In this unforgettable chronicle of perhaps the most famous moment in American military history, James Bradley has captured the glory, the triumph, ...
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Feb 06, 2008
Adrienne
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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 pict 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 pict More...
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Mar 09, 2008
sean
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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 7 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 7 More...
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Aug 27, 2007
Leah
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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: " 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: " More...
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Aug 08, 2008
Trisha
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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
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Apr 24, 2011
Codys
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I chose to read this book because I love war and everthing about it I love guns beign out doors and fighting for something, so you have something to live for. HISTORICK. Bradley had been in war for 6mouths in iwo jima and he got back had kids and lived life but he never told his kids that he fout in battle and they never knew till Bradley died and they found all his war stuff in his closet . Bradley was A trust worthy man in those days and he was a medaic in war. His kids finaly find out his rea
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Jan 29, 2009
Andrew
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5Q 2P A/YA
James Bradley's book is a masterpiece of historical writing that will not wear down readers with heavy language or intimidate with hundreds of pages. This is a biography written about the five men who raised the United States flag on Mount Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during the second World War. Bradley's father along with two other men Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon survived the attack on the island and were sent home on orders from the United States governme More...
James Bradley's book is a masterpiece of historical writing that will not wear down readers with heavy language or intimidate with hundreds of pages. This is a biography written about the five men who raised the United States flag on Mount Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during the second World War. Bradley's father along with two other men Ira Hayes and Rene Gagnon survived the attack on the island and were sent home on orders from the United States governme More...
Nov 22, 2008
David
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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
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Feb 01, 2012
Bridgette
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Flags of our Fathers is a compelling piece of history. Indeed, I will probably never think of the Marines in quite the same way again. This oral history, this tribute to a group of dedicated men, has instilled a respect in me that I’ll never lose.
I should first point out that I am a pacifist. I’m pragmatic enough to accept that wars are a current necessity and that force must be met with force. Yet, I still consider warfare an incredibly stupid way of resolving the world’s problems. More...
I should first point out that I am a pacifist. I’m pragmatic enough to accept that wars are a current necessity and that force must be met with force. Yet, I still consider warfare an incredibly stupid way of resolving the world’s problems. More...
Jan 30, 2012
Stephen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 30, 2012
Cameron
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Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley is a book about Iwo Jima during WWII. the book tells the tale of six people who raised a flag on top of MT. Sarabachi during the conflicts. i really enjoyed reading this book. it is a Historical Narrative and tells about the six men from basic training to combat.
The six soldiers that were involved in the flag raising were Jack Bradley, Harlon Block, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, and Franklin Sousley. the book basically helps to give a sense More...
The six soldiers that were involved in the flag raising were Jack Bradley, Harlon Block, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, and Franklin Sousley. the book basically helps to give a sense More...
Dec 28, 2011
Preethi
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This book was a very interesting account of the men who were captured in the infamous Iwo Jima picture. I loved hearing their stories. The most moving part for me was the heightened realization of how they were just boys - young boys - with fathers and mothers and siblings and sometimes girlfriends. With a baby son of my own, this really hit home for me. Upon finishing the book, I found myself hugging him really really tightly and telling him how much I loved him and how I hoped he worked fo
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Nov 08, 2011
Lawrence
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The book Flags of Our Fathers, by James Bradley is about the Flag raising on Iwo Jima during the Second World War. The book tells the life stories of the six men who raised the flag. It focuses mostly on the three surviving men John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, and Ira Hayes. The three surviving men are sent home a few weeks after the picture was taken. Ira Hayes did not want to be sent home but Rene Gagnon was asked who was in the picture and told said Hayes was there so he was sent home. When they ar
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Oct 23, 2011
Jonathan
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I thought that this book was a very nice book to read. The author (James Bradley) is excellent at capturing the attention of the reader. This book is also great because it is so easy to read. I liked that in the book throughout the chapters the author did a lot of jumping around with the scenes by using flashbacks. Also the whole book took place in a pretty significant time frame and captured multiple different important time periods of the main characters life. It was also very cool how the aut
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May 19, 2011
Charlotte
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What a horrible experience World War II had to be for those fighting and those praying they would come home safely! Many of my friends were born in 1941, and some of them have vague recollections of how life was different at that time. I am younger and really have no recollections of anything about the war in my life.
