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Flags of Our Fathers
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Flags of Our Fathers
Unavailable
Flags of Our Fathers
Audiobook13 hours

Flags of Our Fathers

Written by James Bradley and Ron Powers

Narrated by Stephen Hoye

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Flags of Our Fathers is the unforgettable chronicle of perhaps the most famous moment in American military history: the raising of the U. S. flag at Iwo Jima. Here is the true story behind the immortal photograph that has come to symbolize the courage and indomitable will of America.

In February 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima-and into history. The son of one of the flag raisers has written a powerful account of six very different men who came together in the heroic battle for the Pacific's most crucial island.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 17, 2006
ISBN9781415928356
Unavailable
Flags of Our Fathers
Author

James Bradley

James Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade, and Ghost Species; a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus; and The Penguin Book of the Ocean. Alongside his books, James has an established career as an essayist and reviewer, whose work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, The Monthly, Sydney Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, Meanjin, and Griffith Review. His fiction has won or been shortlisted for a wide range of Australian and international literary awards, and his nonfiction has been shortlisted twice for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing and nominated for a Walkley Award. In 2012, he won the Pascall Award for Australia’s Critic of the Year. He is currently an Honorary Associate at the Sydney Environment Centre at the University of Sydney.

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Reviews for Flags of Our Fathers

