Thomas F. (hardtack) -
Anytime you have a book listing the "100 Most.....," you know there are going to be problems. This is often because the authors make statements proving they didn't do enough research. And this book is a good example. In the first 100 pages of this book I identified over 20 problems and then stopped listing them. When you see this many mistakes, you wonder how many you missed. And you also wonder why the research wasn't as thorough as it should have been. I won't list all here, but I will point out some interesting ones.
The official name of the Medal of Honor is simply that. While often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor, fortunately Congress has no role in determining who receives that award.
Despite what is often believed, the costliest project of the war was not the atomic bomb, but the B-29 program.
The author has U.S. paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division "dropped" into Bastogne. Actually they were trucked in.
The author has a really weird explanation as to where the term "blitzkrieg" originated. In all my reading about World War II and the American Civil War, I have never seen this mentioned.
The author properly gives credit to the Poles for duplicating the German Enigma coding machine and breaking its code. But he makes up a story about how they did that which disagrees with every book I've ever read on this subject. Plus, this machine was originally developed for use in the commercial sector, not for the German military. And the author continues to repeat the myth the British allowed the city of Coventry to be bombed to avoid the Germans realizing the British had broken the Enigma code.
Hitler was not obligated to declare war on the U.S. after it was attacked by Japan. The Tripartite Act required him to do so only if Japan was attacked. But Hitler stupidly declared war on the U.S. I bet the British jumped for joy when he did that.
The author also repeats the myth the Japanese Army intended to invade Australia. Japanese documents captured after the war revealed this was never planned.
The author discusses the German jet fighter, but, like many other historians, neglects to mention the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter which saw combat from July 1944 on. The U.S. also had a jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, but it arrived too late for active duty in Europe during the war.
When one of the crews of Doolittle's attack on Japan in 1942 landed in Russia, they were not interned until the end of the War as the author states. After several months, they were transferred to a Soviet base near Iraq, where they "escaped" and then rejoined U.S. forces in Iraq.
There are also some interesting typos. One example is calling members of the Japanese Navy "troops" instead of sailors.
In a photograph on page 254, the caption states Italian Count Ciano is sitting to the left of Hitler. When it fact he is to Hitler's right. Another photograph on page 132 identifies British General Montgomery as being on the left. Actually, he is on the right.
Normally, I wouldn't have read this book, but the author didn't select the most important people, or even the greatest, but instead chose the most influential figures. And that intrigued me. In his introduction, he admits his choices will be contested, but he will "defend to the death the choice of the top-ranking eight individuals." And he states people will be surprised as to whom he picked for #1. I was too. But I have to admit he had a good reason for doing so.
At the end of the book, which was published in 2002, the author also lists Honorable Mentions. But he also list a number of Dishonorable Mentions. One such person was Iva Toguri D'Aquino. Initially identified as a "Toyko Rose," post war investigators released her for lack of evidence. In fact, this American citizen risked her life providing food to captured U.S. prisoners. But in 1949, overeager journalists decided she was a good story. Arrested by the FBI on evidence which was later proven to be false, she spent six years of a ten-year term in prison. She was released when government officials reviewed her case. She received a full pardon in 1977. The Dishonorable Mention really belongs to the author for continuing to slander her.
If this book has any value, it is for someone new to World War II history. Hopefully, some of the stories in this book will grab their attention and they will then read more deeply into the history of those individuals. Readers of World War II history might also read it to review the author's perspective on the individuals he lists. And finally, I have to admit learning some things I didn't know before reading this book.
The official name of the Medal of Honor is simply that. While often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor, fortunately Congress has no role in determining who receives that award.
Despite what is often believed, the costliest project of the war was not the atomic bomb, but the B-29 program.
The author has U.S. paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division "dropped" into Bastogne. Actually they were trucked in.
The author has a really weird explanation as to where the term "blitzkrieg" originated. In all my reading about World War II and the American Civil War, I have never seen this mentioned.
The author properly gives credit to the Poles for duplicating the German Enigma coding machine and breaking its code. But he makes up a story about how they did that which disagrees with every book I've ever read on this subject. Plus, this machine was originally developed for use in the commercial sector, not for the German military. And the author continues to repeat the myth the British allowed the city of Coventry to be bombed to avoid the Germans realizing the British had broken the Enigma code.
Hitler was not obligated to declare war on the U.S. after it was attacked by Japan. The Tripartite Act required him to do so only if Japan was attacked. But Hitler stupidly declared war on the U.S. I bet the British jumped for joy when he did that.
The author also repeats the myth the Japanese Army intended to invade Australia. Japanese documents captured after the war revealed this was never planned.
The author discusses the German jet fighter, but, like many other historians, neglects to mention the British Gloster Meteor jet fighter which saw combat from July 1944 on. The U.S. also had a jet fighter, the P-80 Shooting Star, but it arrived too late for active duty in Europe during the war.
When one of the crews of Doolittle's attack on Japan in 1942 landed in Russia, they were not interned until the end of the War as the author states. After several months, they were transferred to a Soviet base near Iraq, where they "escaped" and then rejoined U.S. forces in Iraq.
There are also some interesting typos. One example is calling members of the Japanese Navy "troops" instead of sailors.
In a photograph on page 254, the caption states Italian Count Ciano is sitting to the left of Hitler. When it fact he is to Hitler's right. Another photograph on page 132 identifies British General Montgomery as being on the left. Actually, he is on the right.
Normally, I wouldn't have read this book, but the author didn't select the most important people, or even the greatest, but instead chose the most influential figures. And that intrigued me. In his introduction, he admits his choices will be contested, but he will "defend to the death the choice of the top-ranking eight individuals." And he states people will be surprised as to whom he picked for #1. I was too. But I have to admit he had a good reason for doing so.
At the end of the book, which was published in 2002, the author also lists Honorable Mentions. But he also list a number of Dishonorable Mentions. One such person was Iva Toguri D'Aquino. Initially identified as a "Toyko Rose," post war investigators released her for lack of evidence. In fact, this American citizen risked her life providing food to captured U.S. prisoners. But in 1949, overeager journalists decided she was a good story. Arrested by the FBI on evidence which was later proven to be false, she spent six years of a ten-year term in prison. She was released when government officials reviewed her case. She received a full pardon in 1977. The Dishonorable Mention really belongs to the author for continuing to slander her.
If this book has any value, it is for someone new to World War II history. Hopefully, some of the stories in this book will grab their attention and they will then read more deeply into the history of those individuals. Readers of World War II history might also read it to review the author's perspective on the individuals he lists. And finally, I have to admit learning some things I didn't know before reading this book.
