The Unknowns

April 15, 2018

O'Donnell (Washington's Immortals) has made a specialty of writing about America's military conflicts. The author is an expert at providing background information and narrating the chaotic flow of war. Here, he reevaluates the 1921 dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Following the paths of the eight veterans selected as pallbearers for the casket and the ninth asked to choose the coffin beforehand, O'Donnell finds a personalized way to chronicle a particularly gruesome conflict: World War I. There are 11 heroes here; as in addition to the nine with responsibilities to the casket, the tenth is the unknown dead soldier and the eleventh is Gen. "Black Jack" Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, who comes across as an unlikable leader one can't help but admire. O'Donnell has succeeded admirably in conveying that we need heroes as much as we need reminders of war. VERDICT There are many readers for old-style military history. This is a solid volume, written with a twist, and the battle scenes are as good as you'll find in John Keegan's classic The Face of Battle.--David Keymer, Cleveland

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March 15, 2018
"World War I marked the death of the old world and the emergence of the modern era." A century later, a prolific military historian revives one of that cataclysm's most iconic personal stories.In 1921, one decorated World War I veteran chose the "Unknown Soldier," and eight others solemnly bore his casket to its tomb in Arlington National Cemetery. Realizing that their remarkable stories would make a compelling background for a history of this monument, O'Donnell (Washington's Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment Who Changed the Course of the Revolution, 2016, etc.), in his first book about WWI, strikes gold with vivid accounts of nine often horrendous battlefield experiences. The American Army fought under Gen. John J. Pershing, whom the author admires but also takes to task for some of his flawed convictions that led to immense casualties. Seven of O'Donnell's soldiers fought bravely, won medals, and often suffered grievous wounds in the iconic battles in Belleau Wood, Saint-Mihiel, and the final, brutal, perhaps unnecessary Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Of the two sailors, one sustained nearly fatal burns but saved his torpedoed ship; the other spent weeks as a prisoner aboard a U-boat and more than a year in a prison camp. The author is good at turning up "untold stories" from America's wars--five of his previous books include those words in the subtitle--and he accompanies lively, well-researched accounts of these admirable, sometimes-heroic men with histories of our unknown soldiers (there are now three) and a fervent, American-oriented version of the final year of the war (arriving in the nick of time, Pershing's forces saved the day) that even American scholars no longer hold.Serious history buffs may roll their eyes, but if they concentrate on the lives of the main characters and less on the patriotic frills, they will not regret the reading experience.

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May 15, 2018
Acclaimed military historian O'Donnell (Give Me Tomorrow, 2010) brings to life America's involvement in the Great War through the stories of eight body bearers of an unidentified fallen soldier, the very one who lies in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, representing all of America's WWI unknowns. O'Donnell does his subject justice, beginning with the book's inspiration, his own work giving marines a tour of the battlefields in France. His recounting of the experiences of the body bearers vividly conveys the bloody reality of combat in the trenches while humanizing the combatants caught in a dehumanizing conflict. Each eventual body bearer faced adversity and violence differently, and their courage and devotion to duty were manifested in different ways. Together, these profiles offer a window on America's part in the twentieth-century's first world war. O'Donnell expands coverage by exploring the ceremonies and rituals associated with each U.S. service branch. A thrilling title for readers interested in WWI and an excellent primer for understanding the full significance of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)