The Majors (Brotherhood of War)

For military novels, Griffin's books don't have much action, and this one has less than most. It might be said - OK, I'm saying it - that Griffin prefers writing about, and writes better about, bureaucratic combat than about real warfare. He writes the latter well when he does it, but he doesn't do it very much.

The first book in this series covers the closing days of World War II and the opening of the Cold War. The second book covers Korea. This one covers the more peaceful mid-1950s, Three of our main characters have switched to Army Aviation, a fledgling branch of the service seen as undesirable careerwise. Despite distinguishing themselves with tanks in Korea, Craig Lowell and Phil Parker become persona non grata and are dumped in Aviation with other screwups and misfits. Mac MacMillan takes a transfer there because it's been spelled out to him that otherwise a mustang with a battlefield commission, despite having the Medal of Honor, will get shunted aside in the peacetime officer corps, or be relegated to being a high-ranking aide serving punch and cookies in Washington .

The only combat any of our characters see is courtesy of the French, now losing in Vietnam and Algeria. MacMillan, Sandy Felter - a rising spook - and a new character, a brash young noncom named Greer who has become a general's protege, parachute into Dien Bien Phu to assess the besieged French force there. They bail out just before their transport is shot down, distinguish themselves rescuing a French Foreign Legion officer the Viet Minh are torturing, and narrowly escape death making their way to French lines. Greer, offered a favor by his patron general, asks for an unusual one: to become a warrant officer so that he can train as a pilot.

The real action here is bureaucratic. The Army's use of aircraft is narrowly proscribed in deference to the new Air Force. And the latter shows no desire to divert resources from its major missions of strategic bombing and air-to-air combat, towards tactical support of troops in the field. Army helicopters are being used mostly for transport and medical evacuation. MacMillan and Lowell realize they'd be lethal tank-killing weapons if armed with rockets. The war this book covers is really the Army's secret program to develop the gunship in the face of the Air Force's anticipated objections.

We read about the development of Ft. Rucker in Alabama - a base already opened and then closed twice when deemed unnecessary by Washington - now reopened one more time to serve as a helicopter training and development venue. And it spurs the interest of everyone in town from the wealthy - who angle to buy property based on foreknowledge of the base's reopening - to women looking for secretarial jobs plus access to all those handsome young flyboys.

And we read about the ups and downs in our characters' lives. Lowell, widowed and with his child being raised by his German in-laws, reverts to his bachelor ways and blows up his career when his affair with an aging senator's horny young wife makes waves. Greer takes a transfer overseas because he can't face the prospect of married life with his fiance, the wealthy daughter of the mayor of the town outside Ft. Rucker. Felter has now become so important that, even though only a major, he secretly advises the President daily and directly. But his career has become so consuming it's damaging his marriage to Sharon, who hates the isolation from other military families necessary to Sandy's cover.

The book focuses the most on Lowell. He's become yet another rich, devil-may-care flyboy leading one of Griffin's series, like Pick Pickering in "The Corps" and Clete Frade in "Honor Bound". Lowell is a brilliant natural warrior, distinguishing himself in the breakout from Pusan with a daring behind-enemy-lines armor raid sowing chaos in the North Koreans' rear. His career is hampered partly by his skirt-chasing, but also by his disregard for regulation and appearances, and by superiors offended by how quickly he's risen in rank.

Here, Lowell must swallow his pride when, to promote the secret gunship program, he is placed in the Pentagon to use his bureaucratic guile to stealthily divert money for the gunships, and his connections and wealth to wine and dine senators and congressmen whose votes the program needs. Lowell, not a phony, hates those games, but knows how to play them.

The ending was fine. I foresaw its general thrust but two hard twists returned it to a surprise.

