Warrior Priest [Paperback]

Mike Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2005

World War II is a story told most often through the eyes of national leaders, generals and, occasionally, infantrymen. Warrior Priest underscores why that cauldron continues to stir imaginations and curiosity by conveying the war’s global impact in ways rarely told. Here are woven together memorably the lives of a young priest turned airborne chaplain, a Cracow student turned Polish lancer, an aircraft carrier fireman, two young women partisans in Warsaw and a French village, and a small town girl who follows a volunteer flyer to England where she first treats the wounded in a London hospital and then joins the U.S. Army nurse corps. Meticulously researched, Warrior Priest’s characters interact with real-life people in historically authentic locales and situations and in an accurate chronology from 1939 through 1946. From a quiet, small town in 1930s Ohio to a Vatican-run seminary… From a Polish lancer charging German invaders to a U.S. airborne chaplain jumping into the night… From a London hospital during the Blitz to a church basement in battered Warsaw… From the harrowing streets of the ghetto to heroic river crossings… From the heaving deck of an imperiled aircraft carrier to a memorable walk down a church aisle… From invasion beaches to evacuation hospital tents… From an occupied French village to the Nazis’ only death camp in France… Warrior Priest pulls the reader into and through the cauldron of World War II by weaving together the lives of everyday people in unforgettable ways.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

From the 1960s onward, first as a soldier, Mike Johnson combined strong interests in military history with extensive travel. He journeyed often to the Korean DMZ, visited Nazi death camps and walked the streets of towns and villages once occupied by the Wehrmacht. Johnson is an alumnus of Ohio University, Marshall Law at Cleveland State University and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and has worked for three global companies. He is working on a second historical novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 428 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (October 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420889486
• ISBN-13: 978-1420889482
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,376,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warrior Priest: artfully crafted page-turner!, October 30, 2005

By 

Haley, M.D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warrior Priest (Hardcover)

A real story about real people set in a very real time. Starting with the warrior priest on Pg. 1, Mr. Johnson the Storyteller keeps you going with crisp tight dialogue that moves the storyline(s) as it introduces you to characters drawn into the developing WWII-era tale. Word and deed uniquely brings each to life, whether friend or foe. Fictional hometown folks you care about are as "real life" as the "real" people whose names you will recognize, and all so skillfully, seamlessly woven into the fabric of the obviously well researched historical situations. Descriptive narrative is also concise with just the right touch of historical detail to "put you there." Highly recommended for any reader who enjoys that turn-of-the-last-page "great story!" head nodding! Even after you know how the book "ends," you will keep this one on your shelf for revisiting the fact as well as the fiction... rather like watching "M*A*S*H" reruns... wartime realism tempered by those incredibly memorable characters and their great personal stories.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warrior Priest: a great read, October 23, 2005

By 

Spifette "mudluvsmacker" (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Warrior Priest (Hardcover)

I love historical fiction and I loved this book! Warrior Priest is set during WW II and centers around a variety of characters who are well defined and written. They include a young priest who finds himself becoming an airborne chaplain, a Krakow university student turned polish lancer, two young lady partisans, an aircraft carrier fireman (talk about an intense job!), and a young army nurse. What's cool about this list of characters is that they are normal, every day people, through whom this wonderfully woven story is told. In other words, we aren't depending on the eyes of generals or other higher up historical figures for our various POVs, but on regular people trying to live their lives during one of the most trying and important times in our history. They do interact with historical correct figures and work and live in real places. This all, along with the easily apparent large amount of research that went into this novel, blends together to give you such a rich reading experience. You won't be able to put this one down until you reach the last page for the final ending! Which you need to get to in order to find out what happens to every one of our characters. ;)
I've never really read a historical novel based during WW II that comes from such a unique group of perspectives as these young characters provide.
I thoroughly enjoyed it! And it didn't take forever to get through LOL
Talk about a great gift for those men, or women, in our lives that may be hard to buy for but love their reading and their history. Can we say holiday gift? I think so. :)
Happy reading!

This book is available in both the hard cover and that larger paper back style. I will be putting this review under both listings.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Heartwarming Read, March 3, 2006

By 

William Henson "AirborneRanger" (Sierra Vista, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warrior Priest (Hardcover)

Enjoyed reading "Warrior Priest" very much. There are many parts I related with, some parts covered where I've traveled and a few parts about which I shed a tear or two. While reading I traced the story in WWII military history publications and an Atlas, covering U.S. and European events and areas, and found the story to be historically accurate. It gives a different point of view that you normally find to what took place during WWI, and gives glimpses of heroics and every day lives of the Allies, the Occupied and the enemy. The book is easy to read with a smooth story line and I soon became engrossed in the characters and the events taking place. Strongly recommend it to first time as well as mature readers.