Flags of Our Fathers

Abridged
Author: James Bradley
Narrator: Barry Bostwick
Genres: History, Biographies
Publisher: Random House (Audio)
Date: May 2000
Length: 6 hours
Ratings:
  • Book Rating: 4/5
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

In February 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima -- and into history. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches strewn with comrades, they battled to the island's highest peak. And after climbing through a landscape of hell itself, they raised a flag.

Now the son of one of the flag raisers has written a powerful account of six very different men who came together in a moment that will live forever.

To his family, John Bradley never spoke of the photograph or the war. But after his death at age seventy, his family discovered closed boxes of letters and photos. In Flags of Our Fathers, James Bradley draws on those documents to retrace the lives of his father and the men of his Company. Following these men's paths to Iwo Jima, James Bradley has written a classic story of the heroic battle for the Pacific's most crucial island.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the story is what happened after the victory. The men in the photo -- three were killed during the battle -- were proclaimed heroes and flown home, to become reluctant symbols. For two of them, the adulation was shattering. Only James Bradley's father truly survived, displaying no copy of the famous photograph in his home, telling his son only: "The real heroes of Iwo Jima were the guys who didn't come back".

Selected Reviews

Better then Movie

by Lori
  • Book Rating: 5/5

Enjoyable

by Tsarina
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 11

Reviews (11)

Better then Movie

Written by Lori on September 11th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I saw this movie first, everyone had been raving about it. I didn't like the movie. Books are always better you then the movie, something made me rent this... This book is 100 times better then the movie!!! I really enjoyed this book!

Enjoyable

Written by Tsarina on September 6th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I wanted to "read" this book after seeing the film. I enjoyed it for what it is - a tribute to a father who happened to participate in a memorable moment in history. It may be true that there are better books about WW2 and there may be better narrators, but I don't think you can lump this book in with other history books. It's a memoir. It's bound to be a bit sentimental and a bit personal from time to time. My father served in the Army in WW2 and never spoke about his service. I have friends whose fathers served in Korea and Vietnam who experience the same silence from their fathers. This book lets me feel like I know more about what they all went through. I definitely recommend it!

Flags of our Fathers

Written by Sandra Oliver on May 14th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 5/5

Excellent book. Well read, very informative. I learned a lot of (sad) history. A graphic and eye-opening account of war, death, and how life continues for the survivors.

Flags of our Fathers

Written by Anonymous from Elmhurst, IL on April 26th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I've got to say that I expected a heck of alot more from this book. I was really looking forward to it but was disappointed and cancelled the second set of cd's after listening to the first few. The narrator was also terribly annoying.

Flags

Written by BLW on April 16th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I didn't like this book so much. It isn't very well written and it was overly-sentimental. The author made odd statements like "I could tell every thing I needed to know about this man by looking at his hand." Say what? That just doesn't make sense. There are much better WWII books out there than this one.

Wish it was unabriged! Great!

Written by DK The Marine on November 29th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

I'm a former Marine, so no points off for spelling (I hope!). I thought the book was very good. I listened to it over Veterans Day and the 231st anniversary of the USMC. It brought tears to my eyes at times. Dissappointed that SAB has so many abridged books and wondered what I was missing from the full version? Not sure why the guy below me did not like the narrator. Narration was nothing special, but not as bad as the other guys said. You want to hear a terrible narrator, try "Undanuted Courage" about Lewis and Clark! Great story, but I could not even start that one because of the narrator. Flags of Our Fathers is awesome! Enjoy it and Semper Fi!!

Mr. Peterman goes to the recording studio

Written by txtxyeha on September 11th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 2/5

The content was interesting - give one a picture of life in the 1940s and how WWII changed that. However, I could not handle the narrator. This is the first time I have ever commented on a narrator, but this one used an over-dramatic mom-and-apple-pie tone to his voice that I could not take. Stopped at disc 3. Did not have this problem with Flyboys - gave that 5 stars.

Flags of Our Fathers

Written by Mark McCann on August 26th, 2006

  • Book Rating: 5/5

This is a truly excellent book. It tells the little-known story behind one of the most well-known photographs in history. I only wish it weren’t abridged.

A Very Revealing Look at a Piece of History I THOUGHT I knew

Written by Tonytoga from Houston, TX on December 28th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Most of us think we know the story of Iwo Jima......at least I thought I did. As is often the story with such events, the history we think we know is as much myth as fact. In an effort to chronicle his father's role in the famous flag raising on that tiny island, James Bradley sets us straight on that March morning in 1945 and then goes on to give a well written portrayal of heroism and stoicism, American style. In fact, the truly unique nature of Mr. Bradley's story is the every-day-man nature of the lives of the handful of Marines who fought and died there as well as those who eventually made it home. Well done.............five stars is for truly exceptional books. This one is a rock solid four star presentation.

An Interesting Tale of Americana

Written by Daniel Wainwright from Fresno, CA on September 29th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 5/5

A very interesting profile of the 6 individuals who randomly came together and shared a moment that is a great part of American history. The outcome of these soldiers is somewhat sad, but interesting. This is something that I did not know about. This profile about these soldiers is quite enjoyable. Much less graphic and sad than "Flyboys"

Selected Reviews

Better then Movie

by Lori
  • Book Rating: 5/5

Enjoyable

by Tsarina
  • Book Rating: 4/5

More...

Read All 11

Author Details

Author Details

Bradley, James

"James Bradley is the fourth child of flagraiser John ""Doc"" Bradley. Raised in Wisconsin, Bradley studied at the University of Notre Dame, Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan and graduated with a degree in East Asian History from the University of Wisconsin. Bradley has vast experience writing and producing corporate films and corporate meetings; he has traveled the world, living and working in more than 40 countries for nearly a decade. Bradley has run companies in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. He has jumped out of airplanes at 15,000 feet, has scuba-dove in deep waters worldwide, trekked to Mount Everest's base camp and walked among lions in Africa. He is an avid reader of history, enjoys discovering exotic cuisine, cliff diving, golfing and snow skiing.

Bradley has recently established a foundation in support of American and Japanese student exchange programs to offer young people the chance to experience each other's cultures.

He remains a professional motivational speaker and is working on his second book, Tales on The Road to Tokyo. He divides his time between homes in New York's Westchester County, and Jamaica."