Customer Reviews

Woody, Cisco, and Me: Seamen Three in the Merchant Marine (Music in American Life)

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This is a terrific tale of friendship, heroism and the power of a magnetic personality. While there have been numerous attempts to paint the definitive portrait of Woody, none have shown this particular picture. To the list of scalliwag, drunkard, genius, writer, singer, guitarist, vagabond and saint, we now must add "war hero."

Most fans of Woody and Cisco know they made a few trips as merchant seamen during the War, and were torpedoed once and were on another that hit a mine. This wonderful book makes that period REAL, in excellent detail, because Jim Longhi was present. His depiction of Woody reveals a man who had been somewhat famous for three years, and who was still ten years away from being disabled by Huntington's Chorea. The Woody here is almost totally admirable...a bit nutty, but in a brave, sweet way. The book also represents perhaps the closest thing we'll get to a real biography of Cisco Houston, Woody's long-time best friend and arguably still the best singer of Guthrie songs. Meeting Jim Longhi, whose existence I was unaware of despite years of researching Woody and Cisco, was quite a pleasure. He's a fine writer, and obviously a good man, who can poke fun at himself, looking 50 years back at the zealotry of his youth. The book has just about everything...war, music, humor, exotic places, danger, hints of love and sex, fantastic coincidences, political debates---it would make a great movie in skilled hands. The character of Courtroom Kelly, introduced briefly in the mid-section of the memoir, is unforgettably hilarious. In l968, I spent more than 30 days as an Army private sailing to Vietnam on a troopship, so Jim's portrait of shipboard life heading to a war zone for troops and crew alike resonates with me. He and Woody and Cisco were usually mess attendants, but on one trip Jim was a cook and baker. He does a fine job proving how important such workers are to the men they feed. The most touching segment is how Woody insisted on singing to troops down in the hold during submarine attacks on the convoy, competing with the noise from depth charges, and sickness-causing storms, and even racist military policies keeping black and white soldiers from enjoying the same concert at the same time. One comes away even more a fan of Woody and Cisco than before, and with a new friend, Jim, whose singing career didn't survive the voyages, but who lived to tell us an interesting and important tale. Get the book and see for yourself.

The main reason I bought this book, and (unfortunately) it wasn't too easy to find, was to learn more about Cisco Houston. There hasn't been much written about him except a few pages of reference here and there in his contempories biographies and stories. In that regard, this novel didn't disappoint. Many sides of Cisco are shown - strong and solid, brilliant, an athlete, a quiet war hero looked up to by men from all walks of life, a fair and honest man with a strong sense of justice, a man among men who also liked his women, his booze, his gambling, and who would not mince words. Also, someone with a tender heart of gold. Woody is portrayed as the icon he is, at times almost a "wizard" able to snatch victory out of the clutches of defeat, able to rally huge groups of men and children from all cultures and walks of life with his singing. And the author, Jimmy Longhi, manages to bare his soul throughout much of this rollicking, constantly funny and often touching story which, for the most part, takes place during a less than two year period - the final two years of WWII - during the three times that Woody, Cisco and Jimmy shipped out with the Merchant Marines.
The style of this book is so entertaining, so fluid, so descriptive that it's amazing that Longhi's main walk of life is that of lawyer, not author (although he is also a playwrite). The story is filled with memorable characters - Davey Bananas, Nino Sala, Courtroom Kelly, Newington, Frank Strahele, the evil Jojo, Mando - to name a few. I really had trouble putting it down. Parts made me laugh out loud while others brought a tear to my eye. As a bonus, this story draws you into the realities of WWII. The extreme patriotism among men from all walks of life regardless of race (although archaic prejudicial customs are brought to light) or political conviction (the far left or "reds" were as much behind beating Hitler as the far right), the thoughts and fears of the soldiers before the Normandy invasion, the abject poverty of Sicily, northern Africa and Belfast. This is a great read and highly recommended.

As a long time listener to Woody, and Cisco I was familiar with Woody through his writings and the biographical material about him. However, Cisco, seemed to have only existence as Woody's "sidekick". This book introduces the reader to a remarkable, and very interesting person. Jimmy Longhi's book provides the reader with an opportunity to relive those days with three remarkable me

Three seamen in the Merchant Marine when America was at war were Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston and Jim Longhi, this book's author. Not many people know Woody shipped out with the Merchant Marine in 1943 with nothing more than a seabag, well he took along a guitar, a mandolin, a case of books and a portable typewriter. One might have thought he was going to a concert and not to war, but Woody played guitar, wherever he went, the Grand Coulee Damn or U-boat infested waters. And with fellow folksinger Cisco along for the ride, you can bet the playing on that boat was mighty fine.

Though they had regular duties aboard, Woodie and Cisco were morale boosters and with U-boats lurking, storms raging, seas rough and waves high, they were certainly appreciated. On more than one occasion they saw other ships in their convoy go down, but this page turning book isn't only about the terror of the deep during war, it also has quite a few laughs thrown in. You just won't believe the cooking school bit Woodie, Cisco and Jim had to go through and you'll enjoy all heck out of their shore leaves. Still, war is grim business.

This is a must read for any fan of Woodie Guthrie's or Cisco Houston's. It's also a very good book which reads like fiction, though every word is true. I can't recommend this highly enough, it's a story about America, a story about folksingers, a story you'll never forget.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

This is a great read for anyone interested in WW II, the story of one of America's legendary folk singers, or just a good yarn, well told! It's well-written, very colorful, with well-drawn characters and anecdotes...Even if only half of the stuff in it is actually true, it's a terrific tale and you could easily see a movie based on these stories that Longhi relates about the crazy experience and his comrades had in the turbulent waters of "the longest war" (the war in the Atlantic). Highly recommended!

Jim Longhi tells a memorable tale of bravery and boredom in the Merchant Marine of World War II. The reader not only gains insight into the lives of folk singers Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston but the experiences of the unsung heroes of World War II the Merchant Marine.

Longhi tells his story with humor and thoughtfulness that draws the reader into the adventures of three friends who made three wartime voyages. Longhi details life aboard ship among the merchant sailors to include taking bets of when their ship would be sunk by the enemy.

I highly recommend "Woody, Cisco & Me."