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Jeff Shaara proves in TO THE LAST MAN why he is a premier artist in the literary picture of war history. His prior successes, stories of the American Civil War, were skillful chronologies and great story lines. TO THE LAST MAN is no less in its characterization of World War I. Much has been written about WWII and the Civil War, but Shaara brings alive the events of a war on European shores and how the Americans helped to end the great struggle.
Shaara's style is much like that used in his earlier novels. The introduction lists the main players in the war drama, with brief bios and early family histories. Subsequent chapters follow the viewpoint characters during their particular experiences and time frames for their actions. A large section is devoted to the stories of air war, its place in the conflict and the men who became heroes due to their aerial successes. Previous wars had depended on plodding trench battles, often fought hand-to-hand. But the aeroplane forever changed the landscapes of modern warfare.
Shaara pictures heroic lives from both sides, those daredevil pilots who brought gunfire to the skies. The names of Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Raoul Lufbery dominate these chapters. Shaara demonstrates a deep probe of historical fact by his true-to-life portrayals. These pilots and their compatriots jump from the page and put the reader into the action. Emotions sway toward the humanity and character of each aerial duelist.
Enter John J. Pershing, military commander of the American forces reluctantly sent to France. Pershing endures endless delays in the deployment of American troops and is frustrated by the tactics of French and British leaders. In the war's late stages, European commanders want the American forces assimilated into their respective armies. But Pershing holds firm to the independence of his forces.
Roscoe Temple is the character Shaara uses to tell America's story in the war. Temple is a Marine recruit, a replacement for the thousands of French and British soldiers who lay dead in the muddy French fields. He is the embodiment of the American spirit that traveled to France to do a job --- kill the enemy and drive the Huns back to Germany. His transformation from green recruit to seasoned warrior happens rapidly and leads to the war's end.
Shaara has written a remarkable book, full of history, real and imagined. The majority of the action is authentic, with imagined characters living their reality. Through their eyes, a reader today can easily grasp the horror (yet majesty) and great action known as World War I. TO THE LAST MAN is certain to become a bestseller.
--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
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