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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
This was absolutely fascinating. Did both the audiobook (great to hear Chester's interview at the end!) and the print version (loved seeing the code in print).
This topic is fascinating and I certainly learned something from this book. Though, it could have been edited a bit. Parts were far too detailed and it was somewhat redundant.
"Code Talker" - Chester Nez's memoir on his life as a Navajo Code Talker in Guadalcanal and across the rest of the Pacific theater. I started this book the day before Nez died, as it turned out, and it made me a little sad - like I had actually known the guy by reading his ghost-written (but still very personal) account. This is a very good book about a simple man who, because of everything his people, and he personally, had faced through the years, would be excused for not wanting to take up arms against an enemy of the country that treated his kind like garbage. (He didn't have the right to vote until two years after World War 2 was over.) 4 out of 5 stars.
What an incredible life. Going in I knew some about the WWII code talkers, but this memoir filled in all the gaps. Well written with humility and honesty, this book is an important firsthand history about bravery and sacrifice. A treasure.
I enjoyed this memoir as the story of a nice normal person in the setting where he was raised who found himself in extraordinary circumstances that he had no way to envision. And as such it is a tribute to what it means to be an American, that even if you you are “marginalized” as we say these days, you may have an important role to play in the history of our nation. I am so grateful that we had a government at that time that realized the contribution they could make, and made it work the way it needed to. I thank Chester and all of the Code Talkers for what they did, and for keeping their secrets as long as they needed to. Americans, true and true!
Amazing story. I recommend this book. I am glad I took the time to learn more about Chester, the code talkers, Navajo customs, and our WWII history.
I've heard about the code talkers for years and was excited to finally learn about them. Brad and I got this book to listen to on our drive over UEA to California. It think it was an interesting story. I enjoyed learning how they made the code and what made it so impossible to break. I also liked learning about the author's life growing up and many of the ceremonies of the Navajo people.
That said, I'd like to know more. This book is the memoir of one man, which was interesting, but left me wanting to get a broader understanding and picture of the code talkers at large.
That said, I'd like to know more. This book is the memoir of one man, which was interesting, but left me wanting to get a broader understanding and picture of the code talkers at large.
This is the memoir of one of the Navajo Code Talkers. I learned a lot from it both about what it was like to grow up Navajo in the eary 20th Century and about the Pacific theater of World War II. It was also an intense and compelling story.