Once an Eagle [Paperback]

Anton Myrer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1976

[This is Part 1 of a 2-part audiobook CASSETTE edition.]

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

Once an Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances his career by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power.

Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War--Vietnam.

A study in character and values, courage, nobility, honesty, and selflessness, here is an unforgettable story about a man who embodies the best in our nation--and in us all.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

America's fighting men have turned to Once an Eagle as a sourcebook for the military's core values since its publication at the height of the Vietnam War. The novel, following the careers of virtuous Sam Damon and opportunistic Courtney Massengale, is required reading for all members of the United States Marine Corps and frequently taught in leadership courses at West Point. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

''A remarkable novel . . . Utterly engrossing. Myrer is a superb storyteller, one of the few gifted novelists now writing who cares about the art of narration and is a master of it . . . A grim, exciting, and almost overwhelming account of twentieth-century war. It is an astute study of the mind and character of a good general and a good man. And it is a brilliant inside views of the life of a career officer in peace and war.'' --New York Times

''An ambitious, magnificently vivid novel . . . Compelling. The battle scenes are among the finest I have ever read.'' --Atlantic

''At long last we have what critics have been saying was lost to modern novels--an honest-to-God hero . . . A natural.'' --Harper's

''I fully understand why Once an Eagle has become a classic novel of war and warriors. Sam Damon doesn't preach, he lives his values, and they are universal not only military.'' --General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, US Army (Ret.), commander-in-chief, Desert Storm

''In ironic contrast, the story moves from jungle warfare to drawing rooms on the Potomac, and back again . . . Goes to the heart of our century.'' --Chicago Sun-Times

''Once an Eagle deserves to rank with, or perhaps above, any one of those three truly great pieces of military fiction--Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage; Fix Bayonets! by Col. John W. Thomason, USMC; and What Price Glory, by Capt. Lawrence Stallings, USMC.'' --Armed Forces Journal

''Once an Eagle may be America's 'War and Peace' and Anton Myrer a contemporary Tolstoy.'' --Louisville Courier-Journal

''Reflects skillful research in military areas as well as technical mastery of the writing craft . . . Through the gentle but courageous character of Damon, Myrer graphically describes the criminal, dirty, wasteful, savage immorality of war . . .The army career man will look on it as a monument.'' --Denver Post

''The most outstanding novel I have seen in long years. And it is far and away the best work of fiction with a military background I have ever read.'' --Journal of the Armed Forces

''The work of a man who has thought long and hard about the nature of war and has come up with something more than the simple truism that it's hell.'' --Life

''Inspects down to their most elusive motives those who have to make the agonizing command decisions.'' --Providence Journal

''In ironic contrast, the story moves from jungle warfare to drawing rooms on the Potomac, and back again . . . Goes to the heart of our century.'' --Chicago Sun-Times

''Once an Eagle deserves to rank with, or perhaps above, any one of those three truly great pieces of military fiction--Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage; Fix Bayonets! by Col. John W. Thomason, USMC; and What Price Glory, by Capt. Lawrence Stallings, USMC.'' --Armed Forces Journal

''Once an Eagle may be America's 'War and Peace' and Anton Myrer a contemporary Tolstoy.'' --Louisville Courier-Journal

''Reflects skillful research in military areas as well as technical mastery of the writing craft . . . Through the gentle but courageous character of Damon, Myrer graphically describes the criminal, dirty, wasteful, savage immorality of war . . .The army career man will look on it as a monument.'' --Denver Post

''The most outstanding novel I have seen in long years. And it is far and away the best work of fiction with a military background I have ever read.'' --Journal of the Armed Forces

''The work of a man who has thought long and hard about the nature of war and has come up with something more than the simple truism that it's hell.'' --Life

''Inspects down to their most elusive motives those who have to make the agonizing command decisions.'' --Providence Journal --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 916 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (December 1, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425033309
• ISBN-13: 978-0425033302
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,038,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring story of an all America soldier, February 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Once an Eagle (Hardcover)

