Book Review of
Against All Odds
Grace's Review
This feels rare for me to say, but Against All Odds, is one of the very few World War II reads that I would rate below three stars out of five. I would probably give it about a 2.4 or 2.5.
If you love this book, I can understand why, but I personally did not find it beneficial or gripping.
Against All Odds tells the story of some of the top medal receivers in the European Front during World War II. There was a main focus was on four people Maurice “Footsie” Britt, Michael Daly, Keith Ware, and Audie Murphy.
I think part of my problem was that I have read Murphy’s autobiography (well, it was ghost written, but you know what I mean), and about Daly. I think I have read stuff that has also talked about Britt and Ware. I already kind of knew the story, which probably didn’t help my interest because there was not as much new information.
The main reason that I struggled reading this was that there were so many quotes. Sometimes I forgive history books for this, but I felt it was just too much here.
I think part of it because it was drawing quotes from To Hell And Back, which I really liked because of the voice and personal view of war. I had already experienced these quotes in To Hell and Back, and it just didn’t really work for me to have Alex Kershaw drawing this much from them. There were some great quotes, and now I have more books I want to read because I am interested in where these quotes came from.
I think if you are looking for an overview of these soldiers of World War II, this is a good place to go.
It is very action packed. It shows the devotions of soldiers. It tells of Murphy’s flaws that are not brought up as much in To Hell And Back. It tells what happens to these four soldiers after the war, which actually is a sad ending. It shares courage. It does have parts focused more on the North African and Italian front that doesn’t have quite as many books written about.
I just personally think I would rather read the primary sources that Kershaw kept drawing from. Of course, that is more reading than an overview, but I think I would have felt the story more and just come to life in a way that Against All Odds didn’t do for me.