Although this wasn't my favorite of the books in this series, it is a valuable aid to understanding the military mindset in the years described as "peacetime"; those years after the war is won and during which the nations must anticipate and prepare for the next one because sure as baby rabbits there is going to be a next one. That the author chose to use the officer grade of Major to illustrate the process is a masterful stroke. The analogy that I was reminded of is that of the educational system- the difference between high school and college. Most everyone completes high school but only a certain percentage continue on to college, however no one believes that a high school graduate has somehow failed or is any less of an achiever. The same is true for military officers. The book illustrates that like high school, many enlisted men are capable of entering officer candidate school with the hopes of retiring at the rank of Captain. As a high school senior, one learns what it means to have the power and authority within the secondary education student body to "rule the school". In the officer corps, the difference between a captain and a major is as significant within their venue and that of a high school senior and a college freshman- where one has to start all over again. Captains as company officers in combat units are the commanding officers supported by Lieutenants and Corporals. The next level up is regiments and they are almost always commanded by Lt Colonels or full Colonels. These Colonels as illustrated in the first introduction "The Lieutenants" are the cornerstone to the success of junior officers ending up commanding regiments. Majors are the support, recruiting pool and back-up for Colonels. It is in this rank that the wheat gets separated from the chaff. Majors who generally have no command authority or experience and are more interested in being Generals than in ensuring a well ordered military get left behind because the Colonels in charge of them know one day they will be competition for the limited General officer positions. The next[ and last] level is Brigade commanded by full bird colonels or Lt and Brigadier Generals. The grade of Majors is almost always the very last chance a career soldier, even a West Point/Norwich/ Cital etc soldier, has to acquire command experience. And without Command experience unless one is in a non-combat support MOS such as finance, transportation, medicine etc. a Major is about all the higher that particular soldier is going to rise. That makes the politics of the military very interesting When the struggle for positions of command is factored into the ever present research and development of new tactics and weaponry, in fighting between the various divisions and branches etc then the fun really hits the fan.
This book set up the decisions regarding US /French relations in the early 1950s in regard to both Indochina [Viet Nam] and the French colonialization of Algeria that will lead us into the conflicts of the 1960s. It also explores the development and use of aviation within the US Army vs Airforce especially the helicopters for medi-vac and on-board rockets to protect air transportation of troops from the history of the use of air vehicles to the fight between both the various branches within the army what exactly the role of air support should be to the fight between the air force and the army regarding which branch should control the money, development and assets of military aircraft.
The book sometimes reads a little like a college text, and we find more one-time support players and less of our favorites than in other books but it is still very well written and informative, plus a necessary read to fully enjoy the next book about Colonels.

Not only did this book come in great condition, but the stories of each individual in the book continue to amaze the average reader. You will not understand it much unless you start it from the beginning of the series, which is The Lieutenants. One of the main characters is Craig Lowell, who owns a big part of a rich firm in New York City, but is determined to continue his career as a Major in the postwar army of the Korean conflict. He pulls a few things that seem like his rank of Major is going to be his permanent rank, and gets involved with Army Aviation, which everyone back in the 50's thinks is where you end up when your career is going nowhere, but he always seems to end up better for it in the end, despite his reputation as a womanizer, especially a couple that are married. And then you have the other stories of fellow soldiers, like Lowell's friend, Captain Parker, who is trying to settle after the shock waves of a court-martial that had him getting acquitted anyway, MacMillian and Bellmon, and also Felter, who is the "little Jew" as they all go through their careers, some with the advancement of ranks and further assignment.
These series would also be a lot more understandable if you had a previous stint in the military, preferably the Army, and knew about some of the things they discuss in here. I own all the series now. Griffin is an awesome author!

I read the Marine Corps series and liked it. Ijust finished The Majors, and I'm done with the series. The names have been changed from The Corps series, but it's all the same. Smart junior Officers overcoming dumb senior Officers. Junior enlisted moving up to the Officer ranks. The rich guy in the military for the love of action. Blah blah blah.

