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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
This book is a great tribute to the Heroes Jan 15, 2008 This is a very personal book for me considering my dad was on the Nashville during this time. The book takes the it to a personal level telling the stories of the men who served, and gave their lives, on the Nashville. There are a few typos, but overall it is well written and published. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to experience what these young men saw and felt.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A Realistic Picture Jan 04, 2008 Mr. Bustin has painted a poignant and realistic picture of boys becoming men in the face of fear, hardship, and death. Not only has he given the facts but he has brought to life the first-hand accounts of young men leaving home for the first time, some from the prairie's of Kansas and others coming down out of the hills of Tennessee to spend years in the middle of an ocean, the South Pacific. I know some of those now elderly gentlemen whose lives were shaped by their experiences on the USS Nashville, and there is no doubt that the author has aptly portrayed the story of kamikaze attacks, lonely sailors in Australia, and the pride of returning General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
recommended with reservations Dec 09, 2007 Humble Heroes overall is a quality book as described by the other reviews. I would've rated it a 4/5 instead of a 3 had it not been for a few negative issues that I felt detracted from it. The positive of the book are covered in other reviews nicely so I will focus on what I thought were negatives:
I found most of the photos are dark and poorly printed compared with other similar book subjects. (perhaps the hardcover edition is better?) The pages the photos are printed on are the same as the text pages so the photos come across predominantly black compared to a wider range of greys seen on the glossy photo pages in most books.
The book has numerous typos, some relatively insignificant (like "sates" for "states") but others are more significant. For example, it states HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk on Dec 8, 1945, when they were actually sunk back in 1941 (and on Dec 10).
There was also one reference to Tomcats (the aircraft) being used in WWII - clearly poor research as there were no Tomcats in use until the 1970s! (although they made a sci-fi appearance in 1941 in the time-traveling movie "The Final Countdown"....)
The first indication that there was some poor research was in the preface. The author states "great ships like the Enterprise, Hornet, Arizona, and Missouri, all of which are museums or a national cemetary in the case of the ill-fated Arizona". The famous Enterprise (CV-6) of WWII fame was in fact scrapped by 1960, so obviously it is not a musuem (unfortunately). My assumption is the Hornet the author is referencing is the Hornet (CV-8) from the Doolittle Raid since it is the only Hornet referenced in the book, especially considering the Nashville's role in the raid. In any case, the Hornet (CV-8) was sunk in Oct 1942, same year as the raid. There was a second Hornet (CV-12) named in honor of the Hornet lost in 1942 which is actually a museum today, so I can give the author the benefit in this case although an uninformed reader would not realize that there are two Hornets being referenced.
I actually would've liked a longer book with more operational detail and personal stories. Granted the text portion covers almost 170 pages alone, I'm sure there is a lot more interesting anecdotes and stories that could've been shared.
Had it not been for several cases of errors/typos like these I mentioned (and others not) I would've rated the book higher. In the back of my mind as I read it I wondered if there were more errors that I just didn't realize were actually errors?
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A must-read for anyone who appreciates a good war story Aug 31, 2007 The story of the young men who served their country aboard the USS Nashville during WWII is truly a remarkable story, and it is brought to life through the diligent research efforts and vivid storytelling of the book's author, Steven Bustin. For anyone who is fascinated by a good war story, this book ranks right up there with the best of them. It successfully covers a lot of ground for a relatively quick read -- describing the war strategies and maneuvers that seem almost archaic today, and paying great attention to the details of the magnificent ship itself. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book take the form of anecdotes about the crewman themselves -- not just their stories of heroism and bravery (of which there are many), but of everyday life aboard the ship. You get a sense of what life must have been like for these "humble heroes" during those challenging times, and it makes you thankful that they are our countrymen.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Extensive Research and Good Writing Pays Off Aug 24, 2007 Writer Bustin obviously worked extremely hard to document the facts in Humble Heroes, not only through U.S. sources and those who served on the USS Nashville, but also digging through a number of foreign sources, including Japanese naval records. The result is what I consider to be an astounding account of the Nashville's capabilities and the dedicated, courageous crew's performance under extreme stress at a critical juncture in our nation's history. Bustin brings the war and the Nashville's greatness to life and he makes it a point to give all sides of the story.
I bought this book because I had the opportunity to meet one of the men who served on the Nashville and played a heroic role as young seaman, John Bosier, who now lives in Michigan. Had I not met him, I probably would not have bought the book because I normally just don't buy military historical accounts. Having said that, I'd recommend it to anybody who just might need or want an account which brings alive what the military did for us in WWII (and ever since for that matter). Without folks like John, his shipmates and all the others who served at home and abroad, we certainly wouldn't be enjoying the freedoms we are enjoying today. There are lessons to be learned from this book which we would do well to remember in our current societal, foreign policy and military environment; specifically, stay the course and support our military to the hilt if you want to win and keep America free.
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