Fayetteville Observer
An intriguing read covering a wide swath of military history, much of it probably little known to many Americans. It takes a microscopic, individualized look at famous battles, describing them from the point of view of the soldiers who fought them…. "13 Soldiers" whets the appetite for history lovers, blending lesser-known facts into well-known battles. But it's approachable for novices, too…. McCain and Salter, a long time storytelling duo, have crafted a worthwhile read that abstains from romanticizing war yet instills a sense of pride that will touch any reader.
NationalMemo.com
Written with thrilling immediacy, insight, and reverence for the men and women who have risked and sacrificed their lives for their country. Much more than a military history, Thirteen Soldiers brings famous battles and campaigns down to the individual scale, enhances our understanding of the costs and consequences of battle, and introduces a human dimension to the history of armed conflict.
The Daily Beast
This instructive book is crammed with battlefield details, struggles, and strategies, along with an intriguing cast of characters and their untold stories.
The Wall Street Journal
"Messrs. McCain and Salter have chosen a thoughtful array of subjects....the authors have drawn a diverse group portrait of 'ordinary Americans'....Following ancient and medieval precedent, their hope is simply to use each soldier's deeds to represent a particular aspect of war: fear, duty, honor, comradeship, sacrifice and so on....We can all agree...to admire Messrs. McCain and Salter's 'ordinary people doing extraordinary things.'"
Medium
McCain and Slater tell the historical story of the ordinary Americans that went to war, told in a way that may help the average reader understand the sacrifice, the lost blood and treasure of sending our sons and daughters to war.
U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
"Discerning and praiseworthy."
Stars & Stripes
These are great and powerful stories that deserve to be retold, and McCain and Salter do an admirable job of showing us why.
The VVA Veteran
"Highly enlightening."
Kirkus Reviews
2014-10-09
A patriotic though unsentimental look at the major wars fought by the United States as told through the difficultexperiences of ordinary soldiers.Arizona Sen. McCain and his longtime staffer and co-author Salter (Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them, 2007, etc.) again sound the themes of courage and honor represented by the regular Americans of all branches of the military who fought for their country from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq War, circa 2006. From the first soldier, Joseph Plumb Martin, who enlisted in Gen. George Washington's army at age 15 and served the duration of the War of Independence, the authors emphasize the deprivation and confusion of war over the hollow declarations of "glorious triumph over adversity." McCain and Salter use Martin's own late-life memoir to pepper the details of military life—e.g., being commanded at one point by the Marquis de Lafayette and suffering the cold and hunger of the winter of 1779 at Morristown, which prompted Martin's regiment to mutiny in May 1780. George Roberts, an African-American seaman, represented one of the 15 to 20 percent of black sailors in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812, serving with distinction but under segregated conditions and restricted liberty. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., son of the famous Boston professor and essayist, was an idealistic Harvard student who fought bravely with his Massachusetts regiment for the Union and was profoundly changed by the bloodshed of the Civil War. Other notable soldiers include Maj. Gen. Littleton "Tony" Waller, who refused to fulfill an order to slaughter the Philippine natives during a battle of the Spanish-American War in Manila in 1898 and was court-martialed; and Guy Gabaldon, who, while battling on the Pacific island of Saipan during World War II, convinced many Japanese to surrender rather than commit suicide. Deeply personal stories that track real soldiers through conditions of trying morale.
