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1540 ratings, 4.16 average rating, 335 reviews
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published
May 22nd 2008
binding
Library Binding, 211 pages
isbn
1435285263
(isbn13: 9781435285262)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1988)
Read in February, 2008
Flags of Our Fathers tells the amazing true story of Iwo Jima and The Photograph, by creating a fairly complete picture of the six boys/men in the photo. It recounts basic ideas of their childhoods and their training as Marines, the battle itself, and the lives of those who survived (including Bradley's father) after the war.
These men, who wanted nothing else but to be left alone, were thrust into the spotlight because of a lucky picture at a not-so-heroic moment in time. The picture beca...more
These men, who wanted nothing else but to be left alone, were thrust into the spotlight because of a lucky picture at a not-so-heroic moment in time. The picture beca...more
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I read the book before the movie. The movie, directed by Clint Eastwood is almost entirely dedicated to the book's last chapters where the author describes the after-war lives of the heroes - and yes, despite what Bradley and Eastwood believe, these men ARE heroes regardless of the father Bradley's protests.
After describing the battle and events of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi, the author describes how the men's lives turned sour as the US War Machine exploited them for the 7th War B...more
After describing the battle and events of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi, the author describes how the men's lives turned sour as the US War Machine exploited them for the 7th War B...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
I don't often read historical nonfiction, but this book was superb; I was very moved by the countless acts of sacrifice made by the men who fought at Iwo Jima.
This is a riveting narrative about the six young American flag raisers in the famed picture. Author James Bradley is the son of corpsman John Bradley (one of the men in the photo) and it was only after his father's death when he began to piece together culminating events, as his father never talked about the war but for: "The hero...more
This is a riveting narrative about the six young American flag raisers in the famed picture. Author James Bradley is the son of corpsman John Bradley (one of the men in the photo) and it was only after his father's death when he began to piece together culminating events, as his father never talked about the war but for: "The hero...more
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Read in August, 2008
This was a good book, the intent of the author was good, but I didn't like so many personal comments from him. I don't care that he stared at the picture that this book is based around for hours at a time in a daze, or any other comments he made like that. I think that the fact that he added those into the book took away from honoring those he was writing about. It seemed selfish and cocky of him. His personal comments seemed more like a tribute to himself and his intellect than to those who...more
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Read in May, 2007
Like most people, I had no idea what the real context was for the famous photograph of soldiers raising the US flag at Iwo Jima. Nor did I understand the military significance of that campaign, or the cost in lives it required (over 8000 US soldiers killed and almost 20,000 wounded; and over 20,000 Japanese killed). This book is presented as the story of the 6 men who appear in the photo. The first section gives their backgrounds and life stories, and dragged a bit, but made the rest much more p...more
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Read in July, 2007
Easily one of the most moving and memorable books I have ever read. I know that I've said that I don't get emotional over the books that I read, but Flags of Our Fathers is a definite exception. The author has a personal connection to the subject, and his own emotion over the true story of his father comes through wonderfully. It's as much about history as it is about family.
On a sour note, do not ever watch the movie. EVER! It's as awful as the book is wonderful.
On a sour note, do not ever watch the movie. EVER! It's as awful as the book is wonderful.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
this book is really good and i hope anyone who reads this book ikes it to because the book is really informational and yet there till some action in the book so pick the book of the shelve and start a readin
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I read With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge a few years ago, after my dad's passing. Dad had served on Okinawa, but after he'd gotten out of the service, married, and I came along, he was mum about his eight years in the service.
Here, in Flags of Our Fathers, James Bradley, son of John Bradley, who served on Iwo Jima as a corpsman and who was awarded the Navy Cross for his service, recounts a story not so unlike my own, and many other sons born of this generation of leathernecks.
Unlike ...more
Here, in Flags of Our Fathers, James Bradley, son of John Bradley, who served on Iwo Jima as a corpsman and who was awarded the Navy Cross for his service, recounts a story not so unlike my own, and many other sons born of this generation of leathernecks.
Unlike ...more
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Read in October, 2006
Hoping to learn something about what my father might have experienced in the Pacific Theater of WWII, I read this book with much interest and appreciation. Bradlely's personal search for an understanding of his own father's past and his part in the war lends a poignancy to the unfolding stories of the men depicted in the famous photo and later statue of the 2nd flag raising at Iwo Jima. While the stories and Bradley's own search personalize the war greatly, there is much background here on the P...more
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Read in October, 2008
The story of the iconic flag raising on Mt. Suribachi during the Iwo Jima invasion as told by the son of one of the flag raisers. An interesting story ruined by glaring factual errors and a hysteric tone better suited for tabloid newspaper reporting.
As an example of the factual inaccuracies, the author tells us that the battle of Guadacanal was the first time the Japanese were stopped during World War 2. I guess that's true if one doesn't consider halting the Port Moresby invasion at the B...more
As an example of the factual inaccuracies, the author tells us that the battle of Guadacanal was the first time the Japanese were stopped during World War 2. I guess that's true if one doesn't consider halting the Port Moresby invasion at the B...more
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My adopted grandfather fought at Iwo Jima. I really connected with this book on so many levels because of that.
