Battle Cry by Leon Uris Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.41 You Save: $3.58 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Battle Cry
Book Review: A 5 Star Read From a Talented Writer
Summary: 5 Stars
This excellent novel deserves five stars for its readability and its accuracy. Several things about its design work extremely well. First, the narrator, Mac, never gets in the way. You never learn much about his personality, so he stays in the background, never distracting you from learning about the other characters or from following the plot. Second, the dialogue worked well for me. Uris drops you right into each scene by having minimal description. Instead, you learn about the characters and the story by "eavesdropping" - you are literally part of the scene. He does this effectively by using military terms and slang that civilians are not familiar with, and not explaining them to the reader. At times, you can figure it out from the context, and at times you cannot, but this just adds to the "believability" of the novel. Also, rarely does Uris tell you who the speaker is once the dialogue gets going. I look at that as a plus, as he never spoils the moment with a distraction from the narrator.
Finally, as to accuracy, I never served in the military, but Uris did. In fact, he served as a radioman (the unit that is followed in the novel) in the very Battalion that he follows through WWII. You have to trust his accuracy. I can't believe that someone who saw good men fight and die would ever distort their protrayal, even in a work of fiction.
Some have criticized the characters as thinly developed. To some extent that is true, but this novel is about the men, collectively, who served in WWII, in particular, in the Marines in the Pacific in combat. To that extent, they were developed enough to get the reader involved. I could certainly see (and feel) what it was like to have experienced the war, both for those who fought it and for those family members who worried back home. I think many of us know people who did both.
I read "Trinity" over 30 years ago and loved it. Now that I have read Battle Cry, I have rediscovered Leon Uris. I'll be reading more from him over the next year.
I highly recommend this novel.
Book Review: A Great Historical Fiction That Builds In Intensity
Summary: 4 Stars
"Battle Cry" is a book my daughter had bought me for my birthday two years ago. Regrettably, it took me some time to begin reading it. I found it a little hard to get into in the early chapters. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, a la "Dr. Zhivago", and the narrative has slow periods. I considered setting it aside a time or two.
But I kept with it, and over time it began to hook me. The character development reminded me of "Lonesome Dove", and soon I became eager to get to the next page. When I had 100 pages to go, I could not put it down.
I think that I will read it again, so that I can get more out of the slow spots. This is where Leon Uris imparts a lot of the tedium and monotony of Marine life.
I would recommend that any reader of historical fiction, action, and/or WWII read this book. In fact, I should think it an essential for the libraries of any of the above. In hindsight, I can say that I did thoroughly enjoy it.
Book Review: A Great Tribute to the WWII USMC
Summary: 5 Stars
A great story about the boys of the 2/6th Marine Regiment (The Pogey Bait 6th) If you want a great novel about some great troops that fought in some really tough fights (The Canal, Tarawa, Saipan)this is worth your attention. They are also some great examples of leadership shown in the old school way.
Well worth the time to read.
Book Review: A War Novel From One Who Knows!
Summary: 5 Stars
Leon Uris has written an excellent novel about a division of Marines fighting in the Pacific. Starting from their pre-Marine days, Uris gives us a glimpse of where they came from. The book takes the reader from boot camp all the way to the Pacific. This is a gripping novel, written in 1953 by the late Uris. We follow them through battle, and we see the lucky ones come home. An outstanding WWII novel.Book Review: A must read about WWII.
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the best books I've ever read. Gives a realistic account of WW II and depicts war as it really is. A classic!
More Battle Cry reviews:
1 2
1 2