Rating: 4.1489562170777985 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The author, the son of one of the subjects of the iconic photograph of marines raising the stars and stripes during the Battle of Iwo Jima, follows all six of the flag raisers from enlistment through the battle, and then on to their lives post-battle as they dealt with the fame stemming from being in the photo.Of course the survivors are also dealing with their memories of battle; the best part of the book is the description of the fighting, which was as brutal as any in the history of warfare. The Japanese defending the island knew they had no chance of holding it against such superior numbers. Their plan was to make the Americans pay such a high price that they would shrink from future campaigns and give up on invading the home islands. The defenders thus had no exit plan, and were all expected to die gloriously in battle. They had constructed a series of caves and pillboxes, and basically were "inside the island" rather than on it, so the US marines found themselves being shot at by an enemy they could not see.Three of the flag raisers never made it off the island, dying in subsequent combat, but the author follows the tribulations of their families too. He focuses most on his father, a naval corpsman attached to the marines for the battle, both because he has the most information and interest in him and because he lived the longest and had the most consequential post-war life.Of course the photo was of an event of little significance- Mount Suribachi had been captured and was secure, and this was in fact the raising of a second flag to replace the first one that had been raised a few hours earlier. While this point is made over and over in the book, one is struck by why there is thus so much focus on the event in the writing- it might have been more interesting to focus on the rest of the battle. On the other hand, the six soldiers are a wonderfully diverse group of classic American GI stereotypes- Kentucky farmboy, Wisconsin Catholic future undertaker, Texas 7th Day Adventist football player, Manchester NH mill worker, reservation-living Native American, and Czech immigrant son of a blue collar worker.The book can be repetitive, and it's not as well-written as the European theater books of Stephen Ambrose. But well worth a read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I mean it's O.K.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good example of how stories gain momentum through the media. A fine telling of the story of the early battle of Iwo Jima, the soldiers who raised the flag, and who the true heroes were in the Pacific War.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    an enjoyable read
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The reading of Flags of Our Fathers was very timely. February 19th marked the anniversary of the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima, Japan. The first word that comes to mind when I think about Flags of our Fathers is respect. This was a book written with the utmost respect, not only for the author's own father, but for the other five men responsible for raising the flag on Japan's Iwo Jima. Everyone knows the photograph born of that historical event but not many can name the six men involved. In fact, even fewer would guess there were six men there. Unless you scrutinize the photograph, at first glance, there are only four. James Bradley, with the help of Ron Powers, brings to life all six men. He brings them out of historical obscurity and into present-day focus.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Really good book. I would say that it is really cool how he gets you almost inside the head of the people who raised the flag.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is another not so recently published book that speaks eloquently about the experiences of the American infantryman during World War II – in this instance primarily the experiences of the Marine rifleman in the Pacific theater. I avoided reading James Bradley’s “Flags of Our Fathers” for years because I underestimated both this book and the author. I claimed the historian’s skepticism of an unknown author writing on a topic of which I already knew a good deal from my own studies (including the controversy and allegations that the photo was posed), and more personally I expected a sentimental and even emotionally overwrought tale of father-son bonding left too late. I think that in admitting my error I can safely claim that at least I have only rarely been this wrong about something.James Bradley has presented us in “Flags of Our Fathers” with what is in fact a rather complex work. It is the story of a son reaching out to know more of the untold story of a father, it is a military history of one of our bloodiest conflicts – the war with Japan that crossed the Pacific Ocean and back, it is the story of how the experience of war and close combat can and does effect men and in turn their families, it is the story of the power of an image and how we relate to a powerful image individually and as a society or as institutions within or that represent that society. As a historian, I enjoyed his ability to work with documents, people, places, and the artifacts of war to present as complete an account as possible of a moment in history – tracing back to its earliest roots and carrying the story forward to examine its lasting impact on individuals and even the nations represented.As in the other theaters of war that we place together in that intellectual box we label World War II, combat in the Pacific was not a constant unchanging reality. The fighting on Guadalcanal, in the Philippines, on Tarawa, and on Iwo Jima, for example, shared only the reality of men fighting and dying. Bradley’s narrative does a good job of identifying and discussing this evolution that in simplest terms went from fighting off banzai charges to the hard slog of digging a hidden enemy out of his bunkers, caves, spider holes, and trenches – an enemy whose from was invisible even as he laid down a deadly fire with every weapon at his disposal. The author also places this experience of the ground war in its proper context within a war that called upon the full range of combined arms – artillery, tanks, naval gunfire, and aircraft – to which was ultimately added a new, ultimate weapon in the atomic bomb.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a hard book to read as my father was a SeaBee who landed on Iwo Jima with the Marines and was put to work building the airfield so desperately needed by the bomber pilots on their return trips from their missions to Japan. The book held me to the very end even though it didn't really cover the role of the SeaBees. What a shame that story has never been covered adequately.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. Why I love reading WWII books completely escapes me but the research that went into this book is incredible. The details horrify and engage me. This is an excellent book to understand why Iwo Jima, how, and at what cost. It also gives a moment by moment commentary of the seconds of the flag raising. Includes how each of the six flag bearers lived and died.