I found Captain Braun's telling of his experiences with the 158th to be entertaining, but too far fetched for me to take seriously. My grandfather fought with the 158th from Arizona all the way through the end of the war in Company G, and I set about reading every last scrap of information I could about the "Bushy Masters" as the granpappy used to say. Braun's stories about his time in the 158th were hilarious, but continuously smacked of a subjective view of events that may or may not resemble the actual events. This book was ruined for me in the first ten pages, during which I was forced to endure five lessons of his childhood that forged him into a hard-nosed super soldier. For research reading, his unique troop-side perspective is invaluable to understanding the way of life of a company-level Army officer. I wouldn't read this book for pleasure because I had a hard time buying the old soldier's anecdotes, which I thought were rather self serving. This book does have its place in the Bushmaster history, as it is the only published first hand account of the war by a Bushmaster. It gives the battles a personal flair missed by Roy Lancaster and Anthony Arthur.
If you want a great telling of the butchery of WWII Pacific combat, I recommend E. B. Sledge's "With the Old Breed." If you want the quintessetial history of the 158th, I would read Anthony Arthur's "Bushmasters." Captain Braun's book is a collection of knee-slappers by an old, albeit admirable, old soldier, but is neither funny enough or factual enough to be of interest by itself.
| Publisher | Sea Bird Pub Inc (July 15, 2005) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 290 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1886916101 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1886916104 |
| Item Weight | 13.8 ounces |
| Dimensions | 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches |
