"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...

I do believe that Bradley really overworked the term in "Flyboys".
His continuous use of the term throughout the book reminded me of some of
these rock groups

As I get farther along, I find he's doing it with other terms. In
chapter three he explains that the cruder gang who took over the
Japanese military after the Russo-Japanese War concluded from that war
that everything depended on the spirit of the soldier. He segues from
that to calling them the Spirit Boys.

I guess it's just an irritating tic that I'll have to accept. The man
has discovered a few concepts and wants to make sure that we remember
them. Apart from that, I thought his ten-or--twelve page history of
Japan was a damn good summary of a world that westerners find it
almost impossible to understand. (We are still arguing about the
emperor's role in starting the war, never mind ending it.)

Thanks, everybody!


all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

I noticed on the flyleaf that Bradley had accompanied George Bush Sr. on his
trip to the island. Bush's trip I understand, was arranged by one of the
cable channels; History I think, for the purpose of "filling in the blanks"
on Bush's war experiences near the island, and of course in the process,
generating some viewer interest in the History channel for it's sponsors :-)
Bradley's presence on this trip would indicate to me anyway, an association
of his book with the Bush legacy. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but
noteworthy just the same if one is viewing Bradley's book from a pure
historical standpoint.
What's interesting to me is that the story itself has some historical legs,
and could have been presented much better than the amateurish way it was.
The Japanese background workup into the story was fairly well done, but I'm
with the rest of you on the grossly overworked and sophomoric, not to
mention totally boring continuous use of catch phrases throughout the book.
Sad really!
The story had interesting characters, location, and historical timing. It
could have been a descent work with a better approach to presentation.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
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