Customer Reviews

Crossing the Line: A Bluejacket's World War II Odyssey (Now Hear This Audiobooks)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

. When you think of an east coast university professor who specializes in the humanities--Shakespearean literature, in this case--you probably won't be visualizing someone who started adulthood by engaging in vicious aerial gunnery duels with Japanese fighters and otherwise living the stressful, profane, hazardous life of an enlisted sailor on three World War II aircraft carriers, one of which was sunk while he was aboard. Such is the case, though, with retired Yale professor Alvin B. Kernan, author of "Crossing the Line," one of the most interesting and often gripping sagas of navy life that I've read.
. The book came as a surprise to me, on two counts. One, I knew that Kernan had been an aviation ordnanceman on the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway, and later an aerial gunner. But I had very little notion of the depth of his wartime experiences, not only as an aircrewman but also in escaping the sinking of the USS Hornet in the Guadalcanal battles and in a harrowing deployment aboard the escort carrier USS Suwanee (CVE-27). Suffice to say in this short review that Kernan earned a Navy Cross, a DFC, and five air medals from inside the turret of a TBF Avenger!
. And two, I had previously read Kernan's fictitious account of the Battle of Midway, "Love and Glory," which I thought was interesting but flawed in a number of regards (see my review on Amazon). For that reason, I was a little dubious about reading "Crossing the Line." Would this be another "interesting but flawed" piece of work that would cause me to keep my red pen handy while I read it? No. Crossing the Line is simply outstanding. Anyone with an interest in WWII naval air action will also want to read this book. I highly recommend it. Yes, there are a couple of minor nits that a very knowledgeable historian might want to pick, but they are so insignificant as to be unworthy of mentioning here. "Crossing the Line" will not disappoint you. In fact, you'll probably find it hard to put down.
. (Reviewed by R. W. Russell, Battle of Midway Roundtable, www.midway42.org)

I've read a thousand books about WWII, many of them about the Pacific theater. But this book is just amazing -- the story of the great events (Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway)told from the point of view of an enlisted man who lived the life of an ordinary sailor while the admirals were plotting grand strategy. It's impossible to get across how poignant and exciting this book is: you feel as though you were 18 years old, growing up in the waning years of the Depression, and then wandered into the Navy just before all hell broke loose at Pearl and America was plunged into the greatest chapter in her history. Kernan captures the gritty details of daily life in the Navy -- the slow, mind-numbing tedium of chipping rust off the anchor chain of a aircraft carrier, each link 3 feet long, the gunner's mate who stays drunk on the alcohol used to clean bombsites, the insanity of the greasy, heaving deck of a carrier as planes return from their missions, with damaged planes instantly and uncermoniously dumped over the side to make room for the next to land. The account of Midway -- the dive bomber pilots nursing their planes home, low on gas, then landing with difficulty, then getting out of the cockpit and jumping up and down on the deck and shouting and laughing, wild with excitement because they had just singlehandedly destroyed the Japanese navy in an action lasting only a few minutes -- is something that will stay in my mind forever. Kernan is a brilliant writer. There's nothing "literary" about Crossing the Line: anyone can read it and will just be swept along by the story, the way I was.

Alvin Kernan's "Crossing the Line: A Bluejacket's World War II Odyssey" is a wonderful memoir of the life of a young Navy sailor during World War II. Written in a humorous and sophisticated writing style, it provides the reader with a strong sense of what it was like for a young boy to leave his home and spend four years growing up in the midst of a war at sea. I am sure that Kernan's experience parallels that of my grandfather, who left rural Arkansas for the first time ever as a young 17-year old to take part in large Pacific invasions. If only young people today could understand the sacrifice and hard work that these young men faced. Kernan vividly makes his youth come to life with "Crossing the Line." A must read for avid readers of Navy and World War II subjects.

Alvin Kernan was a 17-year-old from a poor family when he enlisted in the Navy in 1941. He was assigned to the carrier Enterprise and was aboard on Dec 7, 1941. He served aboard carriers most of the war, including a tour aboard the Hornet and he was aboard when she was sunk. He spent most of the time with the torpedo squadrons and gives a vivid account of the Battle of Midway. Most war histories are written by or about the leaders and it is unusual to find someone who was there for all the battles but who was seeing it all from the bottom up. After the war, he went to college on the GI Bill (as did I) and eventually ended his career as dean of the graduate school at Princeton. This is a vivid and knowledgeable account of the carrier war from one who was there and is a skilled writer. Anyone interested in the navy in World War II should read this book.

I read at least 10 books a year on WW 2. This one is outstanding. If you only read one book on the aviation war in the pacific, this is it. It reads easy and is difficult to put down. An unforgetable story of one man and his journey through the war.

The modesty and intelligence of this amazing book are equalled only by the gripping story it tells. One of the best memoirs of youth, war and manhood I have ever seen.

Kernan says the most with the least words. This is the mark of a truly great writer; and the fact that I clearly remember every single scene and event in Crossing the Line -- after several years -- tells me that this is a truly great book. I lack the words to express my admiration of the author and my awe of his past.

Having read numerous works written either personally or by ghost writers by officers. I have especially enjoyed reading how navy life was from the perspective of the enlisted man. I served as USN enlisted and can relate to the authors' feelings and experiences. A must read book for all WWII history buffs. Mr Kernan deserves high praise for his efforts.

Good story of a young man coming of age during the most exciting period of WWII. Includes fascinating first-person accounts of carrier warfare.

Alvin Kernan has written one of the best books on WW2 I have ever read, and I've read a lot of them. His descriptions of his wartime experiences are crisp, vivid, and relevant.

If any of us are ever tempted to generalize in a negative way about sailors in the U.S. Navy, I suggest they read this book all the way to the end. What Kernan went on to do after the war is just as impressive as what he did while he served Uncle Sam.