My parents came to America when they were in their 20's. They were "adopted" by an American couple. My mom lived with them and they helped her get accustomed to American life as my mom went to college. My grandfather's name is Calvin, and that is why I was named Calvin. When I got older, I learned that he had fought on Iwo Jima. He never boasted about his accomplishme...more
My parents came to America when they were in their 20's. They were "adopted" by an American couple. My mom lived with them and they helped her get accustomed to American life as my mom went to college. My grandfather's name is Calvin, and that is why I was named Calvin. When I got older, I learned that he had fought on Iwo Jima. He never boasted about his accomplishme...more
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Read in July, 2008
I read this over July 4th - learning about humanity, our capacity to love and serve, and am thankful we had boys/men that took care of this, but I can' imagine if they did not.
Read it, but let it get rolling before you judge it's pace.
I wept, I had to take breaks, I respect a lot of people that I can't now thank for their efforts and am sickened by how twisted and de-humanized man becomes if ego, logic, and xenophobia are evoked with bad intent. It happens a lot too.
This is not a ...more
Read it, but let it get rolling before you judge it's pace.
I wept, I had to take breaks, I respect a lot of people that I can't now thank for their efforts and am sickened by how twisted and de-humanized man becomes if ego, logic, and xenophobia are evoked with bad intent. It happens a lot too.
This is not a ...more
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The fourth book I read is called Flags of Our Fathers, written by James Bradley and adapted for young people by Michael French. The son of one of the flag-raisers tells the narrator of this story. During World War two, six young marines are sent to Iwo Jima (which is an island were the Japanese battled the Americans). These men had to survive the difficulties of land battle and live long enough to raise the American flag on top of the mountain in Iwo Jima. Although the battle carried on a while ...more
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone
This book is a magnificent piece of folk history - it sits alongside Oliver North's War Stories as some of the best grunt-level history of World War II in print. James Bradley embarked on this project after his father, John Bradley, died in 1994 and he discovered his Navy Cross and other military documents for the first time. Flags of Our Fathers tells the story of one squad that suffered near destruction on Iwo Jima and the lives after the war of the one survivor, Ira Hayes. The others ...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Americans, Historians, and Patriots
As a son remembers his father so begins the story of all our fathers…a story without end constructed piece by piece like a walkway of stepping stones from today into yesterday. James Bradley’s father was one of the men in the famous flag raising photograph of Iwo Jima. As is too often the case, we the young do not think to ask our elders the important questions of the past until it is too late. And sometimes even when we ask the response is unspoken. Young Jim Bradley grew up with a father ...more
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recommends it for:
anyone that is curious of what our soldiers in war go through
THE BEST WAR BOOK PERIOD
A son loses his father, he knew he was in WW2 but Dad never talked about it and it was not discussed. Upon burying his father and he finds that he was a Medal of Honor or Purple heart recipient (can't remember which). The father was also involved in the infamous flag raising picture taken on Iwo Jima that crystallized the turning point for American Victory in WW2.
James Bradley was that son and does a beautiful job showing the lives of those men that raised the f...more
A son loses his father, he knew he was in WW2 but Dad never talked about it and it was not discussed. Upon burying his father and he finds that he was a Medal of Honor or Purple heart recipient (can't remember which). The father was also involved in the infamous flag raising picture taken on Iwo Jima that crystallized the turning point for American Victory in WW2.
James Bradley was that son and does a beautiful job showing the lives of those men that raised the f...more
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Read in January, 2007
Book club
I don't typically read "books about war", and this was decidedly stressful for me to read with the graphic gory details. However, that being said, it did give me a better appreciation for how much war sucks...seeing your friends die brutally right before your eyes, and your likely not being able to do anything about it. Yeah, no wonder so many soldiers have PTSD.
I didn't give this five stars for a couple reasons...I thought the author glorified war and wrote hero-wor...more
I don't typically read "books about war", and this was decidedly stressful for me to read with the graphic gory details. However, that being said, it did give me a better appreciation for how much war sucks...seeing your friends die brutally right before your eyes, and your likely not being able to do anything about it. Yeah, no wonder so many soldiers have PTSD.
I didn't give this five stars for a couple reasons...I thought the author glorified war and wrote hero-wor...more
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2 comments
Read in June, 2007
The photo taken of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima is one of the most famous photos ever published. The men involved in that event were forever impacted by the photo. Yet, that day, they were simply doing their duty, and were among the handful that had survived the devastating losses of life on the beaches of the island in the hours that preceded the flag raising. Many don't realize how many thousand Japanese were still hiding in the well-supplied tunnels that crisscrossed the island. Nor...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
WW II & History Buffs
While Clint Eastwood's adaptation of this was a good film, the book is MUCH more in depth and informative, giving the histories of the three surviving Iwo Jima flag raisers as well as the three who were killed in the battle (who were sadly neglected in the movie, but that's a hazard of adapting a book into a film). Written by the son of one of the flagraisers, there's also a personal aspect of this story that makes it that much more engaging. Bradley was not a writer when he undertook this pro...more
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Read in August, 2008
A powerhouse book relating the events of the Battle on Iwo Jima. A must read for history buffs and any American patriots. James Bradley chronicles the lives of the six men (one of whom was his father) who fought and raised the American flag on Iwo Jima amidst almost insurmountable opposition. A photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal later catapults the three remaining flagraisers into super stardom across the country and the picture itself becomes immortalized in bronze as a symbol for the courage an...more
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