Goodbye, Darkness
By William Manchester
- Release Date: 2008-12-14
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Description
This emotional and honest novel recounts a young man's experiences during World War II and digs deep into what he and his fellow soldiers lived through during those dark times.
The nightmares began for William Manchester 23 years after WW II. In his dreams he lived with the recurring image of a battle-weary youth (himself), "angrily demanding to know what had happened to the three decades since he had laid down his arms." To find out, Manchester visited those places in the Pacific where as a young Marine he fought the Japanese, and in this book examines his experiences in the line with his fellow soldiers (his "brothers"). He gives us an honest and unabashedly emotional account of his part in the war in the Pacific. "The most moving memoir of combat on WW II that I have ever read. A testimony to the fortitude of man...a gripping, haunting, book." --William L. Shirer
Reviews
Good read but …
4By TomskindleI wasn’t a big fan of integrating the memories of battle with a visit of battle fields 30+ later, but this was the author’s memoir not mine. Book pulls no punches in the gore and horror of battle. Very well written by a very skilled author, which definitely sets it apart from many other memoirs.Goodbye, darkness
5By Father of a MarineEasily one of the greatest accounts of American exceptional ism that has ever been written. A beautifully crafted narrative of some of the most horrifying battles in history, it honors the men of the United States Marine Corps who sacrificed all that America and her enduring values of decency and compassion might live.Goodbye, Darkness
5By EmopellOne of the most thorough and intimate accounts of the Pacific theatre of WWII. Intelligently written with a tremendously humane tone which transcends the violent tenor of today's war stories.Goodbye Darkness
5By Jack1048I've read this several times over the years. My father-in-law, who while in the Army saw action at the Canal, New Georgia, New Guinea and the Phillipines, was an avid reader of history, said it was the best of the South Pacific war books. I have read about all of Manchester's books and think, for his actual combat experience , he deserves more play in this current time where "The Pacific" is so popular. My father, Marines, Eniwetok, Peliliu, Okinawa, did not read, told me my fil saw very difficult duty. I trust his word!
