The Winds of War [Paperback]

Herman Wouk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2002

A Masterpiece of Historical Fiction-The Great Novel of America's "Greatest Generation" Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II, which begins with The Winds of War and continues in War and Remembrance, stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events-and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II-as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Herman Wouk's acclaimed novels include the Pulitzer-Prize winning The Caine Mutiny; Marjorie Morningstar; Don't Stop the Carnival; Youngblood Hawke; Inside, Outside; The Hope; and The Glory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; Reprint edition (February 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316952664
• ISBN-13: 978-0316952668
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.5 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (210 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Herman Wouk earned his living as a scriptwriter for Fred Allen before serving in World War II. His career as a novelist spans nearly six decades and has brought him resounding international acclaim. He lives in Palm Springs, California.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#56 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

#56 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 160 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An archetype......... December 17, 2003

By nto62 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read many WWII-related novels and works of non-fiction over the years. Therefore, I'm somewhat surprised it took me this long to arrive at Herman Wouk. Winds of War is a sweeping, magnificent epic that captured me in a way few novels do.

Herman Wouk tells the story of a fictional USN family as the events leading up to America's entry into war cast them hither and yon. London, Berlin, Moscow, Pearl Harbor, New York City, Rome, Manila, and Washington DC all figure prominently as do the leaders of each Axis and Allied country.

Having read much about WWII, I especially enjoyed Wouk's flawless chronology and the detail with which it was adorned. Indeed, one could absorb a better understanding of the WWII event timeline from Winds of War than from many non-fictional accounts.

I do most of my reading at night before sleep. Winds of War had me looking forward to bedtime on my commute home from work. I loved this book. I loved it's character formation, it's pace, it's geographical range, and it's towering level of suspense. Every ingredient required for a memorable epic is present in an impeccable weave.

Winds of War rates 5 stars and more.

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest novels about World War II February 6, 2002

By Bruce F. Webster

Format:Library Binding

I'm a bit too young for World War II, but my dad--enlisting in the Navy at age 17--survived Pearl Harbor, a later kamikaze attack on his ship (the USS San Francisco) at the battle of Guadalcanal, and personal participation in the invasion of Guam (3rd wave, to set up a communications station). As a Navy brat, I played on abandoned pillboxes in the jungle outside of Subic Bay (Philippines) in the late 50s and picked up empty shell casings on a group family outing to Corregador.

That said, I consider _The Winds of War_ and _War and Remembrance_ to be the greatest novels written about World War II. The historical detail is dead on, the military, political, and social commentary is brilliant, and the story itself keeps you page-turning for a few thousand pages. It is a heart-wrenching book that helps one grasp--six decades later--what it was like to have the entire world plunged into war, with a close look at the horrors of the Holocaust.

Wouk actually served in the US Navy in the Pacific during WW II. He lived through the war and brings that whole era to life in a way that I doubt any current author could. And yet they are utterly relevant today. I frankly think they should be required reading in college or even high school. Read them. ..bruce..

67 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GREAT AMERICAN WORLD WAR 2 NOVEL(S) February 20, 2003

By bruce hutton

Format:Paperback

There are 4 components a writer needs to write: Style, Theme, Character Development, and Storytelling Ability. All writers have these traits in varying degrees, but no writer has ever been called truly GREAT without having an abundance of Storytelling Ability. This is paramount; if you can't hook the reader it doesn't matter how jazzy you write or how noble is your theme. You must be able to tell a good story. Our greatest, and most popular writers, have always understood this: Hemingway, Miller, Wolfe (both), Bellow, Stephen King. Great storytellers. Seated in the front row of this class is Herman Wouk, an enormously popular writer who, despite his Pulitzer Prize for "The Caine Mutiny", has never been considered great, in the sense that these others have.

That's a true shame. Wouk can tell a story---and I mean a WHOPPER, an EPIC in the true sense of the word---like nobody else from his generation. "The Winds of War" is part one of his absolute masterpiece, a tsunami tale of adventure, tragedy, romance, death, birth...you name it, it's in there. The story of the Henry family, headed by Victor "Pug" Henry, a Captain in the U.S. Navy, as it spreads across the globe during World War Two.

This is a virtuoso performance. Wouk knits the personal stories of the Henry clan together with factual history, using letters, quotes from speeches & books, anything he can think of to put you THERE, smack dab in the middle of the action. And you are there: you follow Pug to meetings with Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill, Stalin, and on and on. Putting fictional characters in the room with real people is a huge risk, it almost never works, but Wouk pulls it off with charm to spare. You're in Warsaw when the Nazis invade, you're at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack, you're in Rome when Mussolini declares war. Wouk sucks you into the narrative so completely you forget that Pug's travels are pretty damn impossible. Who cares? He's a HERO, it's his job to be in impossible situations, and Pug does his job like a champion. All of his characters are absolutely fleshed out, the dialogue is nearly ear-perfect, the historical events build momentum like no book you'll ever read...forget all the pretenders to the throne, from Mailer to Jones and all the little men in between. THIS IS THE GREAT NOVEL OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. This is good old-fashioned storytelling genius, the kind of book nobody writes anymore because Style has taken center stage in the last 50 years, sadly. (I blame Joyce) If more people would read this book, and its sequel "War And Remembrance", maybe we could get back to what writing---in fact language itself---was created for in the first place: TO TELL A STORY.

Check out Herman Wouk, one of the greats.