Anton Myrer, a former U.S. Marine, has written the all-time greatest novel of a soldier's life of service. The protagonist, Sam Damon, was commissioned on the battlefield but never forgot his simple and honorable roots as a citizen and enlisted man. He lived a life of dedicated service, loyal to his subordinates, leaders, the Army, and the nation, and rose to two-star General officer rank. His nemesis was a West Point graduate, Courtney Massengale, who was never a soldier at heart, but merely a careerist... out for himself. On one level, these two characters provide contrasting types of military officers, one noble and self-sacrificing, and and the other obsessed with personal aggrandizement. On a more intimate level, these two characters represent the struggle within every soldier's heart between the allure of promotion and prestige, and the call to duty and humble loyalty to his men and profession. Myrer died of cancer on Robert E. Lee's birthday in January 1996. I read the book before I was commissioned at West Point in 1976 and the story stuck with me throughout my own humble 20+ year career as a constant conscience and counselor against self-promotion. This is a character-building tale

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book well worth reading, September 15, 2000

By 

Paul Sayles (Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once An Eagle: A Novel (Hardcover)

I first read this book as a high school student in the late 1960s. Vietnam was reaching it's peak and the Armed Forces was never out of the headlines. Since that time, I've taken it dwon from the shelf and re-read it. I have found it of value in my military career as a reference on leadership and personalities. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest or need to know about positive and negative leadership traits. The lead charecter starts his military career in the desert and scrub of Mexico searching for Pancho Villa. Sam Damon is not in the branches that might have a little dash or adventure such as the cavalry or air service. He is a ground pounder in the infantry as a private who's biggest concern is learning water discipline. He moves on through ranks and gains a commission during World War I and manages to retain it following the war. The inter-war years and Damon's adjustment to both married life and military life on officers row is insightful. World War II is Damon's moment to shine; he does but not without personal costs both within his immediate family and his service family. His end is both moving and I felt, almost inevitable. This book is not a quick read, nor is it one that is good for only one time. It's value is from rereading it and learning something new each time. I highly recommend this book. My only criticism is that it is rather high priced; I wish the publisher could get it down to where more people would be able to purchase the hard bound edition and not the paperback.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anton Myrer's "Once an Eagle" a must-read for leaders, December 3, 1997

By 

Mark A. Mayhew "marko52" (Brentwood, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once an Eagle (Hardcover)

You've had Total Quality Management. You've read Sun Tzu and Musashi on business as war. You've been to Outward Bound and you've undergone Team Building exercises until you're blue in the face. Now read the novel that has more to say about the qualities a real leader should have than any text written by a management guru--Anton Myrer's classic "Once an Eagle."

The book is a youth-to-death story of "Sad" Sam Damon, a midwestern boy who steeps himself in military history and a code of honor that requires him to step forward and take the lead in almost every situation. Myrer has tapped into a simple truth. That's what real leaders do; they lead.

While Sam Damon is a military hero, he's no marble monument. Myrer shows us that real world leaders are assailed with doubts, real fears, and insecurities that can lead them to cave in to expediency under extreme pressure. But in Sam Damon, Myrer shows us that true leadership can consist of recognizing your mistakes, swallowing hard, and stepping up to the plate again to do the right thing.

Such a strong protagonist clearly needs a strong opponent. Myrer delivers with Courtney Massengale, a supremely brilliant and ruthless adversary whose weakness, as Sam Damon realizes, is that he does not love any man. It is the byplay between these two characters that Myrer uses to telling effect in illustrating how love is a key element in leadership.<b> I know of half a dozen executives who have patterned their management styles on Sam Damon's lessons. They are the best bosses I ever had. This is a book that should be required reading in our service academies, and as part of every MBA program and civil service exam in the country. Fortunately, it's also a wonderful read.