What atrocities were committed during the war by the Japanese people - and against them! How could anyone who fought in the war ever forget what he had seen? T More...
What atrocities were committed during the war by the Japanese people - and against them! How could anyone who fought in the war ever forget what he had seen? T More...
Dec 26, 2010
Brian
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I had mixed feelings about this book. For the most part I enjoyed it, but I also thought it was a bit too long. I thought the author tried to tell the complete story, but was also less than unbiased about the three flag raisers who made it off of the island of Iwo Jima. These were PFC Rene Gagnon, PFC Ira Hayes, PM2 John Bradley, this last soldier being the father of the author. James Bradley was particularly harsh to Rene Gagnon and perhaps even more critical of Rene's wife and mother. At
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Dec 05, 2010
Jim
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Following on from Charlotte Simons, this was a contrast and jarring juxtaposition - I couldn't help but wonder if the men who died on Iwo Jima would have given their all for the society that grew out of that sacrifice? I hope so. I really hope that books like this will continue to remind people of what that generation gave so we could live as we do now. This was a highly personal and moving account of the lives of the six men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima and inadvertently were caught in an im
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Nov 02, 2010
Danny
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James Bradley recites the story of his father, one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima, a story quite simply too horrifying to be told by the father to his son, and one only discovered after the fathers death. While this book is an excellent story, told by someone who is emotionally attached to the material and who went to great lengths to make sure it was told the right way, it just fails to ring true for me. Bradley espouses numbers throughout the book about how many hundreds of men were killed in
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Oct 31, 2010
Joe
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Whoa. This was amazing.
As you probably know, this is the compelling story of the six men who raised the (second) flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima that was immortalized in the famous Rosenthal photo. Bradley profiles the lives of these six men before theit military service, their experience on Iwo Jima and their lives afterward.
The men were so very different from each other that they only held their ordinariness in common. Six would raise the flag, only three would leave the isla More...
As you probably know, this is the compelling story of the six men who raised the (second) flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima that was immortalized in the famous Rosenthal photo. Bradley profiles the lives of these six men before theit military service, their experience on Iwo Jima and their lives afterward.
The men were so very different from each other that they only held their ordinariness in common. Six would raise the flag, only three would leave the isla More...
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Oct 15, 2010
Amy
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Absolutely one of the best books I have ever read. James Bradley accomplished giving the reader not only detailed historical background on the battle on Iwo Jima, but he is able to personalize the lives of the six flagraisers, one of which was a Navy corspman, his father, Doc Bradley. The author walks through the lives of the 5 Marines and 1 Navy corpsman from childhood in 1920's America to boyhood changed to manhood through brutal Marine Core training and battle. Bradley provides significant
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Sep 27, 2010
Amanda
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This book was amazing. I loved it, from page one all the way to the end. I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, mostly because it is usually so dry I end up falling asleep, but that was definitely not the case with this book.
It was picked as a book club selection and I was actually really excited to read it. I LOVE history, but I'm lazy about reading it on my own. I'd rather sit in a classroom and hear the stories. They just come to life for me so much more that way. This book wa More...
It was picked as a book club selection and I was actually really excited to read it. I LOVE history, but I'm lazy about reading it on my own. I'd rather sit in a classroom and hear the stories. They just come to life for me so much more that way. This book wa More...
Jun 04, 2010
Tamra
rated it: 
Book club book.
Bradley is a journalist, so I have to trust that he can write. But this book came off, to me, as way too dramatic. With war, and with a photo like that (the Iwo Jima flag raising photo), 2 already dramatic topics, he could have downplayed the drama a little. And by a little I mean a lot.
Allow me to re-phrase his intro, how it came across to me: "There we were, re-visiting the island where so many Americans died: Iwo Jima. Cue dramatic music. We More...
Bradley is a journalist, so I have to trust that he can write. But this book came off, to me, as way too dramatic. With war, and with a photo like that (the Iwo Jima flag raising photo), 2 already dramatic topics, he could have downplayed the drama a little. And by a little I mean a lot.
Allow me to re-phrase his intro, how it came across to me: "There we were, re-visiting the island where so many Americans died: Iwo Jima. Cue dramatic music. We More...
