Alex Kershaw

Kershaw ably depicts the terror and struggle of the Second World War through the eyes of Felix Sparks, an officer with the 45th Division (The Thunderbirds) composed of men from the southwest. A poor boy from a depression mining town in Arizona, Sparks enlisted in the 30s, thrived in the army, and then was recalled as an officer for the war.

To paraphrase Sparks, getting promoted in the infantry is easy, all you need to do is survive. Now, surviving is the hard part. The 45th landed at show more Sicily, Salerno, the meatgrinder of Anzio where Sparks' company was ruthlessly destroyed in the Battle of the Caverns. They were reconstituted, and sent through the forgotten campaigns of the war-the invasion of the South of France, and another brutal mini-Battle of the Bulge in the Vosges Mountain, where his regiment was surrounded and destroyed by the SS. Rebuilt again, Sparks fought through Germany to liberate the Dachau concentration camp, where he personally intervened to prevent a massacre of SS prisoners. Sparks' principles got him in trouble with his commanders. He survived, had a distinguished career as a lawyer in Colorado, and spent his final years fighting gun violence.

I have some quibbles, like why would any World War 2 writer try to excuse even normal military operations of the Waffen-SS by the phrase 'they were just following orders', but this is an a great biography that reveals some corners of the war you won't see on the History Channel. show less

This book should be given careful consideration as the worst WW2 history ever published, vanity presses included. Poorly organized, poorly written, abysmally edited and fact checked, it is an ill constructed mix of an illiterate popular history of WW2 for the Western powers, a personal history of a very interesting officer and a history of a hard fighting division that never got its fair share of attention. Let us take p.121 as example. The following sentence is from the book: "Fifty Army GI show more comforts badly wounded comrade on the first day of the Allied break-out from Anzio, Mary 23,1943."
The US Army in question is the Fifth. If its number were 50 the correct word would be Fiftieth. Mary is not a name for a month. The month is May. To complete the farce the year is 1944 not 1943 as otherwise the troops used time travel to break-out over half a year before the actual landings took place. This is pathetic and typical of the book. Metz is asserted to be in 'the Alsace'. Metz is in Lorraine NOT Alsace. Alsace is not referred to in English as 'the Alsace'. The sad part is that buried in this piece of hack work is an interesting story of a man and a division that has received less attention than they deserve. US books on WW2 in Europe tend to emphasize Bradley's army group. Hopefully someday a competent writer will revisit this. As is I only finished this piece of trash because when I am given a reviewer's copy I feel a moral duty to read to the end and write the review. show less

To me the most surprising thing about this book is what doesn’t happen. The Jacksons, Americans living in France during the early days of World War II were pretty much free to go about their daily business with little involvement from the Nazis. The personal descriptions bring an intimate and harrowing feeling towards the war.

I picked this book for my non-fiction read knowing nothing about it except that it took place during WW II, It was a pleasant surprise to discover that much of it took place in the Italian theater of operations, a portion of the war I knew very little about. I found Felix Sparks and his war experiences so fascinating that I read this book to the exclusion of the others I was reading at the same time - an unusual situation for a non-fiction book.

From his poor beginnings, Felix joins the Army show more in order to get away from riding the rails and insure he gets to eat. The army suited him and he served for two years in Hawaii. When he gets out he goes to college and meets and marries his wife. Just prior to Pearl Harbor he's called up again, this time as a Lieutenant, in a National Guard division attached to the 157th. His division, the Thunderbirds, is composed of boys from the four corners states, his state being Arizona. Before they leave training he's been made a Captain and appointed as the adjutant to Lt. Colonel Ankorn. Shortly after the division begins serving in Sicily he requests a transfer to Company Commander, a position that has only a 90-day survival rate. With the Thunderbirds he survives Sicily, Anzio, the Ardennes (twice), and many other places. In Anzio his entire company is wiped out, only he and another soldier survive, and when replacements are provided again and again, he watches as many, many of them die as well. He's badly wounded once but insists on returning to "his boys." There's much, much more that he and his men endure packed into these pages. Recommended. show less