List Price: $19.95 Details

Save: $13.46 (67%)

$3.99 delivery: July 20 - 27

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

$$6.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from	ph9
Sold by	ph9

Details

Ships from

ph9

Sold by

ph9

Return policy: This item is returnable

FREE delivery: July 19 - 23

Fastest delivery: July 13 - 15

Used: Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas

Other Sellers on Amazon

$15.77
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Peter D. Baird

Beyond Peleliu Paperback – May 30, 2007

by Peter Baird (Author)

17 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$34.00

$30.00

$4.44

Paperback

"Please retry"

$6.49

$1.99

A must read book, not only for those who fought in wars, but for all of us living in a time of global turmoil. This book can be a source of forgiveness and healing for all who have inherited the demons of war. On the eve of the Second World War, two unlikely people get married: Tom McQuade, a relentlessly driven medical student, and Virginia Russell, an exotic mind-reading magician. The McQuades move to Boston where Tom enters a prestigious surgical residency and they celebrate the birth of their son David. The war destroys the McQuades' idyllic life together. Tom is drafted and shipped off to the South Pacific where, during the horrific Battle of Pelelui, he sustains a gunshot wound that destroys his medical ambitions and eventually drives Virginia and David from him. Forty years later, when David is a powerful San Francisco trial lawyer and Tom is in the early stages of dementia, father and son reconnect. For the first time, David learns the liberating force and redemptive power of truth.

Print length

268 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ravenhawk Books
Publication date

May 30, 2007
Dimensions

5.51 x 0.61 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1893660141
ISBN-13

978-1893660144
See all details

Special offers and product promotions

Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Baird's) prose...strong nouns and active verbs reminiscent of Earnest Hemingway and Raymond Carver...it moves like a rocket...Readers of every generation will understand themselves better and share in the experience of real and memorable characters. Baird speaks to and for the Silent Generation." -- John Kane, THE DENVER POST, June 15, 2007

"...a gripping look at the dark side of the 'Greatest Generation,' as well as a cautionary message about the personal costs of chasing power and success." -- Jimmy Magahern, NEW YORK TIMES Law & Journal supplement, June 2007

"...a jolting mix of childhood trauma, physical and psychological wounds of war, the fragility of love, medical mistakes, legal ethics, and the high cost of ducking the truth...heartfelt in every line, unstuffed and unforgettable." -- Steve Wilson, THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, June 2007

"...a powerful book that follows the McQuade family through the years. The writing is tight and serves this story well--it allowed us to 'hear' each (character's) story. ...these stories built upon one another and taught the family in a way no school book ever could." -- Carlene Carleo-Evangelist, FRONT STREET REVIEWS, June, 2007

From the Publisher

BEYOND PELELIU is destined for American literature classic status. Discover why Peter Baird is being described as a 21st Century Earnest Hemingway and Raymond Carver.

"...a griping look at the dark side of the 'Greatest Generation,' as well as a cautionary message about the personal costs of chasing power and success." --Jimmy Magahern, NEW YORK TIMES, Law & Journal supplement.

"Beyond Peleliu is a hauntingly powerful novel of compelling honesty and skill, a reminder that wars do not end when the last shot is fired. A novel that MUST be read." --Thomas Childers, Ph.D. UNIVERSITY OF PENN. Acclaimed Expert on World Wars.

"An astonishing debut...a source for forgiveness and healing...a must read!" --S. Helel Prejean, Author, "Dead Man Walking"

"...a picture of a complex family, utterly compelling, memorable, a 'can't put it down book'." --Janet Napolitano, GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

Literature buffs from California to New York; Alaska to Florida and beyond are raving about Peter Baird's contemporary look at the real cost of war upon not only those who have fought, but on their loved ones and their subsequent generations. "Beyond Peleliu" is destined to become an American Classic in its own time.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ravenhawk Books (May 30, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 268 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1893660141
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1893660144
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 0.61 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #12,710,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #348,952 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
17 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		67%
4 star		33%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Eric F. Facer

Entertaining, but has a few flaws--3.5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2007

Verified Purchase

A work of great literature, this book is not. An entertaining diversion while on vacation, it definitely is. I especially enjoyed some of the characters (e.g., doctor's wife who is a Christian Scientist and also magician), and the plot had some ingenious elements. But much of the story seemed hurried. The characters were not as fully developed as they should have been, which, at times, made it difficult to understand their motives. To expand upon this point and to highlight a few technical flaws, I must disclose some elements of the plot. So, read no further if you don't want to know how the story ends.

