About Jeff Grim

http://collectedmiscellany.com/author/jeff-grim/

Jeff has been a reader all of his life. He has had a particular interest in military history, any war at any time. His fascination with military history has brought him to an interest in historical fiction.

Posts by Jeff Grim:

Jan 24 2012

Last Man Standing: The 1st Marine Regiment on Peleliu by Dick Camp

When World War II enthusiasts hear the word Peleliu, they think of the pointless battle in the Pacific that was a meat grinder for the 1st Marine Division.  Dick Camp details the battle for Peleliu from the perspective of the 1st Division’s 1st Marine Regiment – the Marines known as “The Old Breed” – in Last Man Standing: The 1st Marine Regiment on Peleliu, September 15-21, 1944.

Here is a description of the book from the publisher (Zenith Press):

One of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, Operation Stalemate, as Peleliu was called, was overshadowed by the Normandy landings.  It was also, in time, judged by most historians to have been unnecessary; though it had been conceived to protect MacArthur’s flank in the Philippines, the U.S. fleet’s carrier raids had eliminated Japanese airpower, rendering Peleliu irrelevant.  Nevertheless, the horrifying number of casualties sustained there (71% in one battalion) foreshadowed for the rest of the war: rather than fight to the death on the beach, the Japanese would now defend in depth and bleed the Americans white.

The book provides a good description of the 1st Marine Regiment’s actions on Peleliu.  The book is mainly narrative with many excerpts from Marines who fought in the battle.  For example, Camp describes the initial landings and how the Japanese guns knocked out many of the landing craft.  He sprinkles in amongst this text the first-hand accounts of how the men got off the landing craft as quickly as possible because many the landing craft were blown to pieces with bodies and equipment thrown high into the air.  Camp gives a good balance of the narrative and the first-hand accounts.

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Jan 10 2012

Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II by Joseph A. Springer

I have been on a World War II history kick lately.  This kick continues with my most recent read – Joseph A. Springer’s Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the USS Franklin in World War II.  It is an oral history that follows the USS Franklin(a fleet aircraft carrier) from the laying of its keel in Newport News, Virginia to its battles during World War II.

I normally do not like oral histories because many times they are choppy – the first-hand accounts are not normally interwoven with the narrative very well.  However, this book is the rare exception.  Springer provides an excellent framework of the ship’s history in the narrative.  He then fills in the personal details with the oral history.  Springer’s writing style is light and easy to read.

The most gripping parts of the book are the accounts of the crew’s fight for the Franklin’s survival in one instance (the ship was hit by a kamikaze on October 30, 1944 that caused enough damage to require repairs in the mainland U.S.)  and fighting to contain damage in another (it was hit again on March 18, 1945 by one bomb that caused cataclysmic damage).  The stories are interesting and engaging.  For example, many of the survivors describe  where they were when the bomb hit the ship and how they either left the ship or fought to control the fires raging below the decks.

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Jan 3 2012

Omar Bradley: General at War by Jim DeFelice

English:

Many people in their late thirties or older know of Omar Bradley from Karl Malden’s portrayal of him in the movie Patton.  He was portrayed as a bland, risk-averse character who was overshadowed by the flamboyant Patton (played by George C. Scott).  Jim DeFelice tries to dispel this image of Bradley in Omar Bradley: General at War.

DeFelice discusses Bradley’s rise in rank before World War II.  Although never serving in combat, he gained valuable leadership experience in various postings, such as two stints at West Point and one at the Infantry School.  According to DeFelice, this leadership experience served him well when Bradley did first see combat in North Africa in World War II.

I have read more than a few books on the European Theater in World War II and most of them either ignore Bradley (focusing more on the common soldier or Patton) or paint him in a less than flattering light.  For instance, many of the books blame Bradley for ignoring the warning signs prior to the German attack in the Ardennes.  The arguments supporting this viewpoint are quite convincing and DeFelice does begrudgingly admit that Bradley was slow on the uptake in discerning Germany’s actions in the Ardennes.

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Dec 20 2011

The Space Shuttle: Celebrating Thirty Years of NASA’s First Space Plane by Piers Bizony

I normally do not get too geeked out about books on space exploration.  However, I just read The Space Shuttle: Celebrating Thirty Years of NASA’s First Space Plane by Piers Bizony and I was very impressed.

In the beginning of the book, Bizony briefly discusses the theoretical roots of the shuttle that began as far back as the 1930s.  He then describes the two space-plane concepts that predated the shuttle and how these concepts influenced the shuttle design.  Bizony also touches on how NASA engineers balanced the needs of space travel with the political realities of the late 1960s and early 1970s when the shuttle took its final form.

The book is divided into seven chapters (entitled stages in the book) that describe the different phases of the shuttle missions.  In each chapter, Bizony includes a brief synopsis of what occurred with the shuttle program in the time period discussed.  Two of the most interesting discussions center on the investigations behind the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

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Dec 16 2011

Birth of the Kingdom by Jan Guillou

Birth of the Kingdom: Book Three of the Crusades Trilogy by Jan Guillou is the last book in the trilogy that follows Templar Knight Arn de Gotha from his days as a boy in Sweden to his exile in the Holy Land back to Sweden.  The last book covers Arn’s return and redemption in Sweden.  Arn reunites with the woman (Cecilia) he had a child with before he was exiled.  He is accompanied by many skilled artisans from the Holy Land.  With the help of the artisans, Arn leads a building effort to strengthen his clan’s (Folkungs) position in Sweden.  As a result of this building and certain business decisions made by Arn and Cecilia, the Folkungs become the most powerful clan in Sweden.

The book is a little slower paced than the first two books, but it is full of  a lot more detail on the time period than the previous two books.  This detail gives the reader a richer understanding of medieval Swedish life.  For instance, Guillou describes the relationship between thralls (slaves owned by the Swedish landed aristocracy) and their masters.  Similar to slaves throughout time, the thralls were poorly treated.  Their miserable life is vividly portrayed by Guillou.

The action does not start until maybe the last 75 pages of the book’s 480 pages.  This action surrounds the clash between the Folkung and Erik Clans against the Sverker clan (and their Danish allies).  Through Arn’s leadership, the Folkung and Erik clans are able to defeat the Sverkers and found modern-day Sweden.

Although I am more interested in books that are full of action and despite the fact that this book is not so action-packed, I enjoyed reading it.  It was full of intrigue and mystery.  I had a sense that Arn would succeed, but I was not sure how he would fulfill his desires.  Guillou is a master in keeping the reader guessing.

The book brings to a close a wonderful story about a man and his faith and his love for a woman.

 

 

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