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've wanted to read this book since I read an excerpt from it in Reader's Digest ages ago, and I saw the two Clint Eastwood-directed movies on Iwo Jima last year.It was an intriguing read, starting slow with the backgrounds of the flag raisers and then become downright intense during the battle scenes. Wow. I'm guessing the battle descriptions were written by Mr. Powers, and I must say they were astounding. Horryifying, yet astounding. The six men who raised the second flag are described in great detail, but the seventh character is just as interesting - The Photograph. The Photograph takes on a life of its own as a symbol and propaganda tool, even as terrible gossip becomes accepted as fact due to inept, hasty reporting. The Photograph haunts the survivors till their deaths, and it could be argued that it exacerbated them (especially in the tragic case of Ira Hayes). It's really a beautifully done tribute to the Marines killed on Iwo Jima, and the lingering impact that this sulfur island had on the ones who miraculously survived. Very good, thought-provoking book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Flags of our Fathers' is not only the story of the raising of the flag at Iwa Jima, is is a study of the Marines and of the men who knew that there were ideas that were much bigger than themselves or their individual rights. It is a story of how these men were trained , and how it was ingrained in their minds that Marines never leave marines behind. Time after time you see how ordinary men preformed extraordinary feats. This is a book that should be read by every young man before he graduates form high school. It should be read by everyone before they become a citizen. This is a book in which the author does not seek to be "fair and balanced" but rather he seeks to tell the truth as it was. It is the story of how America was used to defeat an evil empire and the men of the greatest generation.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A graphic, compelling story of the six men who were forever remembered as the flagraisers on Iwo Jima. Written by the son of one of the men, the book takes us through the background, training and war of each of them. We learn how men of ordinary circumstances in civilian life performed extraordinary acts in battle. We see the horror of Iwo Jima as remembered by the friends of the flagraisers and we learn of the after-effects of battle on different personalities as they came home and tried to adjust back to civilian life. An intimate look into the family of one of the flagraisers, Jack Bradley, who performed courageously in battle as a Navy medic, but chose to turn off the war like a lightswitch when he came home, bury his memories and disdain the constant pull of those seeking his story. In the light of modern psychological theories on repression, his ability to lead a successful life and rear a good family was a remarkable victory as well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A wonderful look into that famous photograph of Iwo Jima. But beyond that, it's a wonderful look into several lives that just happened to come together at the taking of that photo, and a touching look by a son into his father's life. Heartwarming, educational and inspiring.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved this book. This book made me want to learn more about iwo Jima. I think the movie adaptation was very accuarate too.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I can't describe what this book did to me. I cried for weeks. It really messed me up. emotionally powerful. Great account of the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. You really get to know them. true american heros. 100 times better and way more emotional than the movie.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent account of the men who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi and the events both before and after the immortal photograph, while debunking the myths surrounding this defining moment in history. A must read for any Marine or student of Marine Corps history.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent review that introduces the reader to the six boys who became men and eventually raised the American Flag in the famous Marine photo. Higly recommend as not only a book on war but also a book about coming of age and how boys grew up in the Marines and in World War II.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    James Bradley is the son of John Bradley, one of the six Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. The Marines and the Japanese were in a fight to the death with no quarter given. The fighting on this island was one of the decisive factors in the decision to drop the atomic bomb. There were many instances of outstanding courage, but the picture set these six men apart forever. Great book, about ordinary men doing great things.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    James Bradley apologizes for not being an author, but on a back-cover blurb Stephen Ambrose calls this “The best battle book I ever read”. Bradley’s father Jack was a Navy Corpsman attached to the 5th Marine Division, found himself on Iwo Jima in 1945, climbed Mount Suribachi with the others in his unit, and helped put up a flag. We know the story; it’s frozen in one of the most iconic photographs ever taken and sculpted in bronze in Washington, D.C.
    Bradley’s approach is to track the six men in the statue – his father Jack, sergeant Mike Strank, and privates Franklin Sousley, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes and Harlon Block. You couldn’t ask for much more of an All-American team; Bradley was a middle-class Midwesterner from Wisconsin, Strank a second generation immigrant from the Pennsylvania steel country, Block a Texas farm boy, Gagnon a French-Canadien from New Hampshire, Sousley a freckle-faced boy from Kentucky, Hayes a Pima Indian. I expect you know what happened on Iwo Jima; Strank, Block and Sousley didn’t come back. Gagnon tried to parlay his role in the flag-raising to some sort of prime job – and ended up as a janitor. Hayes killed himself slowly, with alcohol. Bradley came home to Appleton, Wisconsin, never talked about the war (or told his family he’d won a Navy Cross) and when reporters called on the anniversary of the flag-raising was always “on vacation fishing in Canada” – despite the fact he didn’t fish and had never been to Canada. Bradley, of course, devotes more attention to his father than the others – solid family man, small businessman, loving father and husband – and, to be fair, he’s the only flag-raiser whose story didn’t end poorly.
    Except that it’s been proven that Jack Bradley wasn’t one of the flag raisers.
    So what’s up with that? Jack Bradley obviously knew he wasn’t one of the flag-raisers. Did he have some sort of arrangement with Harold Schultz, the actual man in the photo, to “take the heat”, so to speak? Just to make it clear, Bradley really was a hero – the Navy Cross wasn’t for the flag-raising but for going to aid another Marine through intense machine-gun fire. And Bradley was definitely in A flag-raising, just not THE flag-raising; he had helped in the first flag-raising on Suribachi, with a small flag; the iconic photo is of its replacement with a larger flag. You’d think maybe it was a mistake – but the research proving it was Schultz and not Bradley was convincing enough for the Marines to modify the statue and replace Bradley’s face with Schultz’s. Bradley wrote the book long before this came out; ironically in his introduction he says his father is the most recognizable person in the photograph. He also notes that Marines on Iwo Jima thought the first flag-raising was the important one and the second sort of an afterthought; perhaps that was Jack Bradley’s reason for silence; he’d done everything his comrades expected of him and more; he’d raised an American flag in victory on Mt. Suribachi; and explaining any further just wasn’t part of his character. Still, it just seems a little off-putting.
    All that aside, this is a pretty good book. As Ambrose said, the story of boys growing up all over the US and men in combat in the Pacific is as good as they come and obviously a labor of love. Photographs of the participants; a decent map of the Iwo Jima campaign; endnotes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Narrated by Stephen Hoye. The author was never fully aware of his father’s experience in the battle of Iwo Jima during WWII, especially his role in the famous flag-raising picture, until after his father’s death. Through interviews with Iwo survivors, family members, and relatives of Iwo soldiers, the author tells the story of the horrors of battle, the two flag-raisings, and the reluctant heroes that were the three surviving flag-raisers: his father Doc Bradley, Rene Gagnon and Ira Hayes. Very rich story; really learned a lot about WWII and the Pacific battles, and the famous picture will forever have additional meaning for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Audio book read by Stephen Hoye

