Wouk wrote the book with a meticulous devotion to historical accuracy and, as a result, I felt like I developed a much better sense of what it might have been like to live through World War II as my grandfather did.Īs I read the book, I tried to see the characters and the storyline through my grandfather's eyes I tried to imagine which parts he liked best and as I stayed up late at night, reading into the wee hours of the morning as he once had, I felt a fleeting sense of connection to this man whom I never really got a chance to know. In a day and age when it seems as if most men can only talk to one another about professional sports or how best to grill a steak, it was wonderful to tap into a much deeper vein of feelings and ideas that we could both discuss and share.Īlthough my grandfather has been dead for more than 20 years, The Winds of War also left me feeling closer to him. We also discussed numerous chapters of American History - the Battle of Midway, the Tehran Conference, and the death of Roosevelt - as if they were current events that immediately stood to affect our lives. We talked about Pug Henry and his sons as if they were old friends ours. With my stepfather, of course, I had the chance to discuss the story every time I saw him. The wonderful thing that I felt throughout my reading of the book was a sense of closeness both to my grandfather and my stepfather. Shortly after hearing this, I placed an order for a copy of the book. He lived through those times, and as an American war veteran and a Jew, I think that he felt a deep connection to many of Wouk's characters.' 'He read that book every night into the early hours of the morning,' my mother recalled. My mother then told me that my grandfather, before he died, had declared it to be his favorite book as well. The Winds of War first came onto my radar when my stepfather, Paul Zuydhoek, mentioned that it was the best book he had ever read. Over the course of reading Wouk's book, I felt as if I came know all of these characters personally, and I eventually found myself rationing the number of pages that I would read each night, as if to forestall having to say goodbye. Captain Henry has two sons battling in the Pacific, a Jewish daughter-in-law trapped behind enemy lines in Germany, a wife who is cheating on him, and a lover whom he is forced to leave on the snowy streets of Moscow. In classic Tolstoy fashion, the novel has an exhaustive list of characters. The book follows the lives and adventures of a Navy captain, Pug Henry, and his extended family during World War II. Despite the fact that the novel is nearly 1,000 pages long, I tore through it at lightning speed.

The winds of war herman wouk review