Review
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Title: A Study in Valor: The Faith of a Bataan Death March Survivor
Author: William T. Garner
Publisher: Silverton House Publishing (www.SilvertonhousePublishing.com)
Genre: Non-fiction
Year Published: 2010
Number of Pages: 198
Binding: Trade Paperback
ISBN10: n/a
ISBN13: 978-1-60065-105-2
Price: $11.95

Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle for the Association for Mormon Letters

The story of history is a tale of war and conflict, conquest and expansion. It tells a grim tale of how humankind has been unable to reach a point where people from all nations, of all races and religions, can come together and live in peace and tranquillity. It's very sad.

Reading any recounting of the atrocities of World War II leaves me a bit weary with longing for peace. It is astonishing how man's depraved nature can allow the kinds of cruelty we read about in the histories. The Bataan Death March is a bloody, deathly example, one which still amazes and confounds modern readers.

Clarence Bramley is a man who survived this death march. In this simply told tale, Garner relates the life, trials and triumphs of Bramley who, in the service of his country, endured one of the most ghastly experiences possible. Bramley's faith helps sustain him through his entire experience in the military. As an active Latter-day Saint, we read in his own words the ways in which his faith, and his testimony, brought him to a place of peace, even in the midst of great trial.

This little book is filled with so many remembrances of a time so distant to so many of us. Photographs of soldiers and prisoners, news reports of their challenges, their defeats, and of the Allied forces' ultimate triumph, bring us back to a different time and place. The enthusiasm and support received from the homeland is overwhelming. Americans have a sense of place and mission, and they pull back not one whit from their support of the troops and of the war. My, how times have changed!

Bramley knew he was living history. He kept track of so much of his experience, including transcripts of poems written by fellow prisoners. The times come alive as we read -- we become part of the story.

Someone once said that the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. Ah, too bad. Garner has given us a well-written, cogent tale of heroism and faith. It's a quick read, but one that will stay with you a long time.


Jeffrey Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.com
www.aml-online.org
www.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html