Sergeant Nibley, Ph.D.: Memories of an Unlikely Screaming Eagle

by Hugh Nibley, Alex Nibley

Few people knew more about the history of human conflict than Professor Hugh Nibley. But on June 6, 1944, at Utah Beach, he learned more about war than he had gleaned from all the books he'd read combined. General Maxwell Taylor assigned Sergeant Nibley to educate the officers of the 101st Airborne about warfare. But it was the professor himself that received an education while fighting as a member of the most legendary unit of the United States Army. Most war memoirs come either from the bird's-eye view of the general or from the visceral but limited scope of the common soldier. Because of Nibley's unique situation, this book blends both perspectives. From the narrow view of a sergeant in a foxhole to the broader perspective of an intelligence specialist, his experience offers an intimate, realistic and articulate view of World War II.

Genres: Biography, History, Military Fiction, Lds, Nonfiction, Religion, Historical

366 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2006

About the author

Hugh Winder Nibley was one of Mormonism's most celebrated scholars. Nibley is notable for his extensive research and publication on ancient languages and culture, his vigorous defense of doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for frankly discussing what he saw as the shortcomings of the LDS people and culture.

A prolific author and professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, he was fluent in over ten languages, including Classical Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian, Coptic, Arabic, German, French, English, and Spanish languages. He also studied Dutch and Russian during World War II.

In addition to his efforts as a scholar, Nibley was well known for writings and lectures on LDS scripture and doctrinal topics, many of which were published in LDS Church magazines. His book “An Approach to the Book of Mormon” was used as a lesson manual for the LDS Church in 1957.

Reviews

[Gus · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for sure, not just for insight about Nibley but about WWII as well.

[Ann-marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of my rabid interest in WW2, this was a difficult read. He and his son collaborated on the sharing of his stories of his unique experiences in WW2, but like Nibley, the telling is enigmatic. Names and places are presented with little to no background. Sequence of events were hard for me to follow. BUT in spite of the difficulty with style and presentation, his bird's eye view of the landing at Normandy may be unequaled. Having been raised by an U.S. Army officer, I especially appreciated Nibley's take on the ego and stupidity of commanding officers, including those bigwigs who were in charge. His scathing reviews of the U.S. and British generals helps make this worth the reading. Another unique fact detailed in these memoirs is that Nibley served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a 17 year old in Germany and then returned there in his early 30's (after having earned a Ph.D.) to work in Intelligence (of which there appeared to have been an absence) during WW2. Lots of fascinating correlations between those two events in his life. Quite the undertaking by his son and I admire him for that!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting, but it dragged a little. The beginning was particularly interesting and I liked the parallels between Hitler and Nibley as missionaries in Germany for different causes. But, I feel that large parts of it were just extensive chronology rather than saying anything about Nibley, himself. I would have liked more personality to show through, rather than accounting of where he was and what he was doing. It's awesome to see how much he is involved and in the know, but that got old after awhile, especially for the final 1/3 of the book. Cool to hear he lived in my hometown of Medford, OR! And fun to imagine that he actually might have run into Hitler when he was a missionary and Bormann when he was at the end of the war. Only read if you're a die-hard Nibley fan or you want another perspective on WWII (there were cool insights and unknown things about the war that were good to read).

[John Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many good accounts of soldiers in World War 2, but I just finished one that is unlike any others I’ve read. It’s the delightful Sergeant Nibley PhD: Memories of an Unlikely Screaming Eagle by Hugh Nibley and Alex Nibley.

It details the experiences of Hugh Nibley, the famous BYU scholar of ancient history, as a soldier in the war, starting from when Nibley was on his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and met Hitler coming out of a bathroom in Germany.

This book made me laugh and wonder and sorrow. It includes insights, surprises, and anecdotes that I haven’t found anywhere else. The authors also include many pictures that help the whole thing come alive. If you like history or biographies or are a fan of Nibley’s works, I think you’ll love this book.

[Merlene Neville · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was at the Y in the 50's, I remember Dr. Nibley riding his bicycle on campus on his way to teach his classes. Everyone knew who he was. We all knew he marched to his own drummer,but who would have guessed he was once a Ritchie boy. We also knew he was very intelligent, but that he was involved with intelligence during WWII was not known. I read this book immediately after reading Sons and Soldiers by Bruce Henderson because the book mentioned that Hugh Nibley knew 16 languages, and knowing languages was a prerequisite to going to Camp Ritchie in Maryland to train in army intelligence. Who would have guessed that one of our professors led such a fascinating life during WWII.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather interesting memoir/biography/history about the experiences of Hugh Nibley before, during, and just after WWII. Some very fascinating personal stories and experiences in the midst of some momentous world history. Alex Nibley is a documentary film maker so the text of the book reads sort of like the screenplay of a documentary, with a lot of great photos and stuff throughout the book. I have never read a book quite like this one. Some of Nibley's memories were funny, some inspiring, some horrible, and some very tragic. Overall I think the book tells the story well and also does a good job illustrating the ugliness and evil of war.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

More an essay on war than a history

I read this book because I have read several other books, essays and articles by Hugh Nibley and I much admired the man’s faith and intellect. I expected to read a history of his experiences in World War II. What I got was an essay which sometimes contradicted itself on the horrors, injustices and sometimes great lessons of war. Read it if you were looking for something to make you think, for enlightenment, but if you’re looking for history it’s not in this book.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most intimate, fresh, and beautiful books I have read about WW2. It really is a book about Hugh Nibley and WW2 just happens to be the backdrop, but it was profound and enriching from page to page. Any serious student of Hugh Nibley's works should read this, and any person interested in WW2 would greatly benefit from reading it. It felt like I was sitting in a café with Hugh and Alex conversing while I just listened. A truly wonderful experience that I will not forget.

