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6 reviews for:
Fields of Battle: Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl, and the Boys Who Went to War
Brian Curtis
3.59 AVERAGE
6 reviews for:
Fields of Battle: Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl, and the Boys Who Went to War
Brian Curtis
3.59 AVERAGE
It's a nice idea but this book isn't what I was hoping for.
It seemed like it was going to be about the buildup to the 1942 Rose Bowl, which was moved out of Pasadena because of the fear that Japan would invade any day. In the end, Oregon State and Duke played in North Carolina and provided some semblance of normalcy.
I expected a long buildup and finally the game, with an epilogue or a couple of chapters about what happened to the participants after. Instead, we're done with the game before you know it (all in one chapter), and the rest of it is a history of some of the major battles of World War II. Some of them don't even have a connection (or have a tenuous connection) to any of the players or coaches.
I expected something different, more about the teams' seasons and conflicts. There are some good stories about the men in the war here, but it wasn't the best book on WWII that I've ever read.
It seemed like it was going to be about the buildup to the 1942 Rose Bowl, which was moved out of Pasadena because of the fear that Japan would invade any day. In the end, Oregon State and Duke played in North Carolina and provided some semblance of normalcy.
I expected a long buildup and finally the game, with an epilogue or a couple of chapters about what happened to the participants after. Instead, we're done with the game before you know it (all in one chapter), and the rest of it is a history of some of the major battles of World War II. Some of them don't even have a connection (or have a tenuous connection) to any of the players or coaches.
I expected something different, more about the teams' seasons and conflicts. There are some good stories about the men in the war here, but it wasn't the best book on WWII that I've ever read.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
The author does a good job with weaving his research with sports. The post-war chapters made the characters seem real. A minor complaint is that the pacing of Part I was kind of slow.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This book will be a hit with sports enthusiasts and history buffs. The reader that leans more to the historical aspect of the book thrilled with the tidbits of historical information both with regards to the Rose Bowl and WWII. The book started slow with a long focus on the football aspect and the events leading to the Rose Bowl. I would have liked to see more of the biographical information on the players featured in the book included throughout instead of in the post game feature at the end. It was however a good read over all with some intriguing twists that surprised me.
[3.5 stars]
This was definitely a very interesting book that falls outside of my usual reading. I'm glad I read it, but I can't say I loved it. I think at its core, this book is trying to do way too much, so you only get a very high-level look at each person and what they went through on the football field and in battle. Also I don't know that much or care too much about college football, so some of the parts about the games being played and how much detail is given was a bit irrelevant to me. I think I may have enjoyed this more as a documentary with interviews, footage or photos, etc. Nothing about this book was bad, by any means, I just don't know if the medium fit the story that well. Or perhaps if it had only focused on a few people and gone deeper following them from college to war and their return back to America, I may have been more invested.
This was definitely a very interesting book that falls outside of my usual reading. I'm glad I read it, but I can't say I loved it. I think at its core, this book is trying to do way too much, so you only get a very high-level look at each person and what they went through on the football field and in battle. Also I don't know that much or care too much about college football, so some of the parts about the games being played and how much detail is given was a bit irrelevant to me. I think I may have enjoyed this more as a documentary with interviews, footage or photos, etc. Nothing about this book was bad, by any means, I just don't know if the medium fit the story that well. Or perhaps if it had only focused on a few people and gone deeper following them from college to war and their return back to America, I may have been more invested.