The release date for the English version of 'Flags of Our Fathers' by
James D. Bradley is Aug 2006. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
James Bradley has captured the splendor, the victory, the grief, and the legacy of the six men who hoisted the flag at Iwo Jima in this enduring account of what is perhaps the most famous event in American military history. This is the real tale of the timeless image that has come to represent America's bravery and unwavering resolve.
American Marines made history in February 1945 when they dove into the waves at Iwo Jima. They fought to the top of the island under a barrage of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches littered with fallen allies. And they hoisted a flag after ascending into the whole terrain of hell.
A moving story of six very different young men who came together in a moment that will live on has now been penned by the son of one of the flagraisers.
John Bradley never discussed the picture or the conflict with his family. However, his family found sealed boxes with messages and pictures after his death at the age of 70. James Bradley uses such records in Flags of Our Fathers to retrace his father's and the soldiers of Easy Company's lives. James Bradley has written a classic account of the valiant struggle for the most important island in the Pacific, Iwo Jima, which followed these men's journey there. The island was home to 22,000 fervent defenders who were willing to fight to the death.
What transpired after the triumph, however, is maybe the most fascinating aspect of the tale. The guys in the picture—three of whom lost their lives in the conflict—were hailed as heroes and flown home to serve as reluctant emblems. It was crushing praise for two of them. The only person who really made it out alive was James Bradley's father, who didn't have a copy of the well-known picture in his house and told his son alone, "The real heroes of Iwo Jima were the guys who didn't come back."
Flags of Our Fathers, more than any other novel, captures the intricacy, ferocity, and devastation of war and its aftermath. This narrative is presented with great clarity, huge honesty, and the passion of a son honoring his father. It is a piercing, dramatic look at a generation at war. It tells the tale of the fundamental aspects of the human experience of battle, the distinction between myth and reality, and what it means to be a hero.
taken from the hardback copy.