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found many fascinating elements in this book. I had Bro Nibley for a class in the 80s - grade was based on a final essay. He wrote “that’s not what it means” on mine and gave me a C. :) I also served a mission in Germany and didn’t realize Bro Nibley’s history there!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about WWII in Europe from someone in Intelligence. Hugh Nibley's letters were hard to understand so I didn't try.

[David Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great follow up to his biography. It offers insight to the experiences of a WWII soldier.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked his insight into the war. He was there while it was going on. Some of the big things.

[Steve Wygant · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beauty of this biography is that it showed the good, the bad, and the ugly. There was clear growth invested as he progressed through life. This was a well-written and well-documented history about an ordinary man as he grew into greatness.

[Evan Sproul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a story of WWII in Europe through the eyes and experience of one man, the title character. The author pieces together documents, letters, interviews, and historical narrative to tell a story, some of which won’t be found in history books.
It was a good read for me.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember Alex Nibley's 1984 documentary on his father, Faith of an Observer. If this book were to be made into a documentary, it would be every bit as good. In book form, however, it reads a little like a scrapbook - clippings here and there, lots of pictures, commentary interspersed throughout. If Hugh Nibley's insights on war were not of interest to me, I'm not sure I would have finished the book. But I'm glad that I did. Toward the end of my reading, the scrapbook seemed more like an unfinished puzzle, and I could sense Alex Nibley's careful placement of each piece. He brings the disparate parts together into a cohesive whole. In the end, I guess that is all anyone can really do, when trying to frame something as utterly destructive as war - re-build the narrative piece by piece. I find Alex Nibley's work compelling, largely because of his sensitivity and candor, and I'm glad he pushed this project through to completion, as it contains insights into the Second World War, as well as his father, that are important and relevant and could very well have been lost to us, the general public. But I found myself wanting to hear more from Hugh Nibley. And not just about the war. His observations are remarkably keen and fresh, and it would have been nice to have his memoirs in their entirety. The autobiographical writings of Hugh Nibley could have been to Latter-Day Saints what Augustine's Confessions are to the rest of Christendom.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea Hugh Nibley was a Screaming Eagle. Band of Brothers is one of my favorite movies and his story parallels that movie/book (I liked the book better). Hugh Nibley is a brilliant man, and at times seemed arrogant about it but his dry humor and honest outlook on life made up for it. What I got most out of this book and war is that death and how you die shouldn't be the most horrible thing that happenes to people but what you do while you are alive that matters. He gives one account of a family about to be killed and a man with the gun about to do the killing and asks which situation would you rather be in. He used one of Dave Grossman's quotes from his book On Killing, which piqued my interest and I read that book after this one. Thus began my WW2, killing, death camp marathon book reading. I know it is morbid but human extreams help me look at and appreciate my life and how I want to live it.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had this book on my shelf for a long time, and finally got around to reading it! I loved the first person account of WWII, and his story closely paralleled the experiences related in the book Band of Brothers. Found myself thinking of my grandpa and getting emotional when the book talked about Dachau and showed pictures of that concentration camp, as my grandpa was one of the American soldiers that helped to liberate that area. All in all, Hugh always thought of himself as an observer of WWII. He was on the front lines of the D-Day invasion, Operation Market-Garden in Holland, and then again at Ardennes and Bastogne. War is truly depressing, but Hugh's honest retelling of experiences and feelings along with clips from several other sources (Victor Frankl, Dwight Eisenhower, Stephen Ambrose, etc) gives one several reasons to hope and to rejoice in the greatness of the human spirit. This book felt like a front row seat of the European Theater of WWII.

[Maggie Maxfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was totally annoyed by the format of this book, with interviews and letters and war memoir excerpts and other personal interviews all loosely strung together with absolutist commentary. But as I went along, I felt like Alex Nibley was really playing to his strengths as a film guy instead of a historian/biographer. I began to read the spliced material as movie scenes, and found much more continuity that way. I found some real gems in this book that I'm still mulling over in my mind: Nibley's own understanding that intellectual vanity was his potential great weakness rather than any other praise of the world; his utter distaste for Germans after his mission juxtaposed with Hitler's initial sympathies toward Jews; his feeling that Catch-22 was the best piece of literature on military life; and his feelings about war which he shared via editorials in BYU's Daily Universe. I really enjoyed this book.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nibley, a 'famous' LDS scholar who writes obscure tomes of ancient religion read by few recounts his experiences in World War II. A neutral view of the war, describing how the greatest generation had nobel AND vile soldiers.

