I adored Anton Myrer's "Last Convertible" years ago -- it's a beautiful tale of young friends in a lost time. But now I'm deep into Myrer's "Once an Eagle," a breathtaking book about, of all things, a professional soldier, who gets his start before WW 1 and is exactly the kind of military man you want every single military man (or woman) to be. Brilliant. A fevered student of history. Willing to look at warfare as a chess game, seeing many moves ahead. Brave. Loyal. No fan of fighting for fighting's sake, but willing to do the tough things in order to bring an end to the war he's in.
One of the critics calls this book "America's War and Peace." It's required reading for many West Pointers. The New York Times wrote that "for the military, it was not just a book, but a revelation."
There's also a miniseries, apparently, with Sam Eliot as the hero, Sam Damon. And a fan page that has clips from it.
Read it. Then read "Last Convertible." Between them, they may take months, but you'll love having books that you can't wait to get back to. They're old-fashioned, none of this post-modernist style or artsy writing, but you'll keep compulsively turning pages till you've turned them all.
4 comments:
This is required reading at West Point, I believe.
I absolutely adore The Last Convertible. I used to keep my copy in my desk to read at work. I was never able to get into any of his other works though. I'll have to try again.
love love loved Last convertible. I have to try once an eagle again, I'm in the same boat as Stacy where I couldnt get into it the first time i tried.
This book is one of the greatest novels written (imo). I served in the Coast Guard,and was reading this while active duty. It changed my life. The book is amazing.
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