The Winds of War

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

I love historical fiction books.  Some of my favorite authors in this genre include John Jakes, Leon Uris, James Michener, and, to some extent Ken Follett. Some of those authors, I’ve actually read their entire catalog.  Why, then, did it take me so long to discover Herman Wouk?  This book runs circles around any other book that I have read of this genre.  I’ve never felt so engrossed in a tale that is actually over 1,000 pages.  I actually wanted more, and wouldn’t mind another few hundred pages tacked on at the end. (It should be noted that this book has a sequel that is about 1,300 pages).   I would recommend that any new author that wants to try to take a stab at historical fiction to make sure that they read this book first, and use it as a template.

Unlike some other authors that tackle this genre, Herman Wouk keeps his cast of characters quite lean in the quantity department. He focuses only on one family, Pug and Rhoda Henry and their three young adult children. There are a few more main characters, but only a few, and all of the supporting cast is emotionally related to one of the Henry clan. This is good as it ensures that the reader never gets lost.  We never have to joggle our brain and ask “Who is this person again?”  Yet the story is incredibly deep.  We start our tale shortly before Hitler invades Poland, and we end at Pearl Harbor. The members of the Henry family find themselves smack dab in the middle of the most famous (i.e. worst) places of the conflict during the early years of the war.  We find our characters in Warsaw as Hitler invades, flying over Berlin on a bombing raid, the front lines of Operation Barbarossa, and, of course, in Pearl Harbor on that fateful day in December 1941.  

Despite all of these “coincidences”, this book never feels contrived. It also allows us to look at some of these events as we’ve never viewed them, which for most of us, is in hindsight.  Our main character, Navy Captain Pug Henry finds himself at some point having relevant conversations with Churchill, Hitler, Stalin and Roosevelt.  The former three sort of make cameo appearances, but Roosevelt is actually one of the major supporting players in this story.  Again, none of this ever seems coincidental, as Pug is great at what he does at many levels.  With the USA neutral during the main part of this book, Pug and family are allowed to be in places such as Berlin and Moscow in the thick of the conflict without being looked at as the “enemy”.

At times this book also feels as a history book, as the author diverts from his story at various places to give his readers details about what was actually going on, and how the major players fit in with the whole scheme of things.  There’s also a side act within this book of Pug Henry (years later, after the war ended I presume) translating a book by a German officer high up in the rank, so we get the “German” perspective of the conflict after all is said and done.  It’s quite a bit jarring to read about such famous events from a different (if badly skewed) perspective.

This is actually a great love story as well.  All of the Henrys find themselves intertwined in romance, some good, some bad, some horribly inconvenienced.  The story is a great reminder of just how difficult things were for many.  Just how does a young American Naval Seamen function when his Jewish wife just gives birth to their first child, and they happen to be behind enemy lines?  I also found all of the characters to be multi-dimensional and extremely believable.  Not all of the Henrys get equal stage time.  Some of the family is featured within the pages a lot less frequently, but who can really complain when the overall book is so satisfying and over 1000 pages?

I am greatly anticipating the follow up (War and Remembrance, written 6 years after this one) as well as many other titles in this author’s works.  One of the best books I’ve ever read.