Officially, today. The image links to the paperback at B&N.com.
Prefer Amazon? Here's the link.
Showing posts with label Rangers at Dieppe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rangers at Dieppe. Show all posts
Why truth is important, at least after the fact
The story of the Dieppe hero who wasn't (see the post below) begs its own questions, most importantly why did I feel it necessary to include in the book at all.
The story he told was compelling, though, and certainly if it had been true I would have included it, just as nearly every other author has. But he wasn't a Ranger, and after I debunked it for myself I debated whether I should include it at all. I didn't feel angry that the man had received honors and had gone done in history for something he didn't do. On the contrary, I felt sorry for him - my impression was that he felt so much survivor guilt, and perhaps shame at not being able to live up to whatever he thought he should have done under fire, that he invented a story that made him look like an action hero to compensate. Revealing that seemed almost like compounding his wounds and pain.
And who was I to pass judgement? I wasn't there; who knows how I would have reacted that day, under those circumstances, at that moment. We all like to think we will be brave under every circumstance, on every occasion, yet of course that is impossible. Who are any of us, really, to judge what another person does? True judgement can only be rendered by God.
And yet, anyone reading his story must think, can only wonder, why if this man was able to achieve what he claimed to achieve, others couldn't. That reason alone made it important to include the story somewhere, even if ultimately it might be tangential to the rest of the tale.
After I finished the book, I realized the story of his bravery, and non-bravery, echoed in many ways one of the important themes of the work - what courage really is, and how those who come later attempt to retrieve and relive that courage. In many ways, the battle - all battles - that we revisit can tell us as much about ourselves as about the men who fought it. If we're willing to look at it with clear eyes, and struggle for the truth.
The story of the Dieppe hero who wasn't (see the post below) begs its own questions, most importantly why did I feel it necessary to include in the book at all.
The story he told was compelling, though, and certainly if it had been true I would have included it, just as nearly every other author has. But he wasn't a Ranger, and after I debunked it for myself I debated whether I should include it at all. I didn't feel angry that the man had received honors and had gone done in history for something he didn't do. On the contrary, I felt sorry for him - my impression was that he felt so much survivor guilt, and perhaps shame at not being able to live up to whatever he thought he should have done under fire, that he invented a story that made him look like an action hero to compensate. Revealing that seemed almost like compounding his wounds and pain.
And who was I to pass judgement? I wasn't there; who knows how I would have reacted that day, under those circumstances, at that moment. We all like to think we will be brave under every circumstance, on every occasion, yet of course that is impossible. Who are any of us, really, to judge what another person does? True judgement can only be rendered by God.
And yet, anyone reading his story must think, can only wonder, why if this man was able to achieve what he claimed to achieve, others couldn't. That reason alone made it important to include the story somewhere, even if ultimately it might be tangential to the rest of the tale.
After I finished the book, I realized the story of his bravery, and non-bravery, echoed in many ways one of the important themes of the work - what courage really is, and how those who come later attempt to retrieve and relive that courage. In many ways, the battle - all battles - that we revisit can tell us as much about ourselves as about the men who fought it. If we're willing to look at it with clear eyes, and struggle for the truth.
Errors, accidents, and good fortune
Rangers at Dieppe comes out in paperback this week, which is cool. The only problem is that, due to circumstances beyond my control, a number of changes I wanted to make weren't included in the paperback.
I was mostly hoping to make a few corrections to some small mistakes. The most embarrassing is a section in the book where I inexplicably described an M-1 carbine rather than the M-1 rifle. It didn't harm the story, of course, but it's one of those things that make you cringe later on - kind of like walking through a really fancy restaurant with toilet paper on your shoe. (I wouldn't have minded the mistake so much if I hadn't known the difference, but that's another story . . .)
On the other hand, that error has been very fortunate. A number of readers have taken the time to set me straight - most very kindly - and have shared incredible stories of their experiences, or their fathers' or grandfathers', during the war. I've learned a lot and gained a lot in the process.
It's almost as if I did it on purpose. I didn't. But I'm glad I got a chance to talk to these guys and gals.
The book's website: www.rangersatdieppe.com
Rangers at Dieppe comes out in paperback this week, which is cool. The only problem is that, due to circumstances beyond my control, a number of changes I wanted to make weren't included in the paperback.
I was mostly hoping to make a few corrections to some small mistakes. The most embarrassing is a section in the book where I inexplicably described an M-1 carbine rather than the M-1 rifle. It didn't harm the story, of course, but it's one of those things that make you cringe later on - kind of like walking through a really fancy restaurant with toilet paper on your shoe. (I wouldn't have minded the mistake so much if I hadn't known the difference, but that's another story . . .)
