WWII

TV Critic David Bianculli reviews HBOs Band of Brothers.

Retired Lt. Col. Bradley Biggs was part of America first all-black paratroop unit called the Triple Nickles. The 555th Battalion of the 82d Airborne. The troop was trained to go to war, but instead was sent to the West Coast to fight forest fires started by Japanese balloon bombs. They were the first parachuters to fight fires, and developed many of the techniques used today. Later they became the first army unit to be integrated into the –regular— army during World War II. Biggs has written a new memoir, The Triple Nickles

Historian Stephen E Ambrose's new book is “The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys who Flew the B-24s Over Germany.” (Simon & Schuster) It’s about the 18-22 year old men, including the young George McGovern, who flew dangerous missions in the plane they called “The Liberator.” The casualty rate was nearly 50 percent. Ambrose is the author of a number of books of history, including the New York Times number one bestseller “Nothing Like it in the World.”

28-year-old Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar's new film, a horror film called The Others, stars Nicole Kidman. It his first English language feature. His first film Tesis (Thesis) won seven Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, in 1997. His second movie, Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) has been remade in the US. The film, Vanilla Sky, was made by Cameron Crowe and stars Tom Cruise.

Film Critic Henry Sheehan reviews the film "Pearl Harbor."

In 1945 the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific. Nearly 900 men ended up in the water, but after four days fighting hypothermia, dehydration and sharks, only 317 crewmen survived. A talk with two of the survivors: Paul Murphy, Chairman of the Indianapolis Survivors Organization (www.ussindianapolis.org) , and Harold Bray. Their story was told in the 1958 book Abandon Ship! The Saga of the USS. Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest Sea Disaster by Richard Newcomb which has just been republished.

Film critic Henry Sheehan reviews Enemy at the Gates starring Jude Law and Joseph Finnes.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews “Journal 1935-1944: The Fascist Years” (pub., Ivan Dee) a journal of Romanian writer Mihail Sebastian (“Me-hi-eel Sebas-ti-an”) about the Nazification of Europe.

We remember British actor Sir Alec Guinness who died Saturday at the age of 86. He’s known to older audiences for his roles in films like “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” and to younger audiences as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. (REBROADCAST from 2/27/1986)

We remember novelist Joseph Heller, author of "Catch-22" which became an American classic. He died Sunday night at the age of 76, from a heart attack. (REBROADCAST from 1/29/88)

World War Two combat veteran Robert Kotlowitz has written about his experiences in "Before Their Time: A Memoir." 1997 Hard cover and just re-printed this year on Anchor Books. Kotlowitz was part of a platoon that was ordered to charge the German front, an order that killed all but 3 men. His previous books included: The Boardwalk, His Master's Voice, Sea Changes, and Somewhere Else. (THIS CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW.)

Leo Marks served as one of Britain's top code makers during WWII. There he revolutionized the military's code making methods. He's written about his experiences in "Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945. (Free Press) Marks is also a screenwriter. His most famous film is the 1960's cult-classic "Peeping Tom."

Philip Furia is currently writing a book on Hollywood's musicals. He discusses the impact of Harry Warren on movie musicals. Furia is the author of The Poets of Tin Pan Alley, and Irving Berlin: A Life in Song. He is chair of the English department at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Historian John Dower is the author of "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II" (W.W. Norton) about the aftermath of the war on Japan, and the American military occupation. Dower says he wanted to capture a sense of what it meant to start over in a "ruined world" for people at all levels of society and how that time became a "touchstone for affirming a commitment to 'peace and democracy.'" Dower is the Elting E. Morrison Professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Historian Ian Kershaw. He's written volume one of a new biography of Hitler, "Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris" (W.W. Norton). It's being said that the new book will "become the standard Hitler biography for the next generation." In it, Kershaw blends biography with social history to understand how Hitler was able to obtain power over the German people. The book draws on new sources: a new edition of Hitler's speeches and writings, and the recently discovered diaries of Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels.

Film critic John Powers reviews two new movies about the horrors of World War II: "Life is Beautiful" and "Apt Pupil." They take wildly different approaches on the subject.

Keegan is known for his readable and comprehensive books about warfare including "The Face of Battle," (1976) and "The History of Warfare" (1993) which were both best-sellers. Recently he was series consultant to "War and Civilization" an eight-part documentary series (on the TLC cable network) which covers the past 5,000 years of conflict, beginning with ancient Greece. The series is narrated by Walter Cronkite.

Film critic John Powers reviews "Saving Private Ryan" which stars Tom Hanks and was directed by Steven Spielberg. It rolls out nationally today.

The documentary musical theatre "Band in Berlin" just made it's premiere in Philadelphia by the American Music Theatre Festival. (Currently running thru March 22nd). It tells the story of "The Comedian Harmonists" a popular sextet vocal group in Germany in the late '20s and early 30's. By 1935 the group was forced to disband by the Nazis, because half of the group were Jewish. "Band in Berlin" was created by Susan Feldman with Wilbur Pauley and stars the New York-based contemporary sextet, The Hudson Shad.

Novelist Denise Giardina has written a historical fiction on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- a German pastor and theologian who, along with a group of German government and military officials plotted to assassinate Adolf Hitler and topple his regime. Giardina's new book is "Saints and Villains" (Norton). Giardina is a former Episcopal deacon, who renounced her ordination vows for active lay ministry. She's also the author of the books "Storming Heaven" and "The Unquiet Earth." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)