This is from my brother Jim, who read and reviewed Bear Soldier.
John,
I just reviewed The War Bear and really enjoyed it. I did not want to say this in the review, but it probably should be shortened by at least 20-30 pages. He continuously repeats the same basic facts (e.g., the bear was found in Iran, went to Palestine, to Egypt to Italy, etc.). The reader also understands that Piotr has an unusual relationship with the bear and that the bear is rather unique, but this is repeated in every chapter.
While retelling the battle of Monte Casino, he makes some mention of Polish allies, but you never would get the impression that there were actually almost a quarter of a million allies in the battle and that the Polish contribution, although critical, depended on the rest of the allies' efforts to succeed.
Here is my actual review:
Four years ago, I was in a military history museum in Warsaw when the docent started talking about a bear that carried artillery shells for the Polish Army in World War II. My reaction was, “Interesting story, but of course it can't be true”. Evidently, it was true. The Bear Soldier recounts the life of that bear, from an orphaned cub to a giant. Interwoven is the tragic history of Poland during WWII, which still affects the outlook of Poles to this day.
As a historical fiction, the details of the book are impossible to corroborate, but the basic historical facts seem quite accurate. The II Polish Corps did overcome horrendous casualties to spearhead the Allies' fourth and victorious assault on the Monte Casino monastery/fortress.
Polish Truth - The Polish effort and capture of Monte Cassino
The Bear Soldier is an inspiring story. I was particularly interested in what happened after the war, which is a significant part of this book. Hopefully, Mr. Keller will publish a second edition of the book. If he does, I would highly recommend including maps and photographs, especially of Wojtek, the war bear.
This is from my brother Jim, who read and reviewed Bear Soldier.
John,
I just reviewed The War Bear and really enjoyed it. I did not want to say this in the review, but it probably should be shortened by at least 20-30 pages. He continuously repeats the same basic facts (e.g., the bear was found in Iran, went to Palestine, to Egypt to Italy, etc.). The reader also understands that Piotr has an unusual relationship with the bear and that the bear is rather unique, but this is repeated in every chapter.
While retelling the battle of Monte Casino, he makes some mention of Polish allies, but you never would get the impression that there were actually almost a quarter of a million allies in the battle and that the Polish contribution, although critical, depended on the rest of the allies' efforts to succeed.
Here is my actual review:
Four years ago, I was in a military history museum in Warsaw when the docent started talking about a bear that carried artillery shells for the Polish Army in World War II. My reaction was, “Interesting story, but of course it can't be true”. Evidently, it was true. The Bear Soldier recounts the life of that bear, from an orphaned cub to a giant. Interwoven is the tragic history of Poland during WWII, which still affects the outlook of Poles to this day.
As a historical fiction, the details of the book are impossible to corroborate, but the basic historical facts seem quite accurate. The II Polish Corps did overcome horrendous casualties to spearhead the Allies' fourth and victorious assault on the Monte Casino monastery/fortress.
Polish Truth - The Polish effort and capture of Monte Cassino
The Bear Soldier is an inspiring story. I was particularly interested in what happened after the war, which is a significant part of this book. Hopefully, Mr. Keller will publish a second edition of the book. If he does, I would highly recommend including maps and photographs, especially of Wojtek, the war bear.
Eric, don't forget to send me a picture of the spine of your book, Bear Soldier. I'll add it to the book stack on the landing page.
Eric, if you send me a photo of the spine of The Bear Soldier, I'll photoshop it into the stack of books on the landing page. Take your photo at the same angle as the books in the stack.
Hi Eric, just testing out the comments/chat section of the site. Please respond when you get a chance. Thanks, John