Ordinary Heroes is a tribute to the millions of men and women who served in WW II who exhibited outstanding heroism in the face of War. They stepped through this chaos and carried on with a life of meaning and worth. As seen through the eyes of a son who wanted to know his dad's story, which he never discusses.
Helpful Score: 1
A complete change of subject for Scott Turow, but written well (as are his mysteries) This book describes the secret life that a son discovers when, after the death of his father; he reads the letters written by his father during WWII. There is also conflict with family members who do not want it all forgotten.
Helpful Score: 1
Scott Turow's good writing but in a different setting from his usual courtroom dramas. It gave me a better understanding of the soldiers in WW II.
Scott Turow switches his usual story line in this book, but hasn't lost his master storyteller's touch. A son researches his late father's service in Europe during World War II, learning volumes about his parents, and ultimately himself.
Stewart Dubinsky knew his father, David, had served in World War II, but had been told very little about his experiences. When he finds, after his father's death, a packet of wartime letters for a former fiancee' and learned of David's court-martial, Stewart is driven to uncover the truth about this engimatic, distant man he never knew.
Stewart knew his father, David, had served in WW11 but had been told very little about his experiences. Then he finds a packet of wartime letters to a former fiancee and learns of his court-martial, Stewart is driven to uncover the truth.
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A story of a WWII hero krpt from his family until his son dares to follow up and learn the truth after his father's death.
Stewart Dobinsky never understood, or liked very much, his father. Following his father's death he followed clues in old correspondence to learn about a military investigation, a suspected murder, and an emaciated holocaust survivor that his father may or may not have loved.
It was a great read. The back pannel summary did not do the book justice. A facinating blend of history and fiction.
Slow start, but got better as it went along. The story is pretty believable. His main character(s) still have the Kindle County connection, although that isn't a central part of the story.
As usual with Turow, a very good read.
Great read by this NY Times best selling author. Best of his I've read.
If there were more than five stars I would have awarded them.
Stewart Dubinsky knew his father, David, had served in World War II, but had been told very little about his experiences. When he finds, after his father's death, a packet of wartime letters to a former fiancee and learns of David's court-martial, Stewart is driven to uncover the truth about this enigmatic, distant man he never knew. Using military archives, old letters, and David's own notes, he discovers that David, a JAG lawyer, had pursued a maverick U.S. officer in Europe, fallen in love with a beautiful resistance fighter, and fought in the war's deadliest conflicts. In reconstructing the terrible events and agonizing choices his father faced on the battlefield, in the courtroom, and in love, Stewart gains a closer understanding of his father's secret past and of the brutal nature of war itself.
Fantastic book.. Character are fantastice; writing at some points intense.. Loved it & recomend it highly.. About soldier in WWII
Story of WWII....very well told...and I usually don't like war stories.
It's very well written and paced, I really enjoyed this book!
"One of the best pieces of writing Turow has done." -- New York Times Book Review
"A terrific read...moving and exciting...powerful." -- Chicago Sun-Times
"A terrific read...moving and exciting...powerful." -- Chicago Sun-Times
EXCELLENT
I like Scott Turow and his legal thriller books. He makes a slight departure in this book, however, by telling a story about a son learning about a secret part of his father's life, framed against the backdrop of the second World War. I found it very readable -- in fact, I read it in one sitting!
Excellent!
Different from his other fiction books (although the main character mentions Kindle County).
This is not the ordinary Turow book, however it does hold your attention. World War 2 story, and well done. A look into the terrible conditions and the happenings of the era.
Good Read!
Another excellent book by Scott Turow. A son's search for his father's activities as a lawyer during WWII.
"Poignant and gritty....The author's action sequences do plenty to quicken the pulse." Booklist
Initially this novel was a bit hard to get into, but that changed as it began to encompass many different aspects of World War II history. It became more than just a story about a son trying to understand his father's role in the war.
