The Jersey Brothers, Sally Mott Freeman
The Jersey Brothers, Sally Mott Freeman
50 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
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The Jersey Brothers
A Missing Naval Officer in the Pacific and His Family's Quest to Bring Him Home

Author: Sally Mott Freeman

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Unabridged: 18 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/09/2017

Synopsis

This extraordinary adventure of three brothers at the center of the most dramatic turning points of World War II is “liable to break the hearts of Unbroken fans, and it’s all true” (The New York Times).

They are three brothers, all Navy men, who end up coincidentally and extraordinarily at the epicenter of three of the war’s most crucial moments. Bill, a naval intelligence officer, is tapped by FDR to set up and run his secret map room in the White House basement. Benny is the gunnery and antiaircraft officer on USS Enterprise, one of the few ships to escape Pearl Harbor and, by the end of 1942, the only aircraft carrier left in the Pacific to defend against the Japanese. Barton, the youngest, gets a plum commission in the Navy Supply Corps because his mother wants him out of harm’s way. But this protection plan backfires when Barton is sent to Manila and listed as wounded and missing after a Japanese attack. Now it is up to Bill and Benny to find and rescue him…

Based on a decade of research drawn from archives around the world, interviews with fellow shipmates and POWs, and half-forgotten letters stashed away in attics, The Jersey Brothers is “a captivating tour-de-force” (San Antonio Express-News) that whisks readers from America’s front porches to Roosevelt’s White House to the battlefronts of the Pacific. But at its heart The Jersey Brothers is a family story, written by one of its own in intimate, novelistic detail. It is a remarkable tale of agony and triumph; of an ordinary young man who shows extraordinary courage as the enemy does everything short of killing him; and of brotherly love tested under the tortures of war.

“The Jersey Brothers shines in singularity. A blend of history, family saga and family questions, Freeman’s book [is] a winning and moving success, and adds an authoritative entry to the… vast canon of war literature” (Richmond Times Dispatch).

About Sally Mott Freeman

Sally Mott Freeman was a speechwriter and media and public relations executive for twenty-five years. She is currently Board Chair Emerita of The Writer’s Center, the premier independent literary center in the mid-Atlantic. The Jersey Brothers is her first book.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Steven on May 22, 2017

Sally Mott Freeman’s first book, THE JERSEY BROTHERS: A MISSING NAVAL OFFICER IN THE PACIFIC AND HIS FAMILY’S QUEST TO BRING HIM HOME is an interesting study in family dynamics and how military strategy and policy was implemented during World War II. The somewhat dysfunctional family is made up of i......more

Goodreads review by Katie on July 17, 2017

This is the incredible and harrowing true story of a family's quest to find the answers to the whereabouts of the youngest son, Barton Cross. Barton, a part of the Navy's Supply Corps, was given orders to the Philippines, with the help of family connections, because it was deemed to be safer than ot......more

Goodreads review by Nissa on June 02, 2017

Touching! I learned so much by reading this book. I am better versed with the European Theater side of WWII, so learning more about the Pacific Theater side of the war was interesting to me. A truly amazing story that was well researched and written. I recommend this book to anyone interested in WWI......more

Goodreads review by Alicia on May 23, 2017

If you like non-fiction written like a novel this book may appeal to you. I love learning history through storytelling and the author gave me great insight into the events in the Pacific during WW2 whilst she unfolded the poignant story of her relatives wartime experiences and the consequences of th......more

Goodreads review by David on February 01, 2017

Received as an ARC from the publisher. Excellent, well-researched; reads like fiction but it's all so true. Written by the niece of the three brothers. This is apparently her first book, and she's got one heck of a career ahead of her as a non-fiction author. This book won't be out until May 2017, b......more

Quotes

“Highly dramatic history. [Mott’s] book is liable to break the hearts of Unbroken fans, and it’s all true.”
– The New York Times 

“A masterpiece of storytelling, infused with heroism and adventure. This moving portrait of three brothers is a brilliantly researched and written history of America’s wartime role in the Pacific.”
– Lynne Olson, New York Times bestselling author of Those Angry Days

“An evocative real-life tale of agony and triumph about brotherly love and a young American who discovers his personal courage amidst the tortures of war. Freeman had me rooting for these Jersey boys on every page.”
– James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers 

“Better than fiction because it is real.... The Jersey Brothers demonstrates that a well-told story is just that, whatever its genre.”
– New York Journal of Books

“A gripping, deeply moving saga of an American family whose experiences cast a new light on one of the most harrowing and heroic periods in American history. In their devotion to each other and to their country, these three brothers inspire us with courage, intelligence, and exceptional resilience.”
– Sally Bedell Smith, New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen

“The Jersey Brothers shines in singularity. A blend of history, family saga and family questions, [Freeman’s] first book proves to be a winning and moving success.... A decade in the making, The Jersey Brothers adds an authoritative entry to the vast canon of war literature, one that elicits cheers, tears and a few jeers.... Freeman’s dogged investigative skills, the truth they reveal and her ability to render it with grace combine to make her book — a gripping story of courage and carnage, heroism and horror, devotion and death — unforgettable.”
– Richmond Times-Dispatch

“A captivating tour-de-force that immediately stands tall with the best of other World War II combat literature.... Freeman weaves together a story that will tug at the emotions of anyone who has ever known someone who has worn our nation’s uniform in peacetime or at war.”
– San Antonio Express-News

“In her moving new epic The Jersey Brothers, Sally Mott Freeman captures a story of love, devotion and perseverance shared by three inspiring siblings caught in the epicenter of some of the war’s most crucial actions… A rare look into the deepest personal emotions of a family of America’s Greatest Generation.”
– The Dallas Morning News

“The Jersey Brothers captures the real-life story of three brothers whose bond to family and love for country take them to extraordinary lengths at one of the most pivotal points in American history. From the decks of the USS Enterprise to the depths of the Japanese prison camps, Sally Mott Freeman takes readers on an epic journey in this remarkable tribute to the Greatest Generation.”
– Senator John McCain, New York Times bestselling author of Thirteen Soldiers

“A terrific book that I was just totally captivated by.”
– Hillary Rodham Clinton

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