Another River, Another Town: A Teenage Tank Gunner Comes of Age in Combat--1945

by John P. Irwin

Book Overview

Many narrative accounts of men in combat during World War II have conveyed the horrors and emotions of warfare. However, not many reveal in such an intimate way the struggle of innocent youth to adapt... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375507752
• ISBN13: 9780375507755
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An excellent read

Mr. John P. Irwin is a fantastic writer, despite the fact that he flunked eleventh grade. I never thought I'd catch myself reading a memoir, let alone liking it, and yet this book caught my attention from page one. Mr. Irwin utilizes excellent diction and displays clarity of thought in this book, as he tells the reader of his part in WWII. I loved reading this book as I believe many others will too.

Fine writing documenting experience of armored in Germany

"Another River, Another Town" by John P. Irwin, sub-titled "A Teenage Tank gunner Come of Age in Combat-1945." Random House, New York, 2002.With the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944, there was a great demand on the United States Army for replacements in the European Theater of Operations. Pennsylvanian John P. Irwin had just completed tank gunner training in Fort Knox and was shipped to France. He was immediately put in charge, as ranking soldier, of a Sherman tank, and, after completing repairs, instructed to join up with the 3rd Armored Division. Running as a single tank, trying to catch the main column, Irwin and his crew promptly get lost. They end up in a German occupied town, and, happily for them, the Germans want to surrender. Corporal Irwin leads the German column back to American lines, where he is chewed out by Captain Harker for delivering unwanted prisoners! Thus begins Irwin's tour of duty in the closing period of World War II in Europe. His book describes the relations among the five-man crew, the agony of having a tank shot out from underneath them, and the daily drudgery in going from town to town, river to river, bridge to bridge. Their replacement tank is one of the new Pershing Tanks, and Irwin describes how the Pershing's extra armor, its ability to fire while still moving and the Pershing's rapid gun turret movement saved them in many situations. (For a complete comparison of Sherman and Pershing, see, "Death Traps" by Belton Y. Cooper.) This book is well written and easy to read.

The not so glamourous side of war.

A great short read about an American soldier's experience in the last few weeks of the war in Europe in WWII. Irwin relates his experiences of capturing a large group of German soldiers, along with the monotony of endless hours spent riding in a tank. Even though this is a first book for Irwin, it is highly entertaining and will keep you interested. Just wish he had more experiences to relate in this short book. Also was disappointed that there was no aftermath on what happened to his tank team mates. It would have been interesting to find out what happened to them. However if quality of writing is everything, this book should keep you interested.

A Tanker's Story

This brief story of a teen's experience in combat in the final months of WWII in Europe gives the reader a nice perspective of the war from the armor branch of the US Army. It kept my interest as the unit advanced across Germany toward Berlin. Theauthor writes a running narrative as they move from town to town in pursuit of the retreating Wehrmacht trying to prevent the final collapse of the Reich. The story is well written. I highly recommend it for your consideration.

A good honest story

This is an especially interesting memoir because it describes the experiences of an ordinary eighteen-year who serves as a tank gunner towards the end of WWII in Europe. I thought the book was well written and the author does an excellent job of presenting the war from the perspective someone who was neither privileged nor publicly known. Irwin does a good job of describing combat as well as other aspects such as the relationships with other soldiers and how they dealt with fear.