Product Description

Returning from the mine-laden fields of combat in the Far East, Paul T. Hanrahan is promoted to full colonel and assigned to command the U.S. Army Special Warfare School, where his men train for a new war on the beaches of Cuba. Reissue.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22826 in Books
• Published on: 1986-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 4
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780515090222
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

A Solid Mid-Series Book
Following a dozen major characters and twice that many supporting players through an eventful a quarter century is an impressive literary achievement. Griffin's "Brotherhood of War" series does just that: always competently, sometimes brilliantly. The flashes of brilliance are fewer and farther between in _The Colonels_ than they were in _The Lieutenants_ and _The Captains_, but they're definitely *there* in a way that they weren't in _The Majors_.

The action in _The Colonels_ takes place in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The central thread of the plot is the establishment of the Green Berets, and most of the book's best scenes revolve around the shaping of the Green Beret program. The book ends with the disastrous US-backed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro by landing a force of Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs--an operation in which many of the characters play peripheral roles. Griffin keeps old plotlines in play, but also takes the time to service a number of characters who were in danger of slipping out of the story: notably Barbara Bellmon, Paul Jiggs, and Phil Parker IV.

Griffin's ear for soldiers' voices and his familiarity with military routine comes through in many individual scenes: several training exercises, an unauthorized visit to an aircraft graveyard, Mac Macmillan's chance encounter with a young lieutenant, and a running subplot about the Green Berets' distinctive headgear. The bureaucratic guerilla warfare that took up much of _The Majors_ is back, but it works better in _The Colonels_, perhaps because the outcome will affect the lives, not just the careers, of people we care about.

_The Colonels_ ultimately fails, however, to hit the same heights that _The Lieutentants_ and _The Captains_ reached. Part of the problem may be the time frame it covers. _The Lieutenants_ had the shift from WWII to the Cold War; _The Captains_ had Korea; _The Colonels_ has the Bay of Pigs, but not yet Vietnam. Especially when it strays from the "building the Green Berets" thread, it often feels like it's just marking time.

Understanding Viet Nam
I enjoyed all of Griffin's Brotherhood of War and Corps books; however, the first part of this one helped me to understand some of the build up to the Viet Nam conflict. I grew up during the pre-Viet Nam conflict era but wasn't old enough or interested enough at the time to pay attention to the causes. This book (along with Tom Dooley's [spelling?]) filled in a lot of the holes.

The Colonels - An Army Series at its best
This book is part of a series about Army warriors. For anybody interested in the U.S. Army, and the many good guys that defend our country, there is no better author than Griffin. He tells you about the good and the bad, and gives great examples of both. His books are like real life, because they follow soldiers and their families through their careers, with some dying, and others entering to take their place.

The book takes place in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The central theme is the establishment of the Green Berets. The book ends with the Bay of Pigs disaster. Griffin brings back old friends and has them making new friends.

If you like a great series about the Army, the Brotherhood of War is the best, and the Colonels reflects the marvelous insider knowledge that Mr. Griffin has of the inner workings of the Army. I keep buying more and more military history books to figure out which people and events are real, which are fictional, and which are a combination of both.

You will love this book and every book in this series if you like a great book about the Army.