This excellent review was written by my good friend Scott Wilson. We continue to share interesting books even though he now lives with his family in Okinawa, Japan. Thanks, Scott, for the great review!
My Shaara exposure began in the same may as most readers, with The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Michael Shaara was working on his second book in the Civil War trilogy when he passed away. His son, Jeff, neither a historian nor a writer at the time of his father’s passing, vowed to complete the trilogy that his father had started. And this he did, penning Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure -- thus completing a work his father had begun years earlier.
Eventually, Jeff Shaara began to separate himself from his father’s legacy, and has proven himself to be every bit the writer that his father was. He was written books on the American Revolution, the Mexican War, WWII, and WWI. His book on WWI, To the Last Man, is the fourth book I have read by a member of the Shaara family and probably one of the more exciting. His signature format, combined with some of the private portraits presented in the book, helped make it a memorable read.
The Shaara format is unique and, for me, it serves to make the story more intimate and compelling. In To the Last Man, Shaara tells the story of WWI through the eyes of several of the war’s key protagonists. One such character is John “Blackjack” Pershing, West Point graduate and commander of the American Expeditionary Force. From
General Pershing, we get a strategic perspective on the war, and gain insight into the logistical, political, and diplomatic nightmare that was America’s initial entry to the war effort. Pershing struggles throughout the book to deal with a never-ending stream of demands and suggestions from the French and English, who, having endured three years of pounding from the German military, were desperate for relief and reinforcements.Then there is Raoul Lufbery, French/American fighter pilot and eventual commander of the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American volunteer pilots. These men formed the unit to aid the French in their war effort against the Germans because the United States (led by the isolationist, League of Nations supporting, and 14 Points suggesting Woodrow Wilson) remained neutral until 1917.
Opposing Lufbery and his squadron is Baron Manfred Von Richthofen, the famed “Red Baron” and most distinguished flying ace of WWI. Richthofen is probably on of the most dynamic characters in the book, at least from a literary standpoint. His unbridled devotion to duty and country is constantly at odds with his struggle to understand the conflict, his aerial prowess, and his country’s labeling him as a hero. He seems indifferent, almost unfeeling, about his success and the dozens of men he has sent to their death. Yet at the same time is full of passion as he preaches virtues like duty, honor, and courage to those who fly with him.
Finally, in stark contrast to the other more distinguished characters in the book, we meet Roscoe Temple, an ordinary 19-year-old Marine Private from Monticello, Florida. Temple provides us with insight about life deep in the trenches of those fighting along the front lines of The Great War. We follow him through some of his initial training where he develops unspeakable bonds with fellow Marines who will serve with him in some of the most storied battles of the war.
While the characters are the vehicles Shaara uses to make history a little more vibrant and colorful, the awfulness of war was most evident because of references and conversations involving people not participating directly in the actual fighting. These interactions presented in the book provide vivid imagery that really brought home the realities of the conflict and the impact that it had on the populations of each country involved. Allow me to share a couple examples:
(1) After months of brutal combat, Temple is lying one night on his back in a shell hole, enjoying the first clear night in some time. He was going over in his head what he would say to the mother of a fallen comrade, when his thoughts wandered to his own mother. Shaara writes:
“He imagined his mother, the strong woman who wasa so prone to emotion, sitting in her single chair on the wide porch of the farmhouse, in unstoppable tears. It sickened him, knowing her pride in her son could be replaced by stunning grief. She had written him of her hopes for his safe return, apologizing for mother’s concerns. Now, he imagined her receiving the cold impersonal regrets of her government, a woman whose life would be changed in such a horrible way, losing her only son to a war she knew so little about. How many mothers had been through this already, women who watched their sons board the trains or great ships, pride tempered by tears, scolded by the men in their lives not to embarrass their sons with a mother’s fawning."
(2) Richthofen, having just sustained an injury during a dogfight, was basically ordered to take leave by the German High Command. When he arrives home, he engages in a telling conversation with his mother. Mother is upset about some of the bad news coming out of the German war effort and about the death of another of Richthofen’s pilots. Shaara sees the conversation as follows:
“What of your Mr. Voss? You will have to prepare another obituary.”
He did not want to talk about Voss, (the pilot recently killed) but her words took away the energy for his smile. “Yes, I will go later. There is little I can do about it now.”
“You are wrong Manfred.” (says mother). He saw anger in her eyes, the tears again, and she said, “You can stop flying, you have done your part. No one would ever find fault.”
“Father would not agree with you.”
“I do not speak for your father. If it is selfishness to want my sone slive, then I am selfish. I want you to have a wife. I want you to know what it is to see the face of you own babies, to watch your own children grow up. You have done enough for your country!”
He had not seen her angry in a very long time, felt suddenly helpless. “Mother, you cannot possibly understand. If everyone felt this way, no one would fight!” His words lay hanging in the air, and she stared at him for a long moment.
“Then, my son, no one would die.”
There are so many more examples of this. Another one involves Raymond Poincare (then Prime Minister of France) and his wife, who meet with General Pershing on the banks of the Meuse River after the Allies successfully secured territory previously held by the Germans. As Madame Poincare reminisces over the land and its beauty, Pershing is impressed at her ability to “look beyond what a soldier sees,” as he is only able to see the blasted fields, clusters of blackened trees, and the wreckage of trucks and wagons.
I think these examples highlight what Shaara does really well. He is widely recognized for his research and ability to present a compelling view of history as seen through some of its key figures. However, I find his writing intriguing for its ability to make history personal and intimate. He is able to snatch history from the moors of a literal, intangible, non-fictional realm and instead provide us with an experience that one can internalize and feel. This helped make To the Last Man both a historical journey and a wonderful story. Don’t believe me…Buy the Book
and see for yourself.