May 03, 2010
James
rated it:
This is an incredible book.
It's basically about the battle for Iwo Jima,
but the author writes at so many levels.
He has tidbits about WW2 that I hadn't seen in print before,
Douglas MacArthur had a plan for invading Japan by going thru China,
the Joint chiefs of staff rejected this in favor of
Nimitz plan to attack from the sea.
This required taking Iwo Jima, the only battle in WW2 where
America had more casualties than the enemy.
More...
It's basically about the battle for Iwo Jima,
but the author writes at so many levels.
He has tidbits about WW2 that I hadn't seen in print before,
Douglas MacArthur had a plan for invading Japan by going thru China,
the Joint chiefs of staff rejected this in favor of
Nimitz plan to attack from the sea.
This required taking Iwo Jima, the only battle in WW2 where
America had more casualties than the enemy.
More...
Feb 22, 2010
Damian
rated it:
This book was about the battles of Iwo Jima in world war 2. It also talked about the americans fought japanese troops in the Islands near japan , the philippines and australia. This book took place near Mount suribachi which was the peak of iwo jima . There werent really any main characters in this book , it was just soldiers and the war and their point of views about it. An obvious external conflict in this book is on D-day at boats. Men were getting sick and no one could do anything about i
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Jan 25, 2010
Tony
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The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought in the winter of 1945 on a rocky island south of Japan, brought a ferocious slice of hell to earth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers would die defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan, while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battle was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced one of World War II's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount S
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Jun 17, 2008
Matt
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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.
Feb 18, 2009
Dustin
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This is quite possibly the saddest thing I've ever read but it's so good and I just can't stop. It often made me think of my favorite series of all time "Band of Brothers" even though the battles were completely different. The author, as you can expect, is very proud of his father (one of the few flag raisers who survived) and sometimes paints his picture a little too close to perfection of his fathers character and life. It's also a very big eye opener to the differences in the batt
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Mar 29, 2010
Ames712
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So far in this book I think a lot to myself about how the soldiers parents must feel. Did they really want them to go into the army or were they forced because of Hitler? How would the soldiers feel about the war if they weren't in it. I think this book, even though the book is a true story of a man trying to find information about his father and the other 5 people trying to raise the flag on Iwo Jima, I think it can have a theme on how you should always keep your parents informed on what you a
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Mar 03, 2010
Hasanuddin
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Kalimat yang paling mengena yang diucapkan Sersan Mike Strank, salah satu dari enam pengibar bendera AS di Iwo JIma, "Listen to me, and follow my orders, and I'll try to bring all of you back safely to your mothers." Kalimat yang singkat, padat, mengena dan dalam... Setiap tentara yang berperang memiliki keluarga... Dan keluarga selalu meunggu kabar putra-putranya di medan perang. Iwo Jima, medan perang yang berat. Tidak hanya bagi AS namun juga Jepang. Merebut Iwo Jima, menjadi titik
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Jan 10, 2012
Trevorvanz
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FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
By John Bradley
Thrash! Artillery upon us! Look Out! Six men raised the flag at Iwo Jima during a war that changed the whole world. The six men are followed as John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Mike Strank, and Ira Hayes. These men endured the violence and nightmares at Iwo Jima to raise the flag at Mount Suribachi for the war only lasting for four more weeks until victory!
This war novel talks about how six men enli More...
By John Bradley
Thrash! Artillery upon us! Look Out! Six men raised the flag at Iwo Jima during a war that changed the whole world. The six men are followed as John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Mike Strank, and Ira Hayes. These men endured the violence and nightmares at Iwo Jima to raise the flag at Mount Suribachi for the war only lasting for four more weeks until victory!
This war novel talks about how six men enli More...
Feb 04, 2011
Zinger
rated it:
Flags Of Our Fathers tells the life stories of the six men who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi on the Island of Iwo Jima. It covers the childhood of these boys prior to military service, their time in the military and their lives after the military (for the three that survived). It also covers the details of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The author is the son of one of those men, John Bradley, who knew very little about his fathers’s experiences in the war. It wasn’t until after his fathe More...
The author is the son of one of those men, John Bradley, who knew very little about his fathers’s experiences in the war. It wasn’t until after his fathe More...