My main concern, which I haven't read here at all, is the condensation toward the one main black character (Captain Philip Sheridan Parker IV) and the one Jewish character (Sandy Felter). About the thirtieth reference to Felter as "the little Jew" has me about ready to toss the book across the room. I'm not Jewish, and I'm not politically correct. I'm a military Officer. But I found that offensive, because about half the time Felter shows up, "the little Jew" reference turns up. I'm sure Griffin found it funny, but it was lame. The same is true of the Captain Parker, but to a lesser degree. Just increasing grating to me. That and the increasing "cut and paste" has me done with this series.

W.E.B. Griffin Review
The Majors

This is another edition in W.E.B. Griffin's the Brotherhood of War series. This is a series of historic fiction written by a master who knows the terrain very well. Mr. Griffin (or Bill Butterworth, if you will), has a knack for providing us with a kinship with his characters as he develops them we become attached and related to them very early as if they were close friends and a part of their consciousness and living the script with them. Thus we grow with our friends as they live the chapters of their lives.

I must admit I am definitely addicted to most of WEB Griffin's series. I went to military school from the fifth grade through high school and later served in the Intelligence Division of the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era. I married a woman from the Philippines and additionally, I've been an aviator since the mid-1960s. Why am I telling you all this? Certainly not to be braggadocio, but to stress the point of my ability to discern the military and aviation credibility of Mr. Griffin's writing. He is "right on the money" with only a few minor exceptions.

The author endows us with the ability to become one with each character as they develop as the drama of their life builds. For example, grow to revere Robert Bellman, a "West Pointer" Class of '39 and a tank driver who has experienced a German P.O.W camp and the atrocities of War, which has tested his steel.

Sandy Felter the Jew who becomes the resident "spook" and friend of the our extended family along with Rudy MacMillan, Lowell and others whose lives are intertwine with us all. We become interwoven and a intricate web of threads and pleats throughout this magnificent story. This is a story that will involve the planning of plots and designing of careers the forging of families, the building bonds with the reader and the characters forever.

Once again, I must say WEB Griffin has done an outstanding job of capturing my interest and holding my attention. Page after page after page, I cannot put this book down until I am getting to the ending chapters and then I dread it coming to an end. I almost get angry when it ends, until I remember there is yet another book in the series. When the series comes to an end I will panic. I guess I am addicted after all!

W.E.B. Griffin (his real Name is William E. Butterworth III, that is where the "WEB" comes from) he is the author of more than thirty epic novels in five series, all New York Times best-sellers. Griffin has more than forty million of his books in print in ten languages.

Griffin grew up in near New York City and Philadelphia. He joined the United States Army in 1946 and worked in counter-intelligence with the Army Occupation forces in Germany. Mr. Griffin attended Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany.

Mr. Griffin was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent in Korea. He also served on active duty at Fort Rucker, Alabama and is a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, and the Armor Association. He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association; the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents, and many other awards too numerous to name here.

Needless to say W.E.B. Griffin is well qualified to write these books and as far as historical fiction goes he has lived most of the history he writes about, which validates its credibility in my opinion. And as I said previously I too am qualified to make that call.

I am incredibly fortunate to have met such an intelligent, inspirational and distinguished prolific creator of such wonderful works as Mr. William Edmund Butterworth III aka W.E.B. Griffin.

I highly recommend these books by W.E.B. Griffin the series of the Brotherhood of War series.

JR Hafer, Aviation Writer

Typical WEB Griffin Book - A great read. I have been going back and ordering the entire series so I can read them in the order that they were published as the "story lines" will make more sense... but it is not necessary however.

Enjoy, I did...

I originally bought this series in the mid-80's when stationed aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier and needed something to occupy my time. I recently re-purchased the series and was immediately immersed into the storylines and the series. Very entertaining series and certainly helped occupy my time. If you are going to get this book, get the series and start from the beginning. The writing gets better as the series progresses and gets to the point where you do not want to put down the books. Would recommend this book and series to a friend.

like the follow the cast of characters

Book for my husband. His favorite author. He liked it very much.

Great Read!!