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Paratrooper: The Life of Gen James M Gavin…
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Paratrooper: The Life of Gen James M Gavin (edition 1994)

by Thomas Booth

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* A gripping account on an exceptional man - the life of Jim Gavin, America's best paratrooper leader throughout World War II World War II, which occurred precisely at the juncture between air transport capability and the invention of the helicopter, saw history's first and only mass use of paratroopers dropped into battle from the sky, perhaps the most courageous combat task seen in modern warfare. And "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin was by all accounts America's best paratrooper leader. His first combat jump was in Sicily, where as a battalion commander he found his men scattered all over the landscape in one of airborne's greatest fiascos. Yet his stand with a few stalwarts at Biazza Ridge is credited with saving the U.S. invasion front. In Normandy, as assistant division commander of the 82nd Airborne, he won the eternal affection of his men for continuing to lead in combat, M-1 slung over his shoulder, even as his paratroopers were similarly scattered and faced German fire on all sides. His cool leadership served to coalesce the paratrooper bridgehead behind enemy lines until infantry from the beaches could finally reach them. During Operation Market Garden, now as commander of the 82nd, Gavin wrote a new chapter in paratrooper heroism, seizing all his objectives despite a serious spinal injury on landing. With hardly a respite after the grueling campaign in Holland, Gavin and his men were called upon for perhaps their most dangerous task - stemming the German onslaught during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war Gavin continued to earn as much respect from policymakers as he had from his men, providing commentary on our Cold War stance, the war in Vietnam, and as Kennedy's ambassador to France. He was not an unflawed individual, as this comprehensive biography reveals, but an exceptional one in every sense, especially during his days of combat leadership during history's greatest war. ILLUSTRATIONS: 16 pages… (more)
Member:PKKeough
Title:Paratrooper: The Life of Gen James M Gavin
Authors:Thomas Booth
Info:Simon & Schuster (1994), Edition: First, Hardcover, 496 pages
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Paratrooper: The Life of Gen James M Gavin by T. Michael Booth

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This is a biography of James Gavin, leader of the 82nd Airborne division in WW II, and a trailblazer for the new tactics related to paratroopers, who played a hugely important role in that war. The book traces his life from his humble beginnings as an orphan raised by foster parents in a small town, who joined the army at 17 and made his life there.

He's an interesting character, but I thought the book was not very well-written. The authors run through his life in great detail, and the descriptions of the WW II campaigns are fascinating, but the writing for much of the book is a little too much "he did this, then he did that"). Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin write much more engagingly about history and important historical figures. ( )
  DanTarlin | Nov 18, 2017 |
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* A gripping account on an exceptional man - the life of Jim Gavin, America's best paratrooper leader throughout World War II World War II, which occurred precisely at the juncture between air transport capability and the invention of the helicopter, saw history's first and only mass use of paratroopers dropped into battle from the sky, perhaps the most courageous combat task seen in modern warfare. And "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin was by all accounts America's best paratrooper leader. His first combat jump was in Sicily, where as a battalion commander he found his men scattered all over the landscape in one of airborne's greatest fiascos. Yet his stand with a few stalwarts at Biazza Ridge is credited with saving the U.S. invasion front. In Normandy, as assistant division commander of the 82nd Airborne, he won the eternal affection of his men for continuing to lead in combat, M-1 slung over his shoulder, even as his paratroopers were similarly scattered and faced German fire on all sides. His cool leadership served to coalesce the paratrooper bridgehead behind enemy lines until infantry from the beaches could finally reach them. During Operation Market Garden, now as commander of the 82nd, Gavin wrote a new chapter in paratrooper heroism, seizing all his objectives despite a serious spinal injury on landing. With hardly a respite after the grueling campaign in Holland, Gavin and his men were called upon for perhaps their most dangerous task - stemming the German onslaught during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war Gavin continued to earn as much respect from policymakers as he had from his men, providing commentary on our Cold War stance, the war in Vietnam, and as Kennedy's ambassador to France. He was not an unflawed individual, as this comprehensive biography reveals, but an exceptional one in every sense, especially during his days of combat leadership during history's greatest war. ILLUSTRATIONS: 16 pages

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