This was way too long for my liking. :/

Book 1 of The Henry family series first published 1971What a monumental undertaking and what a success.The book is successful on two fronts.1. As a comprehensive account of World War 2 from just before Germany invaded Poland to the bombing of Peril Harbour and the entry of America into what was to be the first truly global war.2. As the Henry Family saga and how the war brought so many trials and tribulation to it.It would be fare to say that the Henry’s are a fractured family. Victor ‘Pug’ Henr...

If you listen carefully, you might hear my screams of absolute euphoria that I have finished my longest audio yet. At almost 46 hours in length, it's been over a month since I started this book. The Winds of War has lingered on my Goodreads shelf since I began using the site in 2013. It feels good to have given this WWII historical a listen.Focusing on the five members of the American Henry family—Victor "Pug" Henry, his wife Rhoda, sons Warren and Byron, and daughter Madeline—the book travels...

Although my review is only for the first book in the duology, these three things I have to say about this installment also can apply to the second book. Let's see...One, Herman Wouk has a very noticeable tendency to write preachily and moralisingly. Those fictional "excerpts" from the also fictional German general's memoirs placed at the start of each part and before certain chapters are obviously just an excuse to indulge in lecturing on history and Germany and America's role in WWII. I am not ...

There is a whole lot to like in this sprawling family saga that takes us on the journey of the Henry Family from the late 1930's through the bombing of Pearl Harbor and then Clark Field in the Philippines. I had this book on my Kindle for over a year and one day I was talking to the family about the old Mini-Series format from the 70's and 80's (by the way are the 10-episode cable series that dominate todays TV really any different from these? I think not!), and I remembered this show and the bo...

Winds of War isn't my favorite book of the (almost dwindled) year. Nor does it break into my all time top 10 books. What it is, is simply a balancing act. In its bare bones, this book is a melodrama. But this undesirable component is supported by a blissfully solemn narrative. The main cast is the Henry family. The book's entire length is about how different these people are from each other, and how much do they cross paths despite their nomadic existence. All of which has World War 2 as a canva...

This novel was well worth every one of its 850 plus pages. I loved how Wouk presented all sides of WWII and how the countries involved made the choices they did. What a wonderful history lesson... camouflaged in a great story. In many ways this reminded me a lot of a Ken Follett novel. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

🌬️ Masterpiece. I truly felt a part of this book as if I were being swept into WW2 along with them all.

🌬️Possibly time for a reread or a good audio version. The film is excellent as well.

The Winds of War is the first of a 2 part series comprised of The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. This book was impossible to put down. The story of the lead-up to WWII told primarily through the lens of the American Henry family, The Winds of War gives a comprehensive background on the military and political situation in a much more engaging way than a non-fiction book could. It also paints a broader picture by looking at the situation on the ground in both Europe as well as America. Desp...

“They found the narrow tarred roads filling with people on foot and horse-drawn wagons laden with children, furniture, squawking geese, and the like. Some peasants drove along donkeys piled with household goods, or a few mooing cows. Marching soldiers now and then forced the car off the road. A troop of cavalry trotted by on gigantic dappled horses. The dusty riders chatted as they rode, strapping fellows with helmets and sabres glittering in the morning sun. They laughed, flashing white teeth, ...