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"Once an Eagle is simply the best work of fiction on leadership in print." --General Martin E. Dempsey, 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets, Once An Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power. Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War--Vietnam. Now reissued with a new foreword by acclaimed historian Carlo D'Este, here is an unforgettable story of a man who embodies the best in our nation--and in us all.… (mere)
otori: Although from a different perspective - US vs. UK - both Masters' Man of War and Myrer's Once an Eagle both tell the tale of a soldier in WWI going on to become a general in WWII. Both are hampered by a fellow officer who tries to frustrate them in their career. Both are well worth reading although the tactical scenes appear to me better developed in Man of War. The fact that Masters was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army and Myrer a USMC Corporal might have something to do with it.… (mere)
This book is an absolute tome -- 1300 pages in print. That length was a little daunting, but I decided to read it because of the very good reviews, and because it's used as a text for West Point cadets. I was curious why.
It's an excellent book on leadership, contrasting Sam Damon (the guy everyone wants to be) and Courtney Massengale (the guy most folks don't). I imagined, before I started, that each of them would be a caricature. That's not the case. Each is an interesting and complex character, though that's truer of Damon than of Massengale. The two are surrounded by interesting friends, family and colleagues, and those relationships are deep and nicely drawn.
Damon's military career begins just before WWI, and the book closes in the run-up to the Vietnam War. Damon is the central character throughout. It could, maybe, have ended earlier, but it kept me engaged all the way to the end. There's come casual racism and sexism in the book, but Damon (and Myrer) are ahead of their time in their challenges to those tropes.
I never served in the military and have certainly never seen combat. I found the combat scenes in the book absolutely gripping. I bet that Myrer did a good job capturing life in the Army in general, including the time Damon served during peacetime.
If you're wondering whether this book is for you, I think that Steinbeck's East of Eden is a reasonable comparison -- sweeping, generational, complex characters working against the cultural and social backgrounds of the time. The characters are equally interesting, I thought, and the story every bit as gripping. ( )
"Once an Eagle is simply the best work of fiction on leadership in print." --General Martin E. Dempsey, 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Required reading for West Point and Marine Corps cadets, Once An Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power. Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War--Vietnam. Now reissued with a new foreword by acclaimed historian Carlo D'Este, here is an unforgettable story of a man who embodies the best in our nation--and in us all.
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It's an excellent book on leadership, contrasting Sam Damon (the guy everyone wants to be) and Courtney Massengale (the guy most folks don't). I imagined, before I started, that each of them would be a caricature. That's not the case. Each is an interesting and complex character, though that's truer of Damon than of Massengale. The two are surrounded by interesting friends, family and colleagues, and those relationships are deep and nicely drawn.
Damon's military career begins just before WWI, and the book closes in the run-up to the Vietnam War. Damon is the central character throughout. It could, maybe, have ended earlier, but it kept me engaged all the way to the end. There's come casual racism and sexism in the book, but Damon (and Myrer) are ahead of their time in their challenges to those tropes.
I never served in the military and have certainly never seen combat. I found the combat scenes in the book absolutely gripping. I bet that Myrer did a good job capturing life in the Army in general, including the time Damon served during peacetime.
If you're wondering whether this book is for you, I think that Steinbeck's East of Eden is a reasonable comparison -- sweeping, generational, complex characters working against the cultural and social backgrounds of the time. The characters are equally interesting, I thought, and the story every bit as gripping. (