My War - Softcover

Andy Rooney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586481592 ISBN 13: 9781586481599

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2002

Synopsis

My War is a blunt, funny, idiosyncratic account of Andy Rooney's World War II. As a young, naïve correspondent for The Stars and Stripes, Rooney flew bomber missions, arrived in France during the D-Day invasion, crossed the Rhine with the Allied forces, traveled to Paris for the Liberation, and was one of the first reporters into Buchenwald. Like so many of his generation, Rooney's life was changed forever by the war. He saw life at the extremes of human experience, and wrote about what he observed, making it real to millions of men and women. My War is the story of an inexperienced kid learning the craft of journalism. It is by turns moving, suspenseful, and reflective. And Rooney's unmistakable voice shines through on every page.

About this title

Review:

On July 7, 1941, a young Colgate University football player named Andy Rooney reported for U.S. Army training. He was, Rooney allows, not prime military material. He had a knack for enraging the drill instructors with his wisecracks, and for pulling harsh assignments as a result, and his shenanigans got him disqualified from officer candidacy. Still, Rooney survived boot camp and served for a time as an artilleryman until being reassigned to the daily newspaper Stars and Stripes. Lucky for him, too: in 1942 his old outfit ran into trouble in North Africa, fighting against Erwin Rommel, and although few of them were killed, Rooney writes, "there's a good possibility I would have spent all of 1943, 1944, and six months of 1945 in a German prison camp."

In My War, a fine and wholeheartedly irreverent memoir, Rooney--later to gain fame as a 60 Minutes commentator--recounts what happened instead. As a correspondent, he saw combat up-close while honing his craft alongside such fellow chroniclers as Ernie Pyle and Bill Mauldin. What he witnessed will perhaps not please some survivors and students of the war, especially those who revere Gen. George S. Patton--whom Rooney charges with having committed improprieties, injustices, and even war crimes in the quest to secure personal fame.

Though the book is a personal memoir, Rooney has taken pains to square his anecdotes with the historical record. However, he writes, "It is distressing for me to note how infrequently the facts concur with my memory of what happened." (In such cases, he adds, he assumes that the facts are wrong.) Affecting, occasionally disturbing, and thoroughly well-written, Rooney's memoir is a welcome addition to the literature of "the good war." --Gregory McNamee

From the Inside Flap:

ca's favorite commentators writes a moving, funny, and highly evocative account of his life as an Army private and Stars and Stripes reporter during World War II. Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, My War features endpapers showing dispatches and photos taken during the war.

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1586481592
• ISBN 13: 9781586481599
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352