The story starts with Nibley, a missionary serving in Germany who preaches in the same towns as Hitler. The comparison of two men, both with a cause, spreading their doctrine and world view to a Germany humiliated by WW I.

Nibley was recognized early on for his intelligence and aptitude for languages was selected to be part of an intelligence group that was the beginnings of the CIA. He accurately predicted attacks from the Germans, outcomes of battles, and the end of the war. Also, we follow the story of a young man who, prior to the war, was anti-Semitic, but afterwards had a broadened world-view and felt ashamed for his youthful accusations.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved learning about world war 2 and the 101st Airborn's part in it through the eyes of Hugh Nibley (written by his son). Thought the book wasn't very well put together, though. It is more like reading a collection of papers instead of a story- like 1776 was. 1776 flowed and was easier to read because of it. Both were really interesting, though. It really makes you see the stupidity of war. I loved one of the quotes from General Eisenhower about how only a soldier knows the true horrors of war and therefore would do anything in their power to stop a war from happening. I think that is the main problem with our leaders today- most of them have not serve in the armed forces at all, let alone been in a war, so they are all to ready to send someone elses father's and husband's off to do what they think is the right thing to do.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this memoir/biography. Nibley was a brilliant man, a man of academics and faith. This book chronicles his time of service with the 101st Airborne during WWII where his intellect was used in the Battle Ops department. Compiled somewhat like a Ken Burns documentary, Hugh's diary entries, letters, and recollections are interspersed with others' observations and quotes, photos, etc. This was a unique and personal viewpoint from a man who preached as a Mormon missionary on the streets of Germany down the block from a little man with a mustache who later ruled Germany. Nibley interacted with some of the biggest personages of that era, generals and field marshals, royalty and humble unsung heroes. It made for a compelling read. (My husband was the paper boy to the Nibley family for a time in his youth, and he grew up knowing some of the Nibley children and their genius father.)

[Shad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I wasn't terribly excited about this book when Heather and the kids gave it to me for Father's Day. However, the timing for my reading of it has worked out very well, and I am able to relate to a lot of what he has to say and some of the experiences, feelings and thoughts he discusses. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a scholarly work, but it is currently of great personal interest to me and contains some very thought-provoking and moving stories.

I haven't finished this yet, but I will probably do so today or tomorrow and am eagerly awaiting a box of books Heather sent a couple weeks ago as reading is one of my predominant activities here.

I have finished it and enjoyed it, though out of personal rather than academic interest.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that shares Hugh Nibley's experiences in the war. I chose to read this book because I have enjoyed what I have read from Hugh Nibley and think he is an amazing scholar. I did not enjoy this book at all. I just don't enjoy any books or anything else for that matter where you cannot find anything uplifting or inspirational....This book was lacking in this regard. I just think my time reading could have been spent in a better book. That being said you can learn alot about the realities of war from this book.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have preferred this as an article, say in BYU Studies or Dialogue. Surely anyone interested in reading this book would have a basic understanding of mormonism, World War II, and at least Nibley's reputation. Extended quotations from Stephen Ambrose, Viktor Frankl, Winston Churchill etc were unnecessary, and footnotes such as "The British Empire was the largest empire the world has ever known," condescending.
It is interesting that Nibley stormed Utah Beach on D-Day and was attached to the 101st Airborne, though.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more history of Hugh Nibley in the war than anything else. I liked it, but I don't know if anyone who isn't fascinated with Hugh Nibley would particularly care for it. I follows his schooling and degrees, his enlistment and his attachment to the 101st Airborne. He landed in Normandy on D-Day, fought in the battle of the Bulge and liberated the Eagle's Nest. Very cool stuff. It was neat to read about his mission to Germany only years before he fought. The coauthor ( his son) is a documentary film-maker and it is apparent in the style and format of the book. It was an interesting read.

[Allen Elggren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Served a mission in Germany about the same time as Dad. Was in Military Intelligence as was Dad and in some of the areas as Dad.

I learned about healthy detachment. "After some fuss we are at last able to view this situation again with some measure of detachment. Viewing situations with detachment is my peculiar business, and the only interesting job in the war. Only when the view becomes more important thatn that detachment, interest tends to give place to alarm and as you know, I scare easily." p 146. (From a letter written just after D-Day.)

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Future religious scholar had many close calls as a 37 year old sergeant working intelligence for the 101st Airborne Division. Already a PhD, he spoke German, Russian and Dutch so he was quite in demand. His observations of the war are a cut above what an 18 year old soldier observed. One of the many amazing experiences was that he saw Hitler's henchman Martin Bormann in Bavaria after the war was over. Bormann has long been rumored to have survived the war and moved to Argentina. Nibley's sighting adds to the evidence.

[Paul Finch · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite BYU and LDS teachers, the passing of Brother Nibley recently, is the end of an era in Mormonism. It is a great loss. His son, Alex, has honored him through this book, as his son-in-law did in an earlier book, by sharing Hugh's letters and thoughts on the military during WWII and its meaning. I love this book as I love Brother Nibley as it shows him as I remember him in his talks and writings.