Code Talkers

At first, I thought this was a well written memoir. It seemed amazing that one many could have so many experiences. Then part way through, I realized that it was in fact a work of fiction. Now it seemed much less powerful. It seemed as if the author was throwing in every major event from the Pacific Theater of World War II. The beliefs and values of the narrator also seemed to be more forced. Rather than reading the forward thinking views of a half-century ago, we have modern sentiments projected on the past. Thus it comes across as more preachy and didactic.

Luckily, most of the book is focussed on the action, so we can skip over the preachiness and "kitchen sink" approach to history. It is a compelling World War II book about a Navajo code talker that actively participates in many of the battles. Since this book was written, a "real" code talker memoir has been published. That might be a better one to check out.