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Cargando... Once an Eagle (1970)por Anton Myrer
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Fiction.
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Historical Fiction.
HTML: The phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller that captured the imagination of a generation "A remarkable novel. . . utterly engrossing. . . . It is an astute study of the mind and character of a good general and a good man. And it is a brilliant inside view of the life of a career officer in peace and war." — New York Times "Simply the best work of fiction on leadership in print." —General Martin E. Dempsey, 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets, Once An Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power. Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War—Vietnam. Now with a new foreword by acclaimed historian Carlo D'Este, here is an unforgettable story of a man who embodies the best in our nation—and in us all. .No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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It's an excellent book on leadership, contrasting Sam Damon (the guy everyone wants to be) and Courtney Massengale (the guy most folks don't). I imagined, before I started, that each of them would be a caricature. That's not the case. Each is an interesting and complex character, though that's truer of Damon than of Massengale. The two are surrounded by interesting friends, family and colleagues, and those relationships are deep and nicely drawn.
Damon's military career begins just before WWI, and the book closes in the run-up to the Vietnam War. Damon is the central character throughout. It could, maybe, have ended earlier, but it kept me engaged all the way to the end. There's come casual racism and sexism in the book, but Damon (and Myrer) are ahead of their time in their challenges to those tropes.
I never served in the military and have certainly never seen combat. I found the combat scenes in the book absolutely gripping. I bet that Myrer did a good job capturing life in the Army in general, including the time Damon served during peacetime.
If you're wondering whether this book is for you, I think that Steinbeck's East of Eden is a reasonable comparison -- sweeping, generational, complex characters working against the cultural and social backgrounds of the time. The characters are equally interesting, I thought, and the story every bit as gripping. ( )