    A lucky photograph captured the imagination of the American people and helped raise the spirits of a nation (and LOTS of money in war bonds). This is the background story of the famous shot of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima.

    Author James Bradley’s father was one of those six young men whose lives were changed by a photographer taking one more shot. In trying to explain his father’s long years of silence about his experiences during World War 2, Bradley discovered not only John “Doc” Bradley’s story, but that of the other men who fought to take Iwo Jima.

    Though he spends a good part of the book giving us background on the six young men whose destinies would converge on Mount Suribachi during one of the bloodiest battles of the war in the Pacific, Bradley manages to keep the story moving forward. He walks a fine line between personal anecdote and the tension of a battlefield report.

    Stephen Hoye is best when reading the battle scenes. When he slows down to give importance to a phrase or section his voice takes on an irritating quality that detracts from the message. Trust the listener, Mr Hoye. We will figure out what is important without your “acting” it for us. Despite this irritation, I still give the book 5 stars because Bradley’s work is gripping, emotional, dramatic, touching and inspirational.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Now here's how you write a history book! This follows the life of the six Marines that are in the famous picture that was later made in to statues to honor the Marine Corps. There names were Mike Strank, Franklin Sousley and Harlon Block, Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley. The first three died in action and never made it off Iwo Jima. Mr. Bradley is the author's father, and by refusing to talk to his family about the battle, indirectly inspiring his son to write this fine book. There is a rather brief look at their childhood, details of their training and their action on Iwo and a few chapters on the War Bond fundraising tours that the survivors were asked to participate in. A large part of the narrative is taken from quotes and writings of the six soldiers and their friends, families and soldier buddies, as many people as the author could find to talk to. To me, that's what sets this book apart from the majority of bland history texts. There is definitely a personal and emotional connection that is rare in the non-fiction world. I highly recommend it to casual readers who may not want to read a war story about arguably the most horrific battle in the modern era. The blood and guts is kept to a minimum (but what constitutes the minimum in such a bloody battle?) and the emotion on many levels is important and should be read by every American to get a sense of what our soldiers have had to do in a REAL war.

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