31 December 2015

Book Log 2015 #44: A Christmas Far From Home by Stanley Weintraub

This book tells the story of the American soldiers who, in 1950, had to fight their way to safety in the face of a Chinese offensive, bitter cold, and poor living conditions. The book opposes this with the actions and lifestyle of supreme commander Douglas MacArthur, who was trying to run the war from his comfortable digs in Tokyo. The book comes down very strongly against MacArthur, portraying him as out of touch and completely disinterested in opinions and facts that countered his own beliefs.

I have to admit I didn't get more than a third into the book before quitting. I could never quite get into the story, as I was trying too hard to keep up with the unit names and other details to keep things straight. Weintraub has found a niche in writing books about was and Christmastime, and I don't know if this is typical of his efforts. Maybe his earlier books are better.

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