For example, we never learn what drove Dr. McQuade to inflict himself with a wound on Peleliu, beyond the general trauma of the war. It would have been nice if, when he confessed this to his son, if he had explained in greater detail what drove him to do this. And, with respect to the story's credibility, it is almost impossible to believe that a surgeon, seeking to inflict himself with a wound, would choose to shoot himself in the hand.

You also have to suspend disbelief when reading the account of David's big trial at the end of the story. He and one of his associates freely exchange e-mails that contain open admissions of unethical and criminal behavior, as does the Governor of California. No politician or litigator with a half a brain would ever commit such things to writing.

But, like I said at the beginning, apart from these flaws, this is an entertaining book. But, in my opinion, it is not much more.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

arthur holeman

Beyond Peleliu by Peter Baird

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2007

Verified Purchase

If you are interested in World War II, medicine, practicing law, magic, family dynamitic this is a great read.

Peter Baird's novel is great. It mixes life with all kinds of emotion, War with families, careers, friends, parents and children.
The magic starts right way, getting to know the characters and ending when they get to know their selves.
From a boy growing up, to relationships, career, war, and friends even our own lives could get intertwined with the characters..
It gives us a glimpse on what the war was like, how it affected people and how they dealt with their decisions, how people managed and supported the ones they loved.

Helpful

A Customer

Reviewed by Carianne Carleo-Evangelist

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2007

Beyond Peleliu by Peter Baird (Ravenhawk Books-June 2006) is a powerful book that follows the McQuade family through the years since World War II to the present. Though Tom, who served as the prime story teller through the eyes of his son, faced a lot of adversity from early in his life, he demonstrated that not only could he overcome the adversity but that it helped shape him. Helped him to be the person he wanted to become. We saw his daily challenges--from questioning the safety of vaccines to dealing with loss. And right from the title you see the effects of the War on the family--it's not just Peleliu, it goes beyond that. It's their life.

However this story was not just Tom's tale. It showed how the experiences of one person can filter through and have ramifications for their family and friends for generations to come. At the same time we were able to see David's curiosity as he learnt more about his father's life--what made his father the man he was. This was key in light of his father's current struggles--the dementia might have made it hard for David to see his father as this man who went through and saw so much. It may have helped David to see that he wasn't as different from his father as he might seem. When he got the call from Dr. Roberts, he knew something was up but he accepted it in a realistic way--he needed to do things on his own time. He couldn't rush but at the same time, he knew he didn't have forever.

The writing was tight and that served this story well--it allowed us to `hear' each story as a separate section of the elder McQuade's life, which was what I believe the author intended. Each chapter could have stood alone as a short story of what Tom had gone through, however, this didn't keep the stories from being viewed as parts of one long life story. It was easy to see how these stories built upon one another and taught the family in a way no school book ever could.

By the time I finished the book, just a short time after I'd started it, I felt as if I knew the McQuade family.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Julie Sanders

I remember

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2006

Being the daughter of the Author allows certain priviledges. One of which is that I had the pleasure of reading the "official" beginnings of this novel. I remember receiving a bulky envelope in the mail, containing a loose leaf stack of type written pages, which was Peter's finished manuscript. I read it--none stop--beginning to end. I was impressed by the depth of the story. I could immediately envision this novel being published, being picked up and made into a screne play... I knew this was a story worth knowing and that many others would feel just as I did (even though they weren't related!).

Months past... and I hear that Peter has made some changes to the novel, and that it is going to be published, and that it has a different title... and my response to this was "I need to read it again!". So, I did... I received another bulky envelope--this time with a bound stack of pages inside--and I read the first page (which was different) and I got chills. This first page transformed the novel into something even more real, more personal, more moving than it was before. I continued on reading the book (after calling Peter and telling him my reaction and impressions about the first page)... and I was swept into the world of the McQuades once more... affectionately listening and watching (reading) the story unfold, from a more personal viewpoint....

It's been ann amazing experience... witnessing the process of manuscript to publishing. But an even more amazing experience is in the reading and absorbing the story of the McQuades... because all of us have the effects of war running through our families---from generations ago and through those to come.

This novel imparts an awareness of this fact... and so it is that this story becomes personal to all who read.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful