Helpful Score: 6
This is the powerful story of a war hero and his memoirs. In it we learn much of what matters most. As prisoner (and later Senator) McCain instructs us: Glory is not an end in itself, but rather a reward for valor and faith. He was a prisoner of war in a brutal prison camp in North Vietnam.
Helpful Score: 4
Wonderful book! You really get to know McCain's character with this book.
Helpful Score: 4
I enjoy reading about people, and though this was a memoir, not a biography, John McCain wrote quite a bit about the people in his life. He described his grandparents and parents, his grandfather's and father's military careers, his childhood and schooling, his experiences at the Naval Academy and the "Code of Honor", his first wife and their children, and most dramatic and fascinating...his years as a POW. The writing flowed easily, like a life story being told in a very natural chronological order. The hardest part for me was the descriptions of military strategy and battles, something I'm not normally interested in and found tedious. However, they were necessary to the story. On the whole, I liked the book and thought it good.
So, so. First half is about his father and grandfathers navy careers. Second half is his experiences as prisoner in Viet Nam.
It boils down to the insanity of war and those that lead and participate in it.
It boils down to the insanity of war and those that lead and participate in it.
The later chapters re the Vietnam experience hold your interest, but, on the whole, the book's qulity of writing may leave a little to be desired.
