Book Review: Liberation Road // October 10, 2007
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“Running toward the 358th Infantry, Ben felt light. This is where he belonged, with the Infantry, where God insisted all their dealings be settled. Ben came now empty, armed only with penitence. The running was easy and fit Ben’s belief, that when you go the direction God intends, even the hardest of ways are smoothed.”
This is where we meet Rabbi Chaplain Ben Kahn in David Robbins’ novel of the II World War, Liberation Road – running toward the Infantry he loved, running to face an enemy. The good chaplain is full of idealistic fervor. This is where he ends:
“Mrs. Biggs stood from the rocker. She collected the two damp glasses. From the kitchen, she asked, “Did you stay with my boy till he passed?”
Ben called to her, she was out of sight at the sink.
“Yes.”
She stepped into the living room. She opened the woodstove door and tossed in another log. The swell of the heat cuffed Ben on the sofa.
“Did you ever pray for him afterward?”
“No.”
“For your own boy?”
“No.”
With a creak she closed the iron door.
“What did you come here from Mr. Kahn? Forgiveness?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. Then why are you here?”
“Confession.”
Mrs. Biggs looks down her nose at him.
“Alright, then. You come with me.”
The Rabbi we meet coming on the shore of France at Normandy is a grizzled, hardened veteran of the Great War. He had been a doughboy – an Infantry Grunt with the 90th Infantry Division during WWI. After that war, he worked at the steel mills of Pittsburgh, has a son and goes to seminary. It’s a hard story. His marriage breaks up and he finds himself in the uncomfortable place of pursuing a career that his family is not crazy about. His son goes against his father’s will and becomes a bomber pilot in the Air Service. He is shot down over occupied France. The Rabbi Kahn becomes an Army chaplain and returns to the country where he met God to find his son.
This search becomes the backdrop through which we watch the progression of a man and chaplain. The author, David Robbins, who also wrote, City of Rats, about the ravages of the Battle for Stalingrad, has the reader experiencing the ravages of the Holocaust through the eyes of this American Rabbi. That alone is worth the read.
Robbins interviewed several chaplains for this book. The research is comes out. We meet several chaplains in the book and he is spot on concerning the emotions of war. I was fascinated by the passages that spoke of how a chaplain deals with the horrors in front of him. There are the counseling sessions with soldiers, the frank, quick conversations with commanders, the frustrations of ministry and the sorrow of death. It all plays out before the reader in grand, almost cinematic style. I would recommend this book as a great read for any chaplain.
The book accomplishes several things:
1. The book follows several little talked about aspects of WW2.
a. Chaplains and their roles/stories of WW2.
b. The Red Ball Express – In fact, I don’t think I have actually read anything about transportation/quartermaster units in any books about WW2. Especially historical fiction. They all deal with the big ones – 101st, 82nd, 3ID – the fightin’ units. In this book, drivers are the heroes and what heroes they are! The great drive of 1st Army and 3rd Army would not have been possible were it not for the mechanics and drivers of the Red Ball Express.
c. The contributions of Black soldiers in WW2. During this war, the Army was still segregated and for the most part, black soldiers were not allowed to fight in combat units. They were mostly used in the transportation world. The story of the Red Ball Express is their story.
2. The book follows three main story lines:
a. Chaplain Ben Kahn and his search for his son and soul.
b. Joe Amos and the drivers of the Red Ball Express.
c. White Dog and the Parisian Black Market.
3. Of course, all the stories are inevitably linked by the end of the book.
If you like historical fiction, you will love this book. I started it and couldn’t put it down. If you are a chaplain and enjoy fiction, you need to read this book. It will be a picture into the history of the chaplaincy that is unlike anything you will have read to date.
“Running toward the 358th Infantry, Ben felt light. This is where he belonged, with the Infantry, where God insisted all their dealings be settled. Ben came now empty, armed only with penitence. The running was easy and fit Ben’s belief, that when you go the direction God intends, even the hardest of ways are smoothed.”
This is where we meet Rabbi Chaplain Ben Kahn in David Robbins’ novel of the II World War, Liberation Road – running toward the Infantry he loved, running to face an enemy. The good chaplain is full of idealistic fervor. This is where he ends:
“Mrs. Biggs stood from the rocker. She collected the two damp glasses. From the kitchen, she asked, “Did you stay with my boy till he passed?”
Ben called to her, she was out of sight at the sink.
“Yes.”
She stepped into the living room. She opened the woodstove door and tossed in another log. The swell of the heat cuffed Ben on the sofa.
“Did you ever pray for him afterward?”
“No.”
“For your own boy?”
“No.”
With a creak she closed the iron door.
“What did you come here from Mr. Kahn? Forgiveness?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. Then why are you here?”
“Confession.”
Mrs. Biggs looks down her nose at him.
“Alright, then. You come with me.”
The Rabbi we meet coming on the shore of France at Normandy is a grizzled, hardened veteran of the Great War. He had been a doughboy – an Infantry Grunt with the 90th Infantry Division during WWI. After that war, he worked at the steel mills of Pittsburgh, has a son and goes to seminary. It’s a hard story. His marriage breaks up and he finds himself in the uncomfortable place of pursuing a career that his family is not crazy about. His son goes against his father’s will and becomes a bomber pilot in the Air Service. He is shot down over occupied France. The Rabbi Kahn becomes an Army chaplain and returns to the country where he met God to find his son.
This search becomes the backdrop through which we watch the progression of a man and chaplain. The author, David Robbins, who also wrote, City of Rats, about the ravages of the Battle for Stalingrad, has the reader experiencing the ravages of the Holocaust through the eyes of this American Rabbi. That alone is worth the read.
Robbins interviewed several chaplains for this book. The research is comes out. We meet several chaplains in the book and he is spot on concerning the emotions of war. I was fascinated by the passages that spoke of how a chaplain deals with the horrors in front of him. There are the counseling sessions with soldiers, the frank, quick conversations with commanders, the frustrations of ministry and the sorrow of death. It all plays out before the reader in grand, almost cinematic style. I would recommend this book as a great read for any chaplain.
The book accomplishes several things:
1. The book follows several little talked about aspects of WW2.
a. Chaplains and their roles/stories of WW2.
b. The Red Ball Express – In fact, I don’t think I have actually read anything about transportation/quartermaster units in any books about WW2. Especially historical fiction. They all deal with the big ones – 101st, 82nd, 3ID – the fightin’ units. In this book, drivers are the heroes and what heroes they are! The great drive of 1st Army and 3rd Army would not have been possible were it not for the mechanics and drivers of the Red Ball Express.
c. The contributions of Black soldiers in WW2. During this war, the Army was still segregated and for the most part, black soldiers were not allowed to fight in combat units. They were mostly used in the transportation world. The story of the Red Ball Express is their story.
2. The book follows three main story lines:
a. Chaplain Ben Kahn and his search for his son and soul.
b. Joe Amos and the drivers of the Red Ball Express.
c. White Dog and the Parisian Black Market.
3. Of course, all the stories are inevitably linked by the end of the book.
If you like historical fiction, you will love this book. I started it and couldn’t put it down. If you are a chaplain and enjoy fiction, you need to read this book. It will be a picture into the history of the chaplaincy that is unlike anything you will have read to date.
Categories
Book Reviews , General Interest Military Stuff , Interesting Articles , Podcast
Chaplain Jon Fisher
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