From Publishers Weekly
The author's grandfather, his beloved "Poppy," formally disowned him after he became a Vietnam-era conscientious objector. His grandfather, Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall, was one of America's foremost military historians and a staunch defender of U.S. intervention in Vietnam. Following his death in 1977, the General's personal integrity and his professional integrity and scholarship were called into question in an American Heritage article and in a scurrilous chapter of David Hackworth's About Face. In this intriguing memoir, James Marshall settles accounts with Hackworth, clears up inaccuracies and misleading statements in the article, and presents a compassionate, three-dimensional portrait of "Slam" Marshall. The general did stretch the truth about his wartime service, it turns out, and was sloppy on occasion in his research but, as his grandson demonstrates, his reputation among major historians remains high. The author acknowledges that the general was a flawed and ornery cuss at times (in his final years he fought a losing battle against senility) but now regards Poppy's edict of excommunication as "the desperate act of an embittered old man striking out against someone he loved . . . " The author is a journalist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA-Military historian General S.L.A. Marshall's groundbreaking book, Men Against Fire, revolutionized military training. He was advisor and confidant to generals from Eisenhower to Westmoreland to Moshe Dayen. After his death, however, an article in American Heritage strongly attacked his scholarship and effectively called his conclusions lies. Now, his grandson, an investigative reporter, tries to find out the truth. John Douglas Marshall was honorably discharged from the army in 1971 as a conscientious objector. Immediately thereafter, his grandfather irrevocably disowned him. John hesitated to clear the man's name, but his father's entreaties finally moved him to try. Thus begins a journey both in miles and in spirit that brings the author to a deeper understanding not only of his grandfather and the military establishment, but also of himself, his family, and his contemporaries on both sides of the Vietnam divide. The resulting account is compelling and well written. This important story will reveal to YAs, relatively impartially, much of the agony and emotion of the 1960s and 70s, as well as provide a good mystery and some history lessons. As a bonus, a clearer insight into the eternal generation gap evolves, and astute readers will begin to see the importance of intergenerational communication.
Susan H. Woodcock, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Susan H. Woodcock, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
