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Faith of My Fathers | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark Salter
Creator: John Mccain
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $5.65
You Save: $19.35 (77%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  203 reviews
Sales Rank: 962178
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0375407774
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.90922
EAN: 9780375407772
ASIN: 0375407774
Publication Date: August 31, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: in shrinkwrap!!
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Amazon.com
Books by politicians are not often worth reading, but John McCain's Faith of My Fathers is an astonishing exception to the rule. The Republican senator from Arizona has a remarkable story to tell--better than just about any of his peers--and he tells it well, with crisp prose and an unexpected sense for narrative pacing. The first half of the book concerns his naval forbears: his grandfather commanded an aircraft carrier in the Second World War, while his father presided over all naval forces in the Pacific during the Vietnam War. They were the first father-son admirals in American history. Young John McCain knew he had enormous shoes to fill and rebelled against many of the expectations set for him. At the Naval Academy, he was nearly expelled, graduating fifth from the bottom of his class. He never became an admiral, but achieved fame another way: as a naval aviator in 1967, he was shot down over North Vietnam and spent several years in POW camps, where he was beaten, tortured, and nearly allowed to die. McCain describes the awful details of his imprisonment and tells how he stayed mentally strong during seemingly endless months of solitary confinement and how he communicated in code with fellow captives. Faith of My Fathers concludes with McCain's release and contains no information about his subsequent political career. It is, nonetheless, a complete and compelling memoir of individual heroism--one that will interest both political and military history buffs. --John J. Miller
Product Description
Read by John McCain
3 Cassettes, approx. 5 hours
John McCain's grandfather was rail-thin, a gaunt, hawk-faced man known as Slew by his fellow officers and affectionately as Popeye by the sailors who served under him.McCain Sr. played the horses, drank bourbon and water, and rolled his own cigarettes with one hand.More significantly, he was one of the navy's greatest commanders, and led the aircraft carrier of the Third Fleet in key battles during World War II.
John McCain's father fallowed a similar path, one equally distinguished by heroic service in the navy as a submarine commander during World War II.McCain Jr. was a slightly built man, but, like his father, he earned the respect and affection of his men.He, too, rose to the rank of four-star admiral, making the McCains the first family in American history to achieve that distinction.McCain Jr.'s final assignment was commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific during the Vietnam War.
It was in the Vietnam War that John McCain III faced the most difficult challenge of his life.A naval officer, he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and seriously injured.When Vietnamese millitary officers realized he was the son of the top commande, they offered McCain early release in an effort to embarass the United States.Acting from a sense of honor taught to him by his father and the U.S. Naval Academy, McCain refused the offer.He was tortured, held in solitary confinement, and imprisoned for five and a half years.
This memoir is the story of what McCain learned from his grandfather and father, and how their example enabled him to endure these hard years.It is a story of three imperfect men who faced adversity and emerged with their honor intact.Ultimately, Faith of My Father is a story of fathers and sons, what they give each other and what endures.
Download Description
This deeply felt memoir by one of this country's most admired leaders tells the story of three generations of an American military family. The grandson and son of two of the U.S. Navy's most revered commanders, Senator John McCain shows how this legacy of military service and courage helped prepare him for the biggest challenge of his life when, as a naval aviator, he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and seriously injured. When his captors realized McCain's identity, they offered him early release. In what has now become a legendary act of heroism, McCain refused the offer and was subsequently tortured, held in solitary confinement, and imprisoned for more than five years.Faith of My Fathers is about what McCain learned from his father and grandfather, and how their example enabled him to survive. Told with humility, grace, and humor, it is a story of three imperfect men who faced adversity and emerged with their honor intact. It is a story to inspire and instruct, one that shows what fathers give to their sons, and what, ultimately, endures.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 198 more reviews...
 Heroism at its best August 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was moved to tears while reading this book. This is a man that loved his country so much he suffered many years of physical, medical, and psychological torture at the hands of the enemy, even when they asked him if he wanted to be released. He put his fellow POW's first as well as his country. Certainly a better fit for commander-in-chief than any other candidate. Slow moving at first, but interesting just the same. He is a genuine patriot!!!!
 THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND August 17, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
McCain will no doubt go about the usual business of "sacrificing" Americans at the black altar of patriotism, particularly now that the military includes so many non-citizens, ex-felons, and other undesirables. McCain actually says that the Cold War was won without firing a shot. Tell that to the 700,000 people slaughtered in Indonesia in 1965 at the hands of the U.S.-backed, anti-Soviet dictator Suharto; tell that to the countless many who died in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and all the other "third world" countries that the two empires used as proxy war zones. The faith of his fathers was a dark faith full of deception, murder, and hypocrisy. Witness Walter Bedell Smith writing to Dwight D. Eisenhower, confessing the nation's hypocrisy: "The difficulty under which we labor is that in spite of our announced position, we really do not want nor intend to accept German unification" (December 10, 1947). Here is another faithful father confessing the deepest guilt imaginable: "the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender...In being the first to use it, we adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages...Wars should not be won by destroying women and children (Admiral William D. Leahy, "I Was There: The Personal Story of the Chief of Staff to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman," p. 441. Aside from having been chief of staff to both presidents, Leahy, a five star admiral, presided over the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined American-British Chiefs of Staff). Dwight D. Eisenhower himself confessed America's secret guilt: "Japan was already defeated. Dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary..I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'" (Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Mandate for Change," pp.312-13). How dare warmongers like McCain hide behind the word "faith." It is an insult to all that is good and just. By the way, the term "author" can only be applied loosely. Most likely the old man did the talking, and Mr. Salter did the writing.
New Insight into John McCain August 9, 2008
I found the first four chapters a bit boring because I was looking for more about McCain. However, as I got into it further, I realized the need for this background. I see the importance of the connections he felt with his parents, grandparents, other people as the events in the "Hanoi Hilton" unfolded and what these connections meant to fellow POW's as well as to us today. He is a true hero who puts his country and his fellow citizens above self-interest. He gives credit to many other people. He has a pattern of serving interests larger than just his self-interests. We don't need to be told. We see this in action.
I found that several emails circulating around the internet are true: support from a POW named Day, the secretive Christian encouragement, a kindness from a guard, etc. The horrors are un-nerving. How many young people today think of the Hogan's Heroes image of prison camps!
When I got to the part about John McCain in Vietnam, I could not put the book down. We see rather than are told about the importance of faith in God, family and friends, and country. He isn't a hero just because of his suffering. He is a hero because of the way he handles life and the way he connects to people!
They say one measure of character is to look at what makes the person angry. Is it petty things or important things? He has had cause to be angry about things which he feels are hurtful to our country! Even in his worst temptations, he didn't say "God damn America." He never was inspired by people who wanted to do harm to the USA.
He was not my first choice in the primaries, but now I feel secure and hopeful in voting for him. This is not just influenced by the book but this book and other books about him have helped. I've also been helped by watching him in town hall meetings, getting more understanding about his not voting for something that sounded good except for "bad strings" attached to the bill, etc.
I appreciate the insight this book provided. In spite of the seriousness of this book, there are some parts which are very funny.
Fath of Our Fathers August 3, 2008
Great book. Very enlightening. Enjoyed it very much and helped me to see John McCain for the loyal, trusted, patriot that he is.
 Faith of My Fathers by John McCain July 26, 2008
This was an excellent book helping me to get to know our candidate for president. It gave me immense respect for him and his strong character and honor.
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