BOOK REVIEW: The Winds of War, War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
- Here are my thoughts (no spoilers) on Herman Wouk's historical epic duology, The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.
My review of the 1983 and 1988 miniseries: • The Winds of War ('83)...
Special thanks to my viewers for any additional support on Ko-fi! ko-fi.com/weis...
You may notice I'm consulting my notes more openly in this video. I had a lot of material to get through but not a lot of time to film, so there was little wiggle room for being a perfectionist. I'm amazed I got it filmed in less than two hours. I think it turned out okay; some of you may not even detect a difference. :)
Congratulations in finishing this massive body of work. Not many people could do it in this era of ultra-low attention spans. Herman Wouk was a literary giant of the 20th century.
Hell, yeah, he was a literary genius. "The Winds of War" is a masterpiece of literature; my all-time favorite book. "War & Remembrance" isn't so great, but you if you read the first book you gotta read the sequel. Anyway, Wouk was awesome. I read his "Youngblood Hawk" earlier this year. That was quite a read, but it was real worth the effort. I'm gonna read it again next year.
"Stay focused on the war, that's what I'm here for!"
Literally laughed out loud. Don't change, JW.
Hello hello Jerome! How are you doing today? I like that fact that it’s not only film reviews, but book reviews too. It’s a great way to learn other authors you never heard of. Thank you 🙏 God bless you
My favorite books and miniseries of all time. I too watched the miniseries prior to reading Wouk’s classics. Congratulations on finishing these epic novels.
Once again, great observations and insights. I have never read either of these books, though I did watch The Winds of War many years ago when it was first on network television. I greatly enjoyed it, but I can only imagine the book spends a lot more time working out the thoughts and motivations of the many characters and that the general plot is covered in much more expansive detail. My to-read list is already practically a book in itself, so I don't know how likely it is that I'll tackle these novels anytime soon, but your review certainly puts them on my radar. I am glad you continue to do book reviews as well as movie reviews, and you always provide a lot of great food for thought.
That was a terrific review of Wouk's 2 masterworks. I read them about 10 years ago and to this day I still reflect back on the characters and events from time to time. My respect for Wouk's achievement in telling this great story of the world at war has only grown over time. I've never watched the mini series and don't feel I need to. I have experienced the work of a great mind and soul marshaling all of his skill and wisdom to produce an indispensable record of the greatest man made catastrophe the world has ever seen.
While you are right that if you have read the books you don't really need to watch the two miniseries, I think there's value in at least watching a little bit of them. Because they still stand as monumental achievements. They were shot on film, they were shot all over the world, and I believe that War and Remembrance is still technically the most expensive TV production ever. A couple years ago people were saying that it was Game of Thrones season 8, but I'm pretty sure that if you adjust the massive budget for War and Remembrance to inflation, it pretty easily eclipses the GOT budget (edit: War and Remembrance cost $253 million in today's money. That's far and away the most expensive TV project ever, at least until the Lord of the Rings show that Amazon is coming out with soon.)
And because they were able to film all of the world, and in some cases the actual locations, It truly is an achievement (The Auschwitz scenes alone are an important part of TV history as well). We're never going to see anything like it ever again. Even if Seth MacFarlane's remake that was announced last year actually sees the light of day, it won't touch the originals. I would much rather they just remaster the originals then bother with this remake, to be honest. That is if Herman Wouk's son even allows it to get made.
There are things I think the books did better, and there are things I think the TV shows did better. In the end I'm glad I experienced both and they are something that will remain part of my cultural consciousness forever, I think.
I really enjoyed the romance between Pug and Pamela. It helped break some of the tension of the Holocaust parts.
I happened upon your channel as I am just now watching the miniseries and recently ordered 3 of Wouk’s other books. I two am a fan of WWII novels and movies. You did an exceptional job. I will be looking forward to more of your content.
Thank you!
I love these books. Herman Wouk is a master storyteller. I saw The Winds of War miniseries first and then immediately read War and Remembrance because the 2nd miniseries was very far off. Then I read the first book before the next miniseries. I've read The Winds of War about 5 or 6 times and WandR twice. I'm thinking of watching both miniseries soon.
I love the romance between Pug and Pamela. I particularly like the naval encounter of the jeep carriers and the destroyer escort meeting the full force of the Japanese fleet at Leyte Gulf. It shows the character of the American fighting spirit in a nutshell much like the torpedo bombers at Midway. I must say I never quite felt the absolute global nature of this conflict until I read these books.And I have read a lot of books on WWII. Thanks Pug for taking me on this grand tour.
I love getting lost in a long book. Dicken's Our Mutual Friend, Tolstoy's War and Peace, and Irving's The Cider House Rules(this would make a good book/film comparison as Irving adapted his own novel).
Keep up the good work! Love your channel.
Great review as always. Agree with most of your points. I enjoyed the Winds novel more than the mini, but I prefer the Remembrance mini over the novel, too--but for vastly different reasons.
Wouk discusses his inspiration for writing the books into several interviews on the DVDs. discussing the origin of the books, including why Von Roon exists in the novels and why the Japanese involvement is limited to the battles. He discussed it again in his memoir (Sailor and Fiddler), yet, oddly, the interviews are more in-depth.
I would be interested to see your opinion of Wouk's Pulitzer-winning novel the Caine Mutiny. There is a romance, but it's not the driving focus of the book like it was in Winds/Remembrance and his Israeli History-duology, so you may enjoy it more.
Some trivia for you: in Winds of War, when the Henrys are invited to dinner, the character "Willie" is author W. Somerset Maugham.
Lastly, two minor corrections: 1. Leyte rhymes with Lady. 2. Berel is Aaron's cousin, not his brother.
Ah, thanks for the correction. I meant to double-check the pronunciation of "Leyte Gulf" before filming. I'm not sure how I got #2 mixed up, unless I somehow mixed up the distant relationship between Aaron and Berel with the estrangement between Aaron and his brother Louis, Natalie's father.
I agree that some of the characters in WoW/WaR are less interesting. Rhoda (who Polly Bergen did an outstanding job portraying) exemplified the senior "Navy Wife". She really did an outstanding job portraying this aspect of the military sub-culture. But I think Wouk was using her to illustrate one important aspect of any war: that morality on the home front tends to devolve in war. This is a constant that is seen in history from the Peloponnesian War on: that a moral decay occurs in nations during wars, especially extended wars
Yes, we see the devolution of morals in wartime England in John Boorman's autobiographical movie "Hope and Glory". Most people seemed to find it picturesque and nostalgic, I found it horrifying. The men go off to war and the women are unwilling or unable to keep the young boys in line so the latter become unruly. You can see a nascent gang mentality. Another great illustration of that devolution is Graham Greene's short story, "The Destructors". And yes, I found that horrifying, too.
@@4Topwood I never saw that "Hope and Glory" movie, but I did see another film that dealt with wartime infidelity & the erosion of morals titled, "The Unfaithful." It's a forgettable melodrama that came out in the late '40s. The movie is about an American war vet & his wife who live in a nice house & have a solid upper-middleclass life. The wife comes home one evening while the husband is out & she finds an intruder who tries to rape her. She shoots & kills the attacker in self defense. Later, it's established that she'd had a long-term affair with the guy while her husband was off to war. On finding this out, the husband's first instinct (rightly) is to file for divorce. The screenplay portrays the wife as a sorrowful, fragile victim & seeks to portray the husband as an unsympathetic & unbending jerk. By movie's end though the old lug softens up & decides to forgive her. They remain married. Additionally, there was this onscreen message that appeared in the film stating that such situations of infidelity were common in our society during the war & veterans just need to accept it & deal with it. I was like, "WHAT?!" These guys risked their lives to save the world & protect the homefront while their floozy wives screwed around & essentially began the moral destruction of the society they fought to protect. But, Hollywood has decreed that the men need to get over it & take those women back. It was degenerate propaganda even back then.
I'm so very glad that, to borrow your own words, you "stopped waffling and took the plunge." I give you particular credit for taking on the Wouk works. (I'm just impressed by the fact that he lived to within ten days of his 104th birthday.) I can see these books getting assigned early in a school year, with students then later being encouraged to do their own research and being asked "So how right do you think Wouk was?" History is not usually "storyful," more of a great mass of seemingly unconnected data, and so you have to appreciate anyone who tries to devote a grand saga to it. Perhaps this goes at least as far back as Tolstoy's War and Peace. I worry that there may have been a cynical attitude long ago of "You've got to throw in romantic melodrama to hook the women," not appreciating that someone like you would simply prefer to concentrate on the war. I've never tried Wouk but you make me very curious about these books. I think writers tend to feel a natural attraction to "everywhere at once" heroes like Pug Henry even as they do strain credulity, because the writers are making a grand tour of history and are trying to create a kind of ideal guide. Other authors leapt to mind as I watched this. Ever read Leon Uris? I take him to have a rather simplistic and openly propagandist style, easy to read but perhaps not that persuasive. Michener gets criticized as an encyclopedist trying to pass for a creative writer, but my love of space travel encouraged me to buy his novel Space, which I find is at its best when discussing great ideas. You're right about how Holocaust denialism keeps trudging along and I cautiously recommend the 2016 movie Denial starring Rachel Weisz. Finally, you reminded me of the great scene in Best Days of Our Lives when Harold Russell gets into an argument with a guy claiming the Germans were the wrong enemy, and then Dana Andrews gets involved. I always find that scene deeply moving. All right, Rome, I'm really stunned by what you took on here, this was a whole new range of reading and watching. All good things, and owl be seeing you.
Hegel said, "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."
Well done.
I enjoyed this video very much. Completing the mini series and the books was an monumental achievement. Bravo! Thank you for this extensive video. You are as insightful about the books and movies as they are about the history of the war. Being an American of Filipino decent WWII still means so much to and your understanding of the importance of WWII continues to be greatly appreciated. Your impassioned relating of the past with the present was eloquently done.
But simply the creation of this video. Composing your thoughts, writing, presenting, filming, editing, again thank you! I hope you get to present this in some other forum. Perhaps publicly or in an article. Very well done.
Thank you!
Your book selection impresses me and mirrors my own very nicely. Wow, found your sci Fi reviews but did not expect Wouk in your portfolio
Thank you for reviewing this historic epic duology for us!!
Looking forward to this one!
Edit: just a few thoughts I had while listening to this:
First off, I wish some Authors would dump their editors and instead seek input from some booktubers. I honestly think the feedback they'd get from commentary like this could potentially result in them publishing works that would appeal to a wider readership. This was a dang good review, Jerome.
I can understand why people who are sensitive to spoilers would insist on reading books first before watching the movie. In my opinion either way is fine. A lot of times a movie will deviate from the book in ways that bothers fans of the texts. Its easy to get caught up in these divations and pay more attention to what the movie did "wrong" rather than enjoy the movie for what it is. There have been plenty of film adaptations of books that are great movies, but its easy to overlook their quality as pictures if you enjoyed the book better. I'm glad you were able to enjoy both in this case.
Pugg reminds me of a Greatest Generation version of Forrest Gump with all the noteworthy situations he finds himself in the middle of, lol. Your description of his heroics made me randomly think about the movie The Courier - and I wondered if you'd seen that one?
You're correct to point out how many times you see authors insert their own opinions in their works these days. As entitled to them as they are, these remarks can be distracting and unneccessary. There were times here where it may have been more called for, such as when he got into the genocidal chapters. But his restraint still seems admirable, if not always agreeable.
1000+ pages IS a log time to spend with a cast of characters. I usually have to take lengthy series' like this in bursts; read one book, take a break and pick back up three-or-so books later. That's a bummer that this one felt anti-climactic to you. Again, its a long time to spend in a book to ultimately feel like the ending is rushed or otherwise unsatisfactory. I've read a couple of thousand-pagers that fizzled at the end. It can leave you feeling a little deflated.
I personally never understood Anti-Semitism. I see nothing distasteful or wrong with the Jewish people. I have only ever known dedicated, loving, peaceful and intelligent Jews. It blows my mind that there are still so many people who feel hate towards them. We are less than 100 years removed from the holocaust, but like you said (much as with our willingness totolorate corrupt leadership) history has a heartbreaking way of forgetting its tragedies.
Outstanding review! Your criticisms were valid and ballenced well with your praises. Thanks for putting the time into making this. It was a longer video, and took a ton of preparation from the sound of it. Thanks for giving so much dedication to your craft here.
I just found this channel and you seem like the most wholesome person ever . You Sorta remind me of a very nice highschool teacher . Keep it up !
Aw, thank you so much! And welcome to the channel! :)
I'm probably going to edit this comment to provide more of my impressions, but for right now I'll say I think your criticisms of the books are all valid, even though I enjoyed the personal and romantic storylines more than you did. I looked at it in terms of the war pulling people apart and it was just something that happened. People like Janice really did exist...and lest we forget that most of these younger characters were in their early 20s, so perhaps they didn't have the best judgment.
I think the Madeline portions where she worked at CBS radio were included primarily due to Wouk's personal experience in radio. I got that distinct feeling when I read the books. It's especially evident during the comedic portion that you talk about. In his memoir, Wouk mentions that he loved being a joke writer for some of these radio programs. And that entire sequence is him indulging in what he used to do as a young man in that line of work. I'm sure of it.
Rhoda is.... Rhoda. I have yet to encounter a single person that likes her. But as annoying as she is, I think she's the perfect depiction of a social climber who all she wanted to do was be queen bee of her little navy wife hive, and then over time she resented Pug's career stalling and preventing her from having that. She also is a pretty accurate description of someone who suddenly wakes up when they're 50 and wonders where the last 30 years went. The biggest compliment I can pay her is that Polly Bergen played her absolutely wonderfully in the show.
I guess we can say that these are works of their time, in that You have the romance and the family saga stuff. It's worth noting that Wouk did this again with his duology about Israel, "The Hope" and "The Glory." I enjoyed that as well but it's clear that he's just copy pasting his formula from these books onto those. It's a complete template copy paste.... Just in a different setting. The history is still fun though.
Hi Jerome. This was very well done. Thanks for tackling these and sharing your thoughts. Something you said made me think about the WWII course I took in college. Aside from being a great course, i started to enjoy war movies in a new way, since I finally knew what was going on. Well worth it. You may have read/seen The Caine Mutiny; I loved both the book and movie and would be interested in your take. Favorite line from the book (from memory): "And what about Queeg? Is the old man okay? Does he know what the christ he's doing?" I was Coast Guard, not Navy, but that's how the guys really talked.
very informative review，
I read a top quality translation version in Chinese by chance and recommended to all my friends
Excellent review! I've read this pair of books a few times 5-ish years apart. Also, my grandparents were ~ Wouk's age, so their stories dovetail with this series. In defense of Pug Henry's being in the room for all sorts of important things - consider how few Americans speak 3 useful languages? It's not remotely unusual in Europe today, but Pug being somewhat senior and having adequate German + Russian - that reasonably gets his foot in the door, imho. Von Roon's explanation of the Nazi point of view is more clearly-laid-out in this work of fiction than any non-fiction documentary I can think of.
Got a question hopefully for Jerome Weiselberry (but anyone else too.) What did you think about the racism among/around the main American characters in the US? I thought Wouk did a good job drawn from firsthand knowledge of these times/places that no 35 year old could replicate 'telling it like it is' - not ignored or under-estimated and not exaggerated either, as far as I can tell at second hand after the fact. Also, double points for your owls. My grandmother had eleventeen owls all over the place. Owls are cool.
I read at least one of these books (whichever one I got as a Christmas gift) and watched most of the series. I found them to be overlong and like you, didn't care for the wartime romance. I much prefer The Caine Mutiny, which I consider a brilliant meditation on duty, loyalty, responsibility and humanity (though again I didn't care for the insertion of the wartime romance). I reread it every few years. The movie is also excellent with very good performances, with Bogart, Ferrer and MacMurray as stand-outs. (I like to say that Bogart's portrayal of Queeg was what convinced me he could really act.)
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing these books. By the way, my all-time favorite WII movie is Das Boot.
I consider his performance in The Caine Mutiny one of Bogart's best. I haven't read the book. Was the romance included in the film? I don't recall it. That's probably a good indication that it's not too overpowering. :)
@@Weiselberry Lol! Yes, the wartime romance was included in the film, though not in any detail. Willie is dating a rather showy girl (maybe even a showgirl) much to his mother's chagrin. I find both Willie Keith and "Pug" Henry strangely colorless main characters, despite Wouk's efforts to flesh them out. I think that's because the larger issues are what really interest him.
Great video! I don't know why, but the part where you said '' Oh, yes, we're the villains: we're so evil! '' made me chuckle quite a bit 😁. By the way, I know I have mentioned this before, but I would to see you review '' The Time Machine '' by H.G. Wells. The book is my favourite, but I love the 1960 and 2002 adaptations as well.
Because i watched both your mini-series and book video reviews of tWoW and WaW, UA-cam popped up the short Herman Wouk interview on CBS Sunday Morning from 2017. He addressed why he wrote the novels.
I think he died shortly after that at age 104.
Pugs career didn’t “not go anywhere for 25+ years”. He had a typical career progression prior to the start of the book. It is implied that while serving in War Plans he rubbed the brass wrong by asserting the Japanese had superior night fighting surface warfare capabilities. He is then sent off for a second consecutive shore duty as the navy attaché to Germany. That is not a bad billet, but he wanted something like XO of a battleship or CO of a cruiser/destroyer. The irony in this is that later on as captain of that cruiser when he is song, he is song because of the superior Japanese surface warfare knight fighting capabilities that the U.S. Navy just didn’t adjust to (better nighttime training by the Japanese, and longer range torpedoes).
Great lenghty review!
Regarding Wouk's lack of detail on the Japanese mind-set. I think that was Wouk trying to stay on the topic of the Holocaust. While Byron and Warren Henry have extensive combat scenes in the Pacific, as you point out, Wouk was primarily interested in the Holocaust, so it was the ETO and the mindset of the Germans that primarily interested him. I agree that the character of Von Roon was masterful: it enabled Wouk to present an alternative point of view and/or the German viewpoint through the eyes of a generally reputable character. It was important for the plot line for Roon to be both believable and some what admirable, as he would be presenting this alternative viewpoint. If he was generally despicable, than the reader would just dismiss the alternative viewpoint. By making Von Roon a competent, credible character, Wouk forces the reader to take these alternative viewpoints seriously. (Incidentally, the British actor Jeremy Kemp did a great job with this character in the miniseries)
Have you read "In the Garden of Beasts," by Eric Larsen? A lot of your discussion at the end reminded me of that. In case you aren't familiar with it, it's about the American ambassador to Germany in 1933-1934, and what it was like to be in Germany as it was turning into the country it would be during the war. The gradual slide of an entire population becoming such villains is something that personally gives me a lot of anxiety, and I wish it was something more people were aware of here in the US, where people are so quick to point the finger at someone to blame without looking at themselves first. I of course won't say more than that, but I found it unexpectedly relatable.
No, I've never read anything of his. My sister might have, though. I know she read The Devil in the White City.
I've read it. It's very good.
@@Weiselberry Personally, if I was recommending a specific book of his, I'd go with "Dead Wake," about the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI, but I've read several of his books, and thought they were all very good.
I really enjoyed your reading of Summer Running... But I don't think I'll tune in if you decide to read these... :)
I wouldn't tune in for that either. :)
I just discovered your channel yesterday. I'm a new subscriber. The Winds Of War was a good read. Keep up the great work. Live long and prosper! 🖖 Thank you for all that you do. 😊
Thank you!!
So my favorite scenes and wins war or just talking. For instance, the pug family at a small dinner reception at the White House. When Eleanor Roosevelt is discussing supposedly offhand and casually some remarks. The camera focuses, though on real-life famous writer and former UK intel officer Somerset who is still associated at that time with British intelligence, and you see that the word she is saying well, not overtly, directed at him, are there for him to hear the true feelings of the president, the United States with the intention he’ll pass that observation on to the British government, it was a brilliant scene.
It is a good point that mindset of Japanese leaders gets little attention compared to the mindset of the Germans. I think the only way that could have been included would have been to have Pug interacting with the Japanese navy attaché while both are in Berlin in 1940/1941 in WoW. Maybe there could have been an additional Henry kid or cousin who was a missionary in China/Japan and we could see things through their eyes. That would seem like a mirror of much of Berel Jastrow journey.
Finally, I liked your closing comments. I fear you are correct that WoW/WaR could be a cautionary tale for our times.
😍 love your reviews...
Supposedly, Seth MacFarlane is in talks of writing a new adaptation of Winds of War and War and Remembrance for NBCUniversal.
I have read both books multiply times and both miniseries. I think that the romance of Pug and Pamela is the most important thing in the books. Yes Pug does so many things that it's hard to grasp but we understand that it is fiction. I feel that there is 4 or 5 stories in the books. I served during the Vietnam War in the Philippines so I do understand the loneliness of being in the service in wartime. I hope you can re-watch it and understand that the series covers a lot of things.
Just read both books and agree with a lot of your points. I too enjoyed the Winds of War a lot more than War and Remembrance and found Pug and Pamela's tepid romance to be tiresome. I also felt the end was a bit rushed and certain characters with major storylines throughout the books and the reader had a connection with were completely brushed off and given throwaway "off screen" deaths.
But the least believable thing about the story is that Pug, an American, could speak 4-5 different languages!
I liked the comparison to modern day.
I recall watching The Winds of War on ITV when I was about 13-14 years old. I really liked history as a subject at school and I enjoyed the show very much. Ali MacGraw was a crush for a while. When the follow up, War & Remembrance, aired I didn’t like it. This was mainly due to the cast changes. It broke the story for me.
Personally I found the Roon stuff the weakest and clumsiest part of the book. It is basically a rehash of Manstein's lost victories with the implicit line that the German general staff would have won the war and only Hitler's mistakes lost it.
I am an old man, English, an army brat, and grew up with the people who fought the war. Unlike you what I particularly liked was the human relationships. For obvious reasons what the miniseries could not develop was the slow evolution over time of the these relationships. The Pug Pamela and Rhoda thing is very much about the fact that he could talk to Pamela and after 25 years he had nothing more to say to Rhoda.
What I feel Mr. Wouk expressed so well was the sheer horror of the bureaucrats trying to get brownie points and promotions by developing more efficient ways to murder people more effectively.
Anyway thanks for this review of two books I love. We may not always agree but your comments are very acute.
I'm awe struck once again, what an incredible review/discussion video this has been, it was thought provoking, funny and it was interesting as always, I'm going to get these books and have Winds of War as the book I want to start next so I guess I'd better get to buying them. I did enjoy both series and Pug being everywhere and knowing everyone was funny, if he'd just invited all his friends to a dinner party and talked through their problems I'm sure everything would've been just grand lol, six degrees of Pug, I'm imagining what would've happened if Pug caught Covid, he'd have to call President Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler to tell them to self isolate, he probably knew Henry Ford, Einstein and Babe Ruth too, actually I'm sure he'd leave Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin off the warning list lol. Maybe before Pug saw people he saw colours, he's kinda like the narrator/death in a way, ever so slightly. I did like his character and understand how difficult it must've been to thread the characters and events together so I'm ok with it. I thought I knew quite a lot about Hitler, ( feels like an odd thing to say lol) but I never knew he had a flatulence problem lol, maybe it explains the moustache, perhaps his awkward narrow fuzzy lip gremlin is more of a nostril scent blocker than a moustache lol. ~ Thank you Ms Weiselberry :) ~
They say it was most likely his diet, actually. Too much cake. :) Glad you enjoyed the discussion!
I only watched the movies.
I have a copy of The Caine Mutiny and was tempted to start it. I taped the film adaptations and would like to watch them alongside the reading. I'll have to get to The Winds of War and War and Remembrance one of these days. I love these epic long styled novels, even though they are daunting. I remember reading Les Miserables and another longer book in the same time span. I agree that sometimes you have this long read going and you just say "I would love to read something else" alongside, just for a breather if nothing else.