The book exposed the reader to the OSS, the U.S. secret organization which fought the undercover war, but also that of the common soldier's experience in combat for the first time and then day after day after day. The reader is exposed to the experience of concentration camp victims, and their liberators; the growing tension between the Western Allies and Soviet Union; and the numbing cold of the winter of 1944-45.
I found it interesting the author changed the identity of two divisions. One he constantly refers to is the 18th Armored Division, which was never formed. Another is the 106th Infantry Division which he calls by another name. I could understand the former, as he creates a fictionalized division commander as a main character, but not the latter as he refers to it only a few times.
And on one page he gives General Patton's Third Army the credit for being the first across the Rhine, when it fact that honor belonged to the American First Army. Plus, he states Patton's beating the British across was the reason he was relieved of Third Army command at the end of the European War. Not true. Patton was relieved for other good reasons, his big mouth and his too lenient attitude, if not actual encouragement, of the German prisoners of war.
There are also a number of surprises in the book, which added to the 'mystery' the main character's son was investigating. If you are into World War II novels, you should read this one. Fortunately, as of today, there are a number of copies available.
The book exposed the reader to the OSS, the U.S. secret organization which fought the undercover war, but also that of the common soldier's experience in combat for the first time and then day after day after day. The reader is exposed to the experience of concentration camp victims, and their liberators; the growing tension between the Western Allies and Soviet Union; and the numbing cold of the winter of 1944-45.
I found it interesting the author changed the identity of two divisions. One he constantly refers to is the 18th Armored Division, which was never formed. Another is the 106th Infantry Division which he calls by another name. I could understand the former, as he creates a fictionalized division commander as a main character, but not the latter as he refers to it only a few times.
And on one page he gives General Patton's Third Army the credit for being the first across the Rhine, when it fact that honor belonged to the American First Army. Plus, he states Patton's beating the British across was the reason he was relieved of Third Army command at the end of the European War. Not true. Patton was relieved for other good reasons, his big mouth and his too lenient attitude, if not actual encouragement, of the German prisoners of war.
There are also a number of surprises in the book, which added to the 'mystery' the main character's son was investigating. If you are into World War II novels, you should read this one. Fortunately, as of today, there are a number of copies available.
Turow is an extremely gifted writer. This one is different from his others but definitely a great read. Highly recommended!
A BIT DIFFERANT BUT A GREAT READ
Takes place in WW11. Excellent book.
Different from his other books, but still very good!
A bit slow in the beginning but a good read.
I love this author, but could not get into this book. Maybe too much based on the War as I'm not into war. It is a story of how a son tires to understand his father after his death.
A most unusual tale, the characters are well rounded, and startling in their journey. A novel of war but also of a family learning about the father and why they are Ordinary Heroes. I was sad that it ended.
This is a great book,I just hope the Hollywood wonks never find this book and want to make a movie because there is no one on the Left Coast that do justice to this book,Read it,but be prepared to stay up late.
While going through papers left after his father's death, a man is led on an obsessive odyssey to find the secrets of his father's WWII experiences.
From Publishers Weekly: "When retired newspaperman Stewart Dubinsky (last seen in 1987's Presumed Innocent) discovers letters his deceased father wrote during his tour of duty in WWII, a host of family secrets come to light. In Turow's ambitious, fascinating page-turner, a "ferocious curiosity" compels the divorced Dubinsky to study his "remote, circumspect" father's papers, which include love letters written to a fiancée the family had never heard of, and a lengthy manuscript, which his father wrote in prison and which includes the shocking disclosure of his father's court-martial for assisting in the escape of OSS officer Robert Martin, a suspected spy. The manuscript, hidden from everyone but the attorney defending him, tells of Capt. David Dubin's investigation into Martin's activities and of both men's entanglements with fierce, secretive comrade Gita Lodz. From optimistic soldier to disenchanted veteran, Dubinwho, via the manuscript, becomes the book's de facto narratordescribes the years of violence he endured and of a love triangle that exacted a heavy emotional toll. Dubinsky's investigations prove revelatory at first, and life-altering at last. Turow makes the leap from courtroom to battlefield effortlessly." Copyright © Reed Business Information
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