Faith of my fathers

by John McCain

Hardcover, 1999

Status

Available

Publication

New York : Random House, c1999.

Description

John McCain is one of the most admired leaders in the United States government, but his deeply felt memoir of family and war is not a political one and ends before his election to Congress. With candor and ennobling power, McCain tells a story that, in the words of Newsweek, "makes the other presidential candidates look like pygmies." John McCain learned about life and honor from his grandfather and father, both four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy. This is a memoir about their lives, their heroism, and the ways that sons are shaped and enriched by their fathers. John McCain's grandfather was a gaunt, hawk-faced man known as Slew by his fellow officers and affectionately, as Popeye by the sailors who served under him. McCain Sr. played the horses, drank bourbon and water, and rolled his own cigarettes with one hand. More significant, he was one of the navy's greatest commanders, and led the strongest aircraft carrier force of the Third Fleet in key battles during World War II. John McCain's father followed a similar path, equally distinguished by heroic service in the navy, as a submarine commander during World War II. McCain Jr. was a slightly built man, but like his father, he earned the respect and affection of his men. He, too, rose to the rank of four-star admiral, making the McCains the first family in American history to achieve that distinction. McCain Jr.'s final assignment was as commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific during the Vietnam War. It was in the Vietnam War that John McCain III faced the most difficult challenge of his life. A naval aviator, he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and seriously injured. When Vietnamese military officers realized he was the son of a top commander, they offered McCain early release in an effort to embarrass the United States. Acting from a sense of honor taught him by his father and the U.S. Naval Academy, McCain refused the offer. He was tortured, held in solitary confinement, and imprisoned for five and a half years. Faith of My Fathers is about what McCain learned from his grandfather and father, and how their example enabled him to survive those hard years. It is a story of three imperfect men who faced adversity and emerged with their honor intact. Ultimately, Faith of My Fathers shows us, with great feeling and appreciation, what fathers give to their sons, and what endures.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member kiravk
I liked John McCain before I started Faith of My Fathers, but I had my reservations when I saw that the book was co-authored by Mark Salter. If you've ever corrected someone else's essay, you know how words can be chucked and changed, until final product hardly bears a resemblance to the original.
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All the same, I foraged on ahead.

Unsurprisingly, McCain descends from a long line of military men. The first few chapters are filled with slow, winding descriptions of his grandfather and father, both four star admirals, and their numerous accomplishments. You'd think that the third McCain would be a hardworker with such a legacy, but instead, he's a self indulgent party boy and trouble maker, with lousy grades and an even lousier work ethic. Anyone else would have been expelled from the naval academy, but his influential father manages to keep his n'ere-do-well son out of serious trouble untli he gets to Vietnam.

Regardless of what you may think about his politics, it should be difficult for anyone to read McCain's account of his imprisonment and not at least respect the man. When his plane crashed in a lake in Hanoi, a mob of Vietnamese citizens dragged him out and began stabbing him with a bayonet. He was taken into custody and subsequently beaten, tortured, and starved. But as soon as Vietnamese officials became aware that his father was an importnat commander for the American military, they offered to send him home. After months of abuse, it would have been tempting to exchange the miserable prison conditions for the comforts of the United States. But despite his injuries, McCain refused, insisting he'd stay until the men captured before him were released first. And so ensued five and a half years of prison life, years that were marked with solitary confinement, sickness, torture, and boredom.

Extrodinarily, these are the years that turned McCain the callow youth into a courageous, formidable man. He humbly points out time and time again that the Vietnamese treated him better than other prisoners due to his father, and that harsher punishments were dealt to other men. The obnoxious rabble rousing we see in earlier chapters matures when McCain strives to raise the spirits of his fellow prisoners and rebels against his captors. He admits his flaws and pokes fun at himself, and learns that life is too short to hold grudges. It's a remarkable coming-of-age character transformation.

"I was no longer the boy to whom liberty meant simply that I could do as I pleased, and who, in my vanity, used my freedom to polish my image as an I-don't-give-a-damn nonconformist," he writes. "All of us were committed to one another. I knew what the others were suffering. Sitting in my cell, I could hear their screams as their faith was put to the test. My first concern was not that I might fail God and country, although I certainly hoped that I would not. I was afraid to fail my friends. I was afraid to come back from an interrogationa nd tell them I couldn't hold up as well as they had. However I measured my character before Vietnam no longer mattered. What mattered now was how they measured my character. My self-regard became indivisible from their regard to me. And it will remain so for the rest of my life."

While I still don't agree with our current foreign policy, this memoir helped me see where John McCain is coming from.
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LibraryThing member JBD1
I'm a McCain fan, so I was almost sure to enjoy this book anyway; nonetheless, I found it inspiring and well worth reading.
LibraryThing member ben_a
Far, far superior to the usual political autobiography. This is largely because, in addition recounting his harrowing treatment as a POW, McCain spends two-thirds of the book on his father and grandfather, both riveting characters. His grandfather, a four star admiral, is a cursing, gambling
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eccentric adored by his men. His submariner father is driven to match these accomplishments, and, hemmed in by three Japanese destroyers, engineers an escape that beggars fiction. He too ends his career as a four star admiral. And don't miss the part where his grandfather (jokingly) accuses MacArthur of having VD. This must have been a fun book for Salter to write.

Read while traveling (3.5.08)
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LibraryThing member cutiger80
This was an amazing book, if anyone is curious about the snippets you have heard about the past of this great patriot running for President you need to read this and his subsequent book. In fields full of elitists Sen. John McCain and his father and his grandfather before him proudly served his
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country as members of the United States Navy. This history of service and the background of how John McCain looks at the world is all here; if you are even curious you should read this well written and very informative book about a great leader.
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LibraryThing member stevetempo
A great way to get to know an almost President of the US. I found this memoir touching and inspiring.
LibraryThing member rsplenda477
A very nice tribute by Sen. McCain to his father and grandfather. Pretty well-written, and you can tell it comes from the heart. A good read for those devotees of the Senator.
LibraryThing member TheLoisLevel
I wanted to read this book after visiting Hanoi, Vietnam. Very interesting...I also enjoyed reading about his family's history in the navy.
LibraryThing member PamV
What a surprise this was! I am not a fan of John McCain, however, this was a fantastic family memoir. So many things that I was able to relate too; my father and uncles served in the military during WWII and my husband served in Vietnam. This is not a political book and I recommend it.
LibraryThing member SDWets
Got this book from my mom from the CCHS library. Read in the spring of 2023 in our upstairs guest room of the Del Mar house. Quick easy read that gave a lot of insight on the McCain family I had no previous knowledge of. Especially enjoyed learning about the experiences and devoted service of his
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father and grandfather. I also learned a lot more about his time as a POW and the incredible struggles he went through. The book has an excellent title that ties in with the overall purpose of the book. Would recommend to anyone who wants to learn about Senator McCain.
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Language

Barcode

7535
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