Regarding Robert Mitchum playing pug, Henry, first, I disagree with your search, and that pug is supposed to be short. He’s not handsome, but he’s well-built. Remember, he was a boxer and a starting fullback and Dave academies football team can’t be a short starting fullback that said, I love Robert Mitchum as an actor, but, by the time I win the war and remembrance, he was too old for the part. If you have been 20 years younger perfect. I have no idea who should’ve played him. Also, they were right though not recasting his role.
Hm, I don't think I pulled the idea that Pug Henry is on the shorter side out of thin air. I'm pretty sure it's mentioned a couple times, the first instance being early on in a chapter from Rhoda's perspective. You don't necessarily have to be tall to be a boxer or a football player, do you? I got the distinct impression from what Wouk wrote that he was below average height but stocky.
@@Weiselberry That gives me a good excuse to re-read WoW! 🙂
@@Weiselberry Don’t have to be tall to box. But short fullback won’t cut it. I thought him to be of average height with a stocky build (not lean). Didnt the nickname pug refer to a broken nose? It is quite possible that I mentally filled in or inferred things. I watch WoW when it was first on TV. I read both books the next two summers. I was excited when the 2nd miniseries came out. I was in my last year of college when it came out, so my mom vcr’d all the episodes for me. I watched them over Christmas break and after graduating.
@@Weiselberry So I’ve been re-reading WofW. Pug is described as “stout” which I think could be taken a shorter than average but muscular. Also, it is clear that Rhoda is mentioned as taller than him. So, I think it’s safe to say that you were right and I was wrong. I saw the miniseries winds of war before I read the book so probably my mental picture of Pug Henry is really a mental picture of Robert Mitchum.
Congrats on doing this are you going to watch the new dune movie?
Thanks! Re: Dune, I don't have plans one way or another. I'm not familiar with the original book, series, or film.
😄
I disliked Rhoda so much, that I transferred my dislike to Polly Bergen. I can't recall if you watched Schindler's List or not, but I know that while repulsive, and heart-rending, I realize the need to make this horror remembered, in hopes that it isn't repeated; sadly, doubtful. I typed all of the above before your summation, which was a finer version of what I tried to express.
I know what you mean. Yes, I've seen Schindler's List. It's a great film, but watching it was such a difficult and exhausting experience that I feel like once was enough, at least for a long time. I have a similar feeling about The Elephant Man.
Nowadays he would be Herman Woke
I found very little solace in Wouk's books and, for comparison, I usually shovel his work along with James Mitchener into that great heap of "let's write only to make money" novelizations.
This reviewer is funny. She doesn't like the romantic aspects of the book? Give us a break! Does she think people stopped falling in love just because there was a war on? She's also wrong about Pug Henry's career. His career hadn't stalled, nor did he spend years being passed over. The only time his career really stalled, at least in his own mind, was when he was assigned to duty in Germany. She feels the Janice character was calculating and insincere? What novel was she reading?!? Many of her conclusions are flat out bizarre, as if she read this book half asleep, and only has a vague understanding of what she read! All this reviewer proves is that, like a certain part of the anatomy, everyone has a certain body part. She certainly has a right to her opinion, but that doesn't make her right... FAR FROM IT!
You know, I'm getting mixed messages from your comments. In others you've left (before and after this one), you address me directly, and on my review of The Hypnotic Eye, you said, "FINALLY... Someone who gives an actual review of this movie. Instantly subscribed, off the strength of delivering what you advertise." Yet here you dismissively refer to me as "this reviewer" and "she", and you're so angry that I expressed personal opinions you disagree with that you claim I was either incapable of comprehending what I read or I didn't really read it at all. Apparently, if I give something you're a fan of a positive review, then I'm doing a good job, but if I voice some criticism of a thing you like (which, by the way, I liked as well), my opinions are wrong and I'm not even worth speaking to directly. I find that contradictory, don't you? I welcome feedback, I don't expect everyone to have the same reactions as me, and I don't mind being disagreed with or criticized (though I don't believe anyone likes being insulted or maligned). You're as free to have your opinions as I am to have mine. I'm not interested in an argument regarding how Wouk chose to write women and romance, since it's an entirely subjective topic. But I can't help pointing out that this harsh response makes for a strange contrast with others you've left, causing me to wonder if you think I'm an idiot all the time, or just in this video...