Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words

Beyond Glory is a book full of the memoirs of Veterans. The Veterans are Medal of Honor recipients who are telling their stories from WWII to Vietnam. This is a book for anyone interested in war related things. Since I like that sort of thing, I found this book to be excellent and worthwhile. The genre of this book is Non- fiction since it is real stories from real people. The author, Larry Smith, went to many living recipients and personally interviewed them to get their stories literally in their own words. That is another thing that makes this book so good. He also used great detail and seemed like he was really there telling you the story. I thought this book was excellently written and very interesting. I would rate it 5 stars out of 5 stars. This, in truth, was one of the best books I have ever read and recommend it to everyone, especially if you are a history buff and like to read about War.

Larry Smith's book brings you the reality of true heroes in their own words, just ordinary folks doing their jobs. Actor/writer/director Stephen Lang's theatrical production of "Beyond Glory" may bring you to tears as you join these men "just doing their jobs" in a most extraordinary way. Lang's transition from character to character is as fascinating as each character's endearing story. The play is currently running in Arlington, VA, at the Women's Memorial Theater now, but Lang hopes to take it on the road to colleges and community theaters across the country.

This is an extraordinary book. Larry Smith has done a masterful job in getting Medal of Honor recipients to open up and share their incredible stories. What you get are their thoughts, feelings, and memories, honest and unvarnished. The understatement and the humility make their bravery and achievements all the more powerful. Smith doesn't embellish or over-write. Instead, he lets each man have a voice. The result is gripping, page-turning, and will often bring tears to your eyes. Without Stephen Ambrose to do justice to those who fight our wars, we should be even more grateful to have Larry Smith.

It's so refreshing in these turbulent times to read about these heroes. Unlike other medal of honor books, which just offer the citations or summaries of the citations, this book offers unique looks into the heroes by way of interviews with them. They each have amazing stories and incredibly interesting lives. Buy this book!

At first, I did not like the fact that the book was written by someone who openly protested during the Vietnam war. In my belief he had not earned the right to even speak with these hero's of America. The author did a great job relating the stories of these American heroes in their own words. This is a must read. We are loosing the hero's of our past wars at an alarming rate due to old age finally catching up to them. It was amazing to hear these men talk about their great deads like it was an everyday occurrence.