Customer Reviews

The Good Fight : How World War II Was Won

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

 

 

Chances are that most teenagers today have or had grandfathers who served in World War II and grandmothers who helped with the war effort at home. Yet those experiences seem like ancient history to many young people. This superb volume should help bring home the message of why the American war effort was so important, and the magnitude of the sacrifices that were made on their behalf. Hopefully, these materials will then encourage these young people to ask their grandparents about their World War II experiences, and help create more connections to and understanding of those worthy elders.

This book is a brief pictoral history of the war from the American perspective. The book's format is to take about 30 themes and develop them briefly. The tools used are brief essays, moving quotes from participants, photographs, and battle maps. Most subjects are handled in two pages (including photographs), but some go on to become four pages (such as the Holocaust). My only complaint about the book is that some photographs are reproduced in one color that makes the detail hard to see. Black would have been less appealing, but the photographs would have been easier to examine.

Those who know Professor Ambrose's work will recognize the quotes. Sergeant Mike Ranney of Easy Company in the 101st tells this story about speaking with his grandson.

"'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?'

'No,' I answered, 'but I served in a company of heroes.'"

Quotes like that are worth the price of the book for conveying the World War II experience to this generation of Americans.

The book is good for pointing out problems and injustice. You see black Americans training with World War I guns. You see Japanese-Americans being interned in concentration camps. The concentration camp at Belsen is displayed. The devastation at Nagasaki as well as the radiation burn scars on a boy are portrayed.

Many of the famous World War II photographs are here, such as the flag-raising on Iwo Jima, V-J Day in Times Square (the sailor and the nurse), soldiers wading ashore on D-Day into the surf on Omaha Beach, and the Navy battleships aflame at Pearl Harbor.

Professor Ambrose certainly knows this history better than I do, but I wondered about his description of the Japanese emperor's involvement in the decision to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor. The version here seemed closer to the original story favored by General MacArthur that the emperor was manipulated by the military leaders than what I have been reading other historians say, which is that the emperor was right in the middle of wanting to go to war.

Some of my other favorite photographs in the book include Hitler at a Nuremberg party rally (showing the propaganda machine in all of its might), Guadalcanal after a tropical storm (with tents underwater), an Army corpsman tending a wounded soldier, St. Lo after the liberation, an American soldier rescuing a shell-shocked girl in Manila, and Stalin, Truman and Churchill at Potsdam.

Lesser known parts of the war are covered here, such as Rosie the Riveter (including a photograph of women learning to weld).

After you read this book, I suggest that you also take time to tell your teenagers how you feel about America's involvement in World War II. Many of the participants are naturally reluctant to say very much. Your own sense of this incredible struggle can help fill the gap in understanding as well.

If you feel comfortable, you may also want to talk about the cold war.

Be glad that D-Day was a success!

This is an important presentation of WWII from the invasion of Europe to the holocaust. The tone is appropriate for young students and the design is impressive for older students. If there is a single title to acquire on the war as a whole for middle grade, this is the book to get.

This is an extraordinary book! I was amazed at how Stephen Ambrose could write the story of World War II for a young audience. My daughter asked me a lot of questions--she was really interested in Rosie the Riveter! And my son wanted me to explain more. The photos and illustrations did a wonderful job adding to Ambrose's words. I have to say that I learned some things that I didn't know, too! Thank you, Mr. Ambrose for taking such a complicated subject and telling it in a way that kids can understand.

I am really not that amazed that my nine-year-old nephew loved this book, after all Stephen Ambrose wrote it, the pictures are great and the topic is timely (what with that new WWII movie out). What I'm surprised with is how much I enjoyed reading it. Most of us know a smattering of WWII; Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, but again and again I found myself saying "Wow, I didn't know that!" Ambrose has a knack for telling a great story through the eyes of individuals, and what story from the previous century could be greater? The more I think about this book, the more I am convinced it is a great way of introducing children to the courage and greatness of our G.I.s, as well as impressing upon them the destructiveness of war.

This book has nice pictures but book makes some major errors. I would not recommend it to any youth for this reason. For example, there is a photo on page 41 with a caption saying that the men in the photo are marines in Tarawa. First off, they are not marines - they are army men (you can tell by the uniform) & secondly, the photo was taken in Makin which is part of the same atol as Tarawa but is technically not Tarawa. Ok, fine... I can normally let something like that slip by. But what is worse is when you turn to the map on page 9, it indicates the Pearl Harbor attack as Dec. 7, 1943. I had to close the book and toss it into the nearest wastebasket after reading this. If editors were sleepy enough to let this slip by, it seriously brings to question the veracity of what is said in other points of the book. I am not talking about them getting the date wrong in some obscure minor battle, but they got the date wrong with PEARL HARBOR - come on now!

This book, geared towards young readers in middle school, is a useful, short book designed to give these readers some appreciation for World War II in both theaters of war. It semi-obviously promotes the American viewpoint, but still has enough interesting data and anecdotes to bring the human side of the conflict into focus. It has plenty of maps and illustrations/photos, and would be helpful in school sna libraries to provide younger citizens with an idea of what service is all about, and intirduce them to good history telling.

This is a fantastically done book. I was cautious about a "War" book for kids - worried that the historical tragedy and horrors of war would be either too graphic or transformed in macho-heroism. This book does neither.

This book is very well balanced history book. It lays out the historical facts, interspersed with quality and relevent anecdotes and personal events. It shows the young reader the sacrifice and courage of the young men and women in the services.

A first rate book by a first rate writer!

This book is not an introduction to WWII history. It is a patriotic guide to American victories in WWII. It starts at 1941, skipping the first 4 years of fighting in China and 2 years in Europe. It does not bother with the few setbacks the US experienced nor the early deficiencies in US military organizations and equipments. It has no in-depth analysis into how the battles were fought and why the outcomes came about the way they did. In short, it is a piece of triumphal propaganda.

Knowing that this book was meant for kids, I did not really expect an objective and comprehensive work of history. I thought it would suffice for my eight-year-old, who is a real WWII buff. Well, he read the first few pages and began to flip through the rest. He then looked up to me and said, "This book sucks. It is for babies!" Fortunately, I had War in European History on the shelf. He was satisfied.

The book title is misleading as the content is mostly US-centric.
The book does not cover many important battles and events and Soviet contribution that had crucial importance for the victory.
Not recommended for serious readers.

Are you looking for a short history book but has loads of information? If you're interested in WWII I would suggest the book: THE GOOD FIGHT-How WWII was won by: Stephen Ambrose. It may look like a boring history book on the outside but the info is numerous! It tells you of the origins of WWII in Europe and in Asia and tells you the most confidential secrets of WWII - like the Atomic bomb. Britain's secret service to locate enemy positions. And, did you know Rosenthal's picture of the flag raising on Mt Suribachi was the 2nd one? The first one was too small to be seen on the beach. The flag raisers are: Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousely, John Bradley, Harlon Block, Mike Strank and Rene Gagnon. There are many other facts you would want to know too. Whenever I need a short book, I always have The Good fight around for me to read. I recommend this book to all Ages (even my 8 year old sister reads it a lot). Another praise to the famous Stephen Ambrose! I give this Book 5 stars.