Paratrooper: The Life of Gen. James M. Gavin

by Duncan Spencer and T. Michael Booth

Book Overview

World War II, which occurred precisely at the juncture between air transport capability and the invention of the helicopter, saw history's first and only mass use of paratroopers dropped into battle... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671732269
• ISBN13: 9780671732264
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 494 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

The Best Biography of the Paratrooper Legend

This is the finest biography of the life of Jumpin' Jim Gavin, a legendary World War II leader. The other biography is written by Bradley Biggs and lacks the thorough research of Booth & Spencer's work. Read Biggs if you need a summary (and somewhat biased rendition) of Gavin's heroic life of service to the nation. Read this book if you want the details of Gavin's life in an impartial account - from his days as an orphan, then adopted growing up in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania to his WWII exploits, service as Ambassador to France under President Kennedy and his time as CEO of Arthur D. Little & Company. This biography presents the uncut version of the life of James M. Gavin.Many former and current paratroopers still pay homage to the memory of this great man. Gavin is buried in the cemetery at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Each year on 6 June, his wife Jean, other family members, and members of the 82nd Airborne Division Association, both officers and enlisted, gather for a D-Day memorial to honor one of the greatest leaders of the war. Gavin led the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment on airborne drops into Sicily and Salerno, and later he led the entire 82nd Airborne Division on the Normandy and Market Garden jumps. It is a fitting tribute that the impact of his legacy still lives on in the hearts of the men and women who knew him and went to war with him. If you want to understand why his memory still inspires many of us in uniform, read this book. (You can also get more insight into the man by reading the several books that Gavin wrote himself, like Crisis Now, Airborne Warfare, and On To Berlin.) Highly recommended for all paratroopers and anyone who interacts with military professionals.