Jeff Shaara: To The Last Man

[brk_3]

This book was outstanding. Jeff Shaara brings WWI to life in the 600 plus pages. This story of the Great War is told primarily from the points of view of 4 men: General John J. Pershing (leader of the American forces in WWI), Raoul Luftbery (a French/American fighter pilot of the Lafayette Escadrille), Manfred von Richthofen ( a German fighter pilot better known as the Red Baron), and Private Roscoe Temple (U.S. Marine Corps). Sure there are more characters in the book but the book revolves around these four main characters.
Most stories or even movies for that matter on WWI focus in on the trench warfare that occurred during this war. With two of the four main characters being fighter pilots, the First half or more of this book focused on the battle in the skies. Shaara’s depiction of early aviation warfare was awesome. Not only was this enjoyable to read but very educational. It was quite obvious that the author did extensive research while writing this novel.
Shaara doesn’t disappoint readers that enjoy reading about WWI’s trench warfare. Battles of Blanc Mont Ridge, Battle of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Meuse Argonne are brought to life from the points of view of Private Roscoe Temple of the U.S. Marines. The description and details of action during these battle scenes makes you unable to put the book down.

 

[abecedarian]

Thanks for the review. I've wondered about To the Last Man since I enjoyed Rise to Rebellion. I'm on my library site right now anyway; I think I'll request this while I'm there!

 

[brk_3]

yea I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, not that I was going into it with low expectations. It's just that some times large history novels can be very dry. This was not dry at all.

A family member of mine has read Shaara's (both Jeff and Michael) Civil War novels and really enjoyed them and has often recommended these.

 

[readsalot]

I might have to try this book, 600 pgs is a little on the large size for me....I tend to go with books that won't kill me if I try to read while lying down.