America's Best [Paperback]

Sinclair Browning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

America's Best follows the lives of an American family shredded by war, Bataan, Corregidor, Cabanatuan, Santo Tomas, the Arisan Maru--it's all here. This is truly a story of the triumph of the American spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's good reading...for anyone who likes a well-written and chilling story of survival and heroism." -- Tucson Weekly

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Backinprint.com (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595004008
• ISBN-13: 978-0595004003
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,746,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sinclair Browning spent her childhood on her belly in dry arroyos hunting sand rubies, converting her propane tank into a stagecoach and exploring the Sonoran desert on her horse. Summers were spent on the family ranch in southern Arizona.

One of five nominees for the Arizona Arts Award in 2000, Browning's mysteries have also been nominated for Shamus and Barry Awards. Publishers Weekly compared her America's Best to the "heroic war fiction of John Toland and Leon Uris."

A former writing instructor, her work covers a broad spectrum including suspense, mysteries, historical novels, a metaphysical novel and two nonfiction books.

For more information check out her website at sinclairbrowning.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb piece of Americana, November 23, 2007

By 

Emil A. Franzi (Tucson, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Best (Hardcover)

'I reviewed this book for the TUCSON WEEKLY when it first came out in 1995. I find myself compelled to respond to Mr. McIntyre's s negative review which I find most perplexing. Many of Mrs.Browning's characters are drawn from real life including her husband's family. One of the principles is her own mother-in-law. What happened to them and to others is accurately portrayed and her approach as well as her historical accuracy are validated by people like General Jones and Colonel Childress who were actually there. Her research included lengthy sessions with many who were held in the Japanese prison camps in which her husband and his family were kept as well as personal interviews with five of the nine
survivors of the Hell ship on which her husband's father perished. This excellent novel received solid reviews from a variety of sources and not one negative word until now.

I can still heartily recommend this superb portrayal of a piece of American history now as I did then. Five stars.

Emil Franzi, Tucson AZ Nov 23,2007

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book., March 29, 2011

By 

CedarHouseBooks (Williamstown, New York USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: America's Best (Hardcover)

I discovered this book in the summer of 2001. Even though I knew very little about this era in American/World history, I was immediately caught up in it and couldn't put the book down. The story line was riveting and the characters pulled me in. When I discovered America's Best was based on a true story, I was even more captivated. I so loved the book that I bought many copies for friends and family, including one for my son-in-law, a soldier serving in the Middle East. Fast forward to September 11 of that year. While watching a TV interview with Dan Rather, who was discussing the terrorist attacks perpetrated on American soil, I saw America's Best prominently displayed on the bookshelf behind him. This is a wonderful book and a must-read for anyone interested in history and the human stories behind the headlines.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Disappointing" is an understatement, July 21, 2007

By 

Edison McIntyre (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Best (Hardcover)

I read this book several years ago, shortly after its publication. Fortunately, I was able to get it from a local library instead of having to buy it. The author gets most of the historical facts about World War II in Philippines right, but that's why I read actual history and biography rather than a fictionalized versions. A historical novelist should illuminate the past and enhance the experience of living through it by showing its impact on vivid, flesh-and-blood characters. Unfortunately, the caricatures who inhabit "America's Best" are so flat, so lifeless, so predictable that describing them as two-dimensional is a charitable exaggeration. One ceases to care about them because they are so obviously contrived.

I note that Sinclair Browning has written a number of mystery novels that have won a following, and I trust she is a diligent writer and a fine human being. But someone should have told her to take the manuscript of "America's Best" back to the woodshed and subject it to some careful scrutiny, thought, and extensive rewriting. As it stands, even a one-star rating is too high, but Amazon.com won't allow a lower mark. Really, this book is not worth your time.