a President and The Last Lion: Alone. Barrett Whitener has been narrating audiobooks since 1992. His recordings have won several awards, including the prestigious Audie Award and numerous Earphones Awards. AudioFile magazine has named him one of the Best Voices of the Century.

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