Flags Of Our Fathers Sparknotes

I chose to read the book Flags of Our Fathers. The author of this book is is James Bradley and Ron Powers. I have an original copy of this book. There was a revised version by Michael French. The publisher of my book is Bantam. The hardcover edition was published in May of 2000. The paperback edition was published in October 2001. Later there was a Major Motion Picture. The movie was released October 20, 2006. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and produced by Steven Spielberg. There was a screenplay in the movie written by William Broyles Jr., and Paul Haggins. The movie won the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film. James Bradley is an American author who specializes in historical nonfiction specifically, World War II.

He was born in February of 1954. He received his education at the University of Notre Dame. Bradley was also the author of Flyboys (2003), and The Imperial Cruise (2009). Ron Powers is an American journalist, novelist and nonfiction writer. He was born November 18, 1941. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The book Flags of Our Fathers was awarded The #1 New York Times Bestseller and the Colby award. The Colby award was created to recognize “a first work of fiction or nonfiction that has made a major contribution to the understanding of intelligence operations, military history, or international affairs.” It was named in honor of William Egan Colby.
These two authors are credible to write this book because they both take interest in history and wanted to write a book on it. James Bradley’s father was at Iwo Jima during World War II. He found a letter written by his father about his experience during the war. This was special to him because his father would never discuss his experiences with James. After he read his father's letter he was determined to interview more participants in the war. He interviewed more than 300 people, most being soldiers, for his book. The only credibility Ron Powers has to co-author this book is that he is interested in the topic so he put in his information to help the book be written. Neither of the two authors were participants in the war.
This book is a collection of soldiers experiences in war.

The most significant experience to James Bradley was his father, John Brdleys. John Bradley kept his feelings and experiences to himself about war and what came after it. After James’s father died in 1994, he found a letter his father had written to his parents, James’s grandparents, calling the flag raising “the happiest moment” of his life. After reading this letter he became even more motivated to write this book. He interviewed hundreds of soldiers involved and eye witnesses of the war. Flags of Our Fathers was made into a movie that was directed by Clint Eastwood, and the photograph that inspired it was used by President Truman to sell bonds to fund the war. It was also the inspiration for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
The thesis of Flags of Our Fathers is that every soldier experiences war differently. It is basically saying soldiers on two different sides are still soldiers, they are both people no matter what side they are fighting on. He hints around the fact that you don't see soldiers’ fear even when they are scared to death. They refuse to show it, and they stand strong and confident. Both sides have a flag and they are both fighting for honor. War is

war.
A portion of James Bradley’s research for Flags of Our Fathers came from his own family experience. His father, John Bradley, was supposedly one of the flag-raisers in the most famous flag-raising photograph from the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. The Marines have identified Bradley’s father as one of the men in the photograph, but Bradley himself is not sure if his father is actually in the photograph. There is no question that Bradley’s father was there, but whether he is actually pictured in the most famous flag-raising photograph is uncertain. Bradley believes that perhaps his father was pictured in another Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph, but perhaps not in the photograph most associated with the flag raising. Regardless of which photograph he was in, Bradley’s father’s experiences in the War no doubt had an impact on Bradley’s research for his book. In that respect, Bradley has no doubt done his homework for the book, and that is reflected in the quality of the book.
Flags of Our Fathers was published in 2000, and Bradley did not have access to the same information that was available subsequent to publication.

Specifically, a report in 2014 from the Omaha World-Herald cast doubt, at least in Bradley’s mind, that his father was not in the most famous flag-raising photograph from the Battle of Iwo Jima. The article described historians’ efforts to compare the pants, headgear and cartridge belt worn in the most famous photograph to the first photograph taken. The evidence in the article suggested that Bradley’s father was not in fact in the famous photograph as was previously thought. Bradley himself has stated that he reviewed the 2014 article, and that he agrees that it is likely that his father was not in the most famous photograph. Bradley has stated that he did not disclose his conclusions because there was little interest from the news media and the Marines about the identity of the men in the photograph at the time of the

article.
Flags of Our Fathers was an engaging book, and was easy to read. Bradley engages the reader through a real-life experience of soldiers who collectively put the American spirit on their back and raised the flag of freedom after one of the most horrific battles of World War II. The photograph shows six ordinary soldiers overcoming heartbreak to cement the legacy of the American spirit, and Bradley’s writing style effectively brings that legacy to his readers.
The book gave me a new appreciation for the difficulties in war and the sacrifices that soldiers make in defending our freedom. As I read the story of the flag being raised by the six soldiers, I constantly thought of the 6,500 lives that were lost in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and knowing that I was reading about events that actually happened added a depth to the book that I found extremely gripping. I gained a new appreciation for the freedoms that I have, and thus I would recommend the book to high school students because the book describes such an important part of World War II in a way that allows for the proper degree of understanding about how grateful we should be for our American freedoms.