On the other hand, that error has been very fortunate. A number of readers have taken the time to set me straight - most very kindly - and have shared incredible stories of their experiences, or their fathers' or grandfathers', during the war. I've learned a lot and gained a lot in the process.
It's almost as if I did it on purpose. I didn't. But I'm glad I got a chance to talk to these guys and gals.
The book's website: www.rangersatdieppe.com
Reason 1 to write fiction: The truth
A few weeks ago on his late-night talk show, Joey Reynolds and I had a friendly discussion about why I write fiction. It went something like this:
Joey: Why write fiction? Fiction sucks.
Me: Except for mine.
Joey: Well yeah. But other fiction sucks.
Having written nonfiction, it would be kind of crazy to attack it. (And since I was on his show promoting Rangers at Dieppe, a nonfiction book, it would have been really stupid, even at like three in the morning.) A good nonfiction story or book is a good story or a book.
But you can do things in fiction that are either impossible or very hard in nonfiction. Nonfiction requires a strict adherence to the truth of specific, surface things. The story is limited by what is in front of you.
Fiction lets you tell the truth in a much deeper way. If it’s a well-written book, it’s the only way to tell that story.
To use one of my books as an example, Leopards Kill talked about what was going on in Afghanistan several years before it was possible, let alone fashionable, to do so. (I wrote it two years before it was published; it’s only in the last few months that what is going on there has started to come out.) That book is about a lot of other things besides
(to be continued)
But what I meant was . . .
One of the great things about writing a book is the fact that you make mistakes.
Not that I like making mistakes - just the opposite - but they're inevitable, or at least they are for me. On the bright side, they give readers something to say to you. Most are pretty nice about it. I've met a lot of interesting people that way.
Somewhere in Rangers at Dieppe, I started talking about the M1 and for some reason I got confused between the standard rifle version and the carbine. Probably I started to pontificate on the different versions, realized I was just going on, then cut out stuff haphazardly. But who knows.
Damned if I haven't been hearing about it ever since the book came out. Just goes to show: the only thing a writer really owns in a story are the mistakes he makes . . .
The funny thing is, I first learned to shoot with an M1 that belonged to a friend's father. There were some great stories attached to the gun, which supposedly had been used in WWII. Most if not all of the stories were probably apocryphal - and I strongly suspect now that it hadn't been in the war at all. But just holding that rifle (and yes, that was definitely the rifle version) was an awesome feeling.
One of the great things about writing a book is the fact that you make mistakes.
Not that I like making mistakes - just the opposite - but they're inevitable, or at least they are for me. On the bright side, they give readers something to say to you. Most are pretty nice about it. I've met a lot of interesting people that way.
Somewhere in Rangers at Dieppe, I started talking about the M1 and for some reason I got confused between the standard rifle version and the carbine. Probably I started to pontificate on the different versions, realized I was just going on, then cut out stuff haphazardly. But who knows.
Damned if I haven't been hearing about it ever since the book came out. Just goes to show: the only thing a writer really owns in a story are the mistakes he makes . . .
The funny thing is, I first learned to shoot with an M1 that belonged to a friend's father. There were some great stories attached to the gun, which supposedly had been used in WWII. Most if not all of the stories were probably apocryphal - and I strongly suspect now that it hadn't been in the war at all. But just holding that rifle (and yes, that was definitely the rifle version) was an awesome feeling.
Me & Joey
Joey Reynolds: . . . Yeah, so everybody has these blogs and -- you can't even read them all --
Me: I have a blog.
Joey: Have you read it all?
Me: I haven't finished it yet...
----
Postscript: Oh yeah, and we talked about Dieppe, and Rangers, and marriage.
They beat me up a bit, but it was great fun. Here's a url to their site, where there's a podcast somewhere. . . .
http://www.wor710.com/pages/46370.php
Joey Reynolds: . . . Yeah, so everybody has these blogs and -- you can't even read them all --
Me: I have a blog.
Joey: Have you read it all?
Me: I haven't finished it yet...
----
Postscript: Oh yeah, and we talked about Dieppe, and Rangers, and marriage.
They beat me up a bit, but it was great fun. Here's a url to their site, where there's a podcast somewhere. . . .
http://www.wor710.com/pages/46370.php
Now on-line
The website: www.rangersatdieppe.com
There are some video goodies, maps and documents there, as well as one-click ordering through Amazon and (soon, I hope) your local bookstore.
The website: www.rangersatdieppe.com
There are some video goodies, maps and documents there, as well as one-click ordering through Amazon and (soon, I hope) your local bookstore.
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