The Sky Rained Heroes: 10/30/09
The Sky Rained Heroes by Frederick E. LaCroix is described as a memoir that details a son's six year journey to find the family of a Japanese pilot his father had shot down during the Second World War. The son's goal is to return the Imperial flag to them.

Instead, the book is a history book about the American and Japanese forces written in a stilted attempted at academic language. Intermingled with LaCroix's analysis of American and Japanese culture are the letters his father wrote during the war. The juxtaposition between the father's informal voice and the son's ornate style is jarring. It disrupts the flow of events and takes the focus away from the story of the discovery.

While I'm glad for the author that he managed to accomplish his goal, I didn't agree to review a history book. I agreed to review a memoir. This book isn't a memoir. The blurb needs to be rewritten to be less misleading.

I received the book from Phenix and Phenix for review. I have since released the book through BookCrossing.

Other posts and reviews:

• Book Chase
• Downtown Book Blogs
• Read and Blog

books | Frederick LaCroix | nonfiction | 2009

Comments (2)

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Comment #1: Tuesday, November, 10, 2009 at 22:32:26

Anna

I thought this was a memoir, too, which is why I accepted a copy to review. I'm okay with reading history, so long as it's interesting. I'll be reading it soon, so we'll see. Thanks for the heads up. I hope it's okay that I linked to your post on War Through the Generations.

Comment #2: Monday, November 16, 2009 at 09:55:03

Pussreboots

Bits and pieces of the history are interesting but the book is uneven. Some passages are well written and others aren't. Your link is fine; I don't require people to ask permission.