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A review by morgan_blackledge
Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II by Adam Makos
5.0
Tight AF tank fights.
FUK YEAH!!!!
And one other thing:
The book does a great job personalizing the events from the perspective of the actual people who fought on both sides of the frontline.
The author met the surviving American and German veterans and even accompanied them in a truly touching and meaningful reunion at the actual site in Cologne where they fought 60 some years prior.
The sacrifices these men made, countered by their profound sense of personal responsibility meant that they carried their experience of the war into the rest of their lives.
For them, the war wasn’t a game or a movie, it was messy and real. And they had to live with the residue of their choices and the consequences for the rest of their lives.
The final chapter describes an actual reconciliation between two former combatants who met at the end of their lives, to share responsibility, honor the dead, pay their respects to one another, and to put their grief and trauma to rest in the past.
I originally gave the book 4 stars.
Why only 4 stars?
Because I don’t think it’s as good as band of brothers. Which I really really really loved. Mostly because of the miniseries which I have watched over and over, but the book is amazing too.
But after giving it some thought, I’m bumping it up to 5 stars. Mostly because the last chapter helped me remember that these were actual people, not characters in a Spielberg film, and it feels really wrong to judge this thing based purely on its entertainment value and literary merits.
The closest I’ll ever come to fighting a war is a book, movie or game. And these actual people are the reason why that is.
So five shiny fucking stars🌟
And one big thank you to all of the people who went and did that, so that I could live in safety, prosperity and freedom, and so I could experience these world changing events from the absolute comfort of my couch.
FUK YEAH!!!!
And one other thing:
The book does a great job personalizing the events from the perspective of the actual people who fought on both sides of the frontline.
The author met the surviving American and German veterans and even accompanied them in a truly touching and meaningful reunion at the actual site in Cologne where they fought 60 some years prior.
The sacrifices these men made, countered by their profound sense of personal responsibility meant that they carried their experience of the war into the rest of their lives.
For them, the war wasn’t a game or a movie, it was messy and real. And they had to live with the residue of their choices and the consequences for the rest of their lives.
The final chapter describes an actual reconciliation between two former combatants who met at the end of their lives, to share responsibility, honor the dead, pay their respects to one another, and to put their grief and trauma to rest in the past.
I originally gave the book 4 stars.
Why only 4 stars?
Because I don’t think it’s as good as band of brothers. Which I really really really loved. Mostly because of the miniseries which I have watched over and over, but the book is amazing too.
But after giving it some thought, I’m bumping it up to 5 stars. Mostly because the last chapter helped me remember that these were actual people, not characters in a Spielberg film, and it feels really wrong to judge this thing based purely on its entertainment value and literary merits.
The closest I’ll ever come to fighting a war is a book, movie or game. And these actual people are the reason why that is.
So five shiny fucking stars🌟
And one big thank you to all of the people who went and did that, so that I could live in safety, prosperity and freedom, and so I could experience these world changing events from the absolute comfort of my couch.