The War Lover [Import] [Hardcover]

John Hersey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1959

THE WAR LOVER is about Buzz Morrow, a pilot who glorifies war and his military duties. Hersey makes the point that wars exist precisely because there are men like Buzz who revel in them. At the same time, he gives us a detailed account of a Flying Fortress crew based in England during WW II. The language is rough and expressive, revealing the loyalties, humor, and camaraderie existing in this wartime atmosphere

Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: New York: Alfred A. Knopf; First edition (1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0241906865
• ISBN-13: 978-0241906866
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,729,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Details, March 17, 2011

By 

S. Smith (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The War Lover (Hardcover)

I read a lot, I'm reviewing this book not as an expert but as a reader. The story is OK, it has some good thoughts, but in my opinion it's not Very good or Excellent, so I give my opinionated rating of 3 stars. Doesn't mean the book isn't great, just that, to me, it doesn't compare to very good or excellent, 5 star stories/novels. Sufficiently philosophic, and good detail of WW2 American airborne.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tense, taut drama, September 16, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War Lover (Paperback)

Set in England during WW II, this suspenseful novel tells about the 24th (and last) mission flown by a group of airmen, with special emphasis on the pilot Buzz Marrow and co-pilot Charles Boman. Marrow is the daring, talented, overly macho leader whom everyone in the crew looks up to - except Boman, who has learned something about him from his lover Daphne. Two separate storylines wend their way through the novel, one concerned strictly with the mission at hand, the other going back in time and relating character background of the principal people.

In what he considers a major act of betrayal Boman learns from Daphne after she has slept with Marrow that Marrow is basically in love with his plane (named "The Body"), with the destructive power he wields during his bombing raids, with war itself - all in the most erotic of ways. In sleeping with him she reveals to Marrow his true nature, the knowledge of which he takes with him on that 24th mission, which ends disastrously with the plane crashing into the sea and Marrow choosing to go down with the sinking plane rather than be rescued.

Hersey develops his story with great assurance; the scenes with Bowman and Daphne as their feelings for each other blossom are very well done and believable. Not so believable is Daphne's motivation to sleep with Marrow (she's a strong character and seems as if she'd be above his caveman brutishness), but her justifying it to Boman as a reaction to her feeling that Boman didn't really love her and was coming to the end of his time in England anyway is honest enough to dilute much of the anger he's feeling toward her. It's a wise conclusion to the Daphne-Boman affair, even if it's just a bit too calculating as part of the plot structure. The novel presents an interesting and intense story of love in a number of ramifications within a wartime setting: love for others, self-love, and self-loathing in the name of love. Well done.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read, September 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The War Lover (Audio Cassette)

John Hersey has created a wonderfully thought-provoking book in The War Lover. Hersey combines a familiar setting, World War II, with unfamiliar human emotions -- emotions only experienced by those who fought in the war. Hersey also has a gift for using flashbacks to enlighten the reader about the underlying reasons for a character's thoughts, feelings, or actions.

One doesn't have to enjoy war literature to enjoy this book. It reaches way beyond the war, right into the human spirit.