by Bob Dole
New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Pp. xix, 287.
Illus., map. $14.95 paper. ISBN:0-06-076942-6
Bob Dole, former Republican senator from Kansas and
1996 presidential candidate, was one of many Americans who, as young men, had
their lives interrupted by World War II. This is account of that war, and that life.
Originally published in 2005, One Soldier?s Story is a well written and well organized. The opening chapter recounts a trip by the
Senator and his wife to a military hospital to visit with men who had been
wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq. This
leads to a compelling account of the culminating moments of Dole?s wartime
career, when he was seriously wounded while leading men of the 10th
Mountain Dividion in the final weeks of the war in northern Italy, a wound that
would disable his right arm for the rest of his life.
Then One
Soldier?s Story returns to review Dole?s early life, as a boy in a small
prairie town, from the hardships of the Great Depression and the ?Dust Bowl? on
thought the coming of war. It then
follows him through his induction into the army, learning to soldier, and his
experiences in the field. Reprising
briefly the events that led to his disability, Dole carries the story through
his long years of recovery and physical therapy, which never managed to break
his spirit.