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Once an Eagle: A Novel Audiobook
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(4.01) - 1,098 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Once an Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances his career by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington’s corridors of power.
Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War—Vietnam.
A study in character and values, courage, nobility, honesty, and selflessness, here is an unforgettable story about a man who embodies the best in our nation—and in us all.
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"Really a fantastic war epic. Some very keen insights on the futility of war and the arrogance of the U.S. when it comes to imposing "democracy" on foreign lands. Longest book I ever read but well worth it. Very well written."
— Mark (4 out of 5 stars)
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“A remarkable novel…Utterly engrossing. Myrer is a superb storyteller, one of the few gifted novelists now writing who cares about the art of narration and is a master of it…A grim, exciting, and almost overwhelming account of twentieth-century war. It is an astute study of the mind and character of a good general and a good man. And it is a brilliant inside views of the life of a career officer in peace and war.”
— New York Times -
“An ambitious, magnificently vivid novel…Compelling. The battle scenes are among the finest I have ever read.”
— Atlantic -
“At long last we have what critics have been saying was lost to modern novels—an honest-to-God hero…A natural.”
— Harper’s -
“I fully understand why Once an Eagle has become a classic novel of war and warriors. Sam Damon doesn’t preach, he lives his values, and they are universal not only military.”
— General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, US Army (Ret.), commander-in-chief, Desert Storm -
“The work of a man who has thought long and hard about the nature of war and has come up with something more than the simple truism that it’s hell.”
— Life -
“In ironic contrast, the story moves from jungle warfare to drawing rooms on the Potomac, and back again…Goes to the heart of our century.”
— Chicago Sun-Times -
“Reflects skillful research in military areas as well as technical mastery of the writing craft…Through the gentle but courageous character of Damon, Myrer graphically describes the criminal, dirty, wasteful, savage immorality of war…The army career man will look on it as a monument.”
— Denver Post -
“Once an Eagle may be America’s War and Peace and Anton Myrer a contemporary Tolstoy.”
— Louisville Courier-Journal -
“Once an Eagle deserves to rank with, or perhaps above, any one of those three truly great pieces of military fiction—Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage; Fix Bayonets! by Col. John W. Thomason, USMC; and What Price Glory, by Capt. Lawrence Stallings, USMC.”
— Armed Forces Journal -
“The most outstanding novel I have seen in long years. And it is far and away the best work of fiction with a military background I have ever read.”
— Journal of the Armed Forces -
“Inspects down to their most elusive motives those who have to make the agonizing command decisions.”
— Providence Journal
Awards
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A #1 New York Times bestseller
Once an Eagle Listener Reviews
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Elvin Rodriguez , 10/9/2021
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" Great story line that keeps the listener attention to events in our past. "
— Anthony, 10/28/2017 -
" One of the war novels that I have ever read. Sam Damon joins the army as a private before WWI and dies as a general during Viet Nam. Very well written. "
— Lloyd, 2/15/2014 -
" I enjoyed this book but if you don't enjoy war novels you are gonna wanna pass this one by. "
— Angela, 12/30/2013 -
" I thought this was an extremely compelling read. It really showed the difference between soldiers who are committed to each other and those out merely for themselves. "
— Annette, 12/24/2013 -
" Amazing book. Great detail of war and Army structure and leadership. Shows the politics of Army command. "
— Bradley, 12/20/2013 -
" long, drawn out and boring "
— Daniel, 12/17/2013 -
" this was a great book. i found it a bit long in places but it still was quite captivating. "
— Jess, 11/1/2013 -
" Context on a life lived in the military with impacts on life and live. "
— Sam, 7/26/2013 -
" Very very long. I loved every page. I learned a lot about America involvement in 20th century wars. I thought I knew, but now I am sure, war sucks. Everyone should read this book. "
— Rob, 6/26/2013 -
" This is an excellent story regarding true leadership and the frustrations faced by warriors and their families. Engaging, inspiring and at once disappointing. "
— Bryan, 6/14/2013 -
" Fiction, but makes me feel like I got an insight into a old vet's thoughts and feelings. Very powerful! And funny, too, at times. "
— Zoe, 4/27/2013 -
" In addition to being a page-turner of an adventure, this is the single best book on leadership I've ever read. "
— Matt, 8/25/2012 -
" One of my all time favorites "
— Basil, 7/11/2012 -
" This is a novel about a military man from his high school through his service in WWI, WWII through early Vietnam War. Interesting and well-written. "
— Kent, 1/23/2012
About Anton Myrer
Anton Myrer (1922–1996) enlisted in the US Marine Corps following the attack on Pearl Harbor and served for three years in the Pacific. Wounded on Guam, he returned to Harvard, graduated, and began an illustrious literary career, during which he wrote such memorable novels as The Big War, The Last Convertible, and A Green Desire.
About Grover Gardner
Grover Gardner (a.k.a. Tom Parker) is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards, was chosen Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly, and has earned more than thirty Earphones Awards.