This is the first half of Wouk's epic WW2 story. My main review is under 'War and Remembrance' ( )

Here's what I wrote after readying in 1987: "So good that DBA is reading! A story of a civilization at war. Through the naval, American Henry family, story is total of the years proceeding and during WWII. Pug Henry, informal embassary for Franklin Roosevelt is memorable as is his daughter-in-law and her uncle. They, Natalie and Aaron Jastrow, become trapped American Jews in Europe. In the depths of their experience, they gain understanding of their Jewishness. (Write-up also covers War and Remembrance). ( )

Book # 1 in the Henry Family saga introduces us to Commander Victor Henry, his wife Rhoda, and their children: Warren, Byron and Madeline. Victor wants a battleship, but he’s been selected to serve as Naval attache in Berlin. It’s 1937 and he’ll have a front-row seat to history.

This is a larger than life story to tell, and Wouk could not manage to finish it in just one volume (even though this book is nearly 900 pages long in original hardcover). It ends just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Henry family is facing not only a world war but considerable personal upheaval. Both sons are naval officers serving in the Pacific, while daughter Madeline remains at her job in New York (and the subject of a scandal that will surely ruin her reputation). Victor’s Jewish daughter-in-law remains trapped in Europe, having delayed her return to the US in deference to her aged (and improbably naïve) uncle. And both Pug and Rhoda are questioning whether they want to continue their marriage, or find more suitable partners.

The soap opera drama of the family’s story pulls the reader through, but Wouk includes much history. There are occasional interruptions in the family saga to report on the historical events, including examinations of each side’s military readiness and strategy.

I first read this book sometime in the mid to late 1970s; it was originally published in 1971. Recently my husband found a hardcover copy in our local Little Free Library. He’d never read it before and was so enthusiastic about it that I decided to re-read it. I’m glad I did. He has already read the sequel, War and Remembrance, but I think I’ll hold off on re-reading that one for a while. ( )

I never thought I would ever read, or want to read this book. Then one day on my way to the bathroom I grabbed a book and it was this one. Too late to chose something else. I was in a hurry and stuck with the Winds of War. Well, I thought how bad can it be if my dad read it and and recovered it with a hard binding. And it was a good story, it ran to many characters and peculiar situations. The made-up characters mingled with the real people of the late 30's and early years of W.W. II. I am not in a position to judge the possibility of such events being possible, it did shed light on documented characteristics of important people and the reactions of every day people caught up in events not of their own doing. I believe this novel sheds light on subjects important about damage to society and to people while the military and the politicians pretend to save the world from itself. Inherited this book from Dad. ( )

It's probably been 30 years since I last read this. I've picked up [b:War and Remembrance|42986|War and Remembrance (The Henry Family, #2)|Herman Wouk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422331351l/42986._SY75_.jpg|376293] and read sections over at intervals in the last 30 years, but never [b:The Winds of War|21484|The Winds of War (The Henry Family, #1)|Herman Wouk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442187661l/21484._SY75_.jpg|1936731]. While I still like parts of it, and applaud Herman Wouk for creating an epic work that manages to remain a good story while dealing with a huge topic, a lot of the characters tend to come off as pretentious snobs - never afraid to use 20 words where 2 would have sufficed. Or maybe that's really how people discussed things in 1939-1941. The size of both of these novels can be daunting, so unless you are very into historical fiction or WWII fiction, stick with the book Wouk is better known for...[b:The Caine Mutiny|368772|The Caine Mutiny|Herman Wouk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410224968l/368772._SY75_.jpg|1059565]. ( )