James Bradley (author)
Encyclopedia
James Bradley is an American
author
, specializing in historical nonfiction chronicling the Pacific theatre
of World War II
. His father, John Bradley
, was one of six men who became famous for being photographed raising the American flag
on Mt. Suribachi. That photograph has gone on to be one of the most duplicated and reproduced photos ever taken.
, written with the author Ron Powers, which tells the story of five U.S. Marines
and a Navy corpsman, his dad Navy corpsman, John Bradley, raising the American flag
during the Battle of Iwo Jima
. In that book, which spent 46 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was made into a film directed by Clint Eastwood
, Bradley took infinite care to locate and speak with family and friends who actually knew the men depicted. In doing this, he received great praise for his realistic portrayals and bringing the men involved to life. The book and the film is an in-depth look at those involved and their war-time service. Of the six men, Bradley's father John, PFC Ira Hayes
, and PFC Rene Gagnon
were the only ones to survive the battle. SGT Michael Strank
, CPL Harlon Block
, and PFC Franklin Sousley
were all killed in action
later on in the battle. The book and film tell the story in a before, during, and after format, and both were well received upon their release. An impromptu speech Bradley gave at the Iwo Jima memorial was transcribed by Michael T. Powers in October 2000, and widely circulated on the Internet.
In 2003 he published Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
. That book tells the story of an air raid that took place during the Battle of Iwo Jima, some 150 miles away, when U.S. warplanes bombed the small communications outpost on Chichi Jima. While Iwo Jima had Japanese forces numbering 22,000, Chichi Jima's forces numbered 25,000.
Nine crewmen survived after being shot down in the raid. One was picked up by the American submarine
USS Finback
. That one man was then-Lieutenant George H. W. Bush
, who later went on to become the forty-first President of the United States
. The other eight were captured as POWs by the Japanese and were executed and eaten, a fact that remained hidden until much later. Like Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys: A True Story of Courage also topped the New York Times Bestseller list when it came out.
In 2009, he published his third New York Times best selling book, The Imperial Cruise
. It concerns the 1905 diplomatic mission led by then-Secretary of War William Howard Taft
and Alice Roosevelt
, as well as the larger implications of President Theodore Roosevelt
's foreign policy, particularly with regard to Japan
. The New York Times
published a complimentary review, writing that "The Imperial Cruise is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt’s presidency." The book exposes the blatantly racist and exploitative policy of the United States in its attempt to extend its influence into the Pacific rim, acquiring Hawaii by conquest and the Philippines by purchase from the Spanish after ostensibly having entered the conflict to aid the Filipino freedom fighters. The American occupation was marked by torture and repression of the very people they had come to help.
movie Flags of Our Fathers
, where he is played by American
actor Ryan Phillippe
. The movie is based on James Bradley's book of the same title
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, specializing in historical nonfiction chronicling the Pacific theatre
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His father, John Bradley
John Bradley (Iwo Jima)
John Henry "Jack" "Doc" Bradley was a United States Navy corpsman during World War II, and one of the six men who took part in raising the Flag on Iwo Jima...
, was one of six men who became famous for being photographed raising the American flag
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.The photograph was extremely...
on Mt. Suribachi. That photograph has gone on to be one of the most duplicated and reproduced photos ever taken.
Work
In 2000, Bradley published Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers is a New York Times bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about the five United States Marines and one United States Navy Corpsman who would eventually be made famous by Joe Rosenthal's lauded photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, one of the costliest and...
, written with the author Ron Powers, which tells the story of five U.S. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and a Navy corpsman, his dad Navy corpsman, John Bradley, raising the American flag
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.The photograph was extremely...
during the Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
. In that book, which spent 46 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was made into a film directed by Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Bradley took infinite care to locate and speak with family and friends who actually knew the men depicted. In doing this, he received great praise for his realistic portrayals and bringing the men involved to life. The book and the film is an in-depth look at those involved and their war-time service. Of the six men, Bradley's father John, PFC Ira Hayes
Ira Hayes
Ira Hamilton Hayes was a Pima Native American and an American Marine who was one of the six men immortalized in the iconic photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima during World War II. Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, Arizona, and enlisted in the Marine...
, and PFC Rene Gagnon
Rene Gagnon
Rene Arthur Gagnon was one of the U.S. Marines immortalized by Joe Rosenthal's famous World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.-Early life:...
were the only ones to survive the battle. SGT Michael Strank
Michael Strank
Michael Strank was a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He was photographed raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The leader of the group in the famous picture was Strank, who got the order to climb Mt. Suribachi to lay telephone wire...
, CPL Harlon Block
Harlon Block
Harlon Henry Block was a United States Marine during World War II. Born in Texas, Block joined the Marine Corps in November 1943 and subsequently saw action during the Battle of Bougainville and the Battle of Iwo Jima where he was killed in action...
, and PFC Franklin Sousley
Franklin Sousley
Franklin Runyon Sousley was one of the six men in the famous photograph of United States Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima in World War II.-Childhood:...
were all killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
later on in the battle. The book and film tell the story in a before, during, and after format, and both were well received upon their release. An impromptu speech Bradley gave at the Iwo Jima memorial was transcribed by Michael T. Powers in October 2000, and widely circulated on the Internet.
In 2003 he published Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage is a nonfiction book by writer James Bradley, and a national bestseller in the U.S. This book details a World War II incident of the execution and cannibalism of five of eight American P.O.W.s on the Pacific island of Chichi-jima, one of the Ogasawara Islands .-...
. That book tells the story of an air raid that took place during the Battle of Iwo Jima, some 150 miles away, when U.S. warplanes bombed the small communications outpost on Chichi Jima. While Iwo Jima had Japanese forces numbering 22,000, Chichi Jima's forces numbered 25,000.
Nine crewmen survived after being shot down in the raid. One was picked up by the American submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
USS Finback
USS Finback (SS-230)
, a Gato-class submarine was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the finback, the common whale of the Atlantic coast of the United States....
. That one man was then-Lieutenant George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, who later went on to become the forty-first President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. The other eight were captured as POWs by the Japanese and were executed and eaten, a fact that remained hidden until much later. Like Flags of Our Fathers, Flyboys: A True Story of Courage also topped the New York Times Bestseller list when it came out.
In 2009, he published his third New York Times best selling book, The Imperial Cruise
The Imperial Cruise
The Imperial Cruise is a non-fiction book authored by James Bradley pertaining to the history of American political affairs in the Pacific during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The material covers a wide array of details that loosely relate to the largest diplomatic delegation ever sent to...
. It concerns the 1905 diplomatic mission led by then-Secretary of War William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and Alice Roosevelt
Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee....
, as well as the larger implications of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's foreign policy, particularly with regard to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
published a complimentary review, writing that "The Imperial Cruise is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt’s presidency." The book exposes the blatantly racist and exploitative policy of the United States in its attempt to extend its influence into the Pacific rim, acquiring Hawaii by conquest and the Philippines by purchase from the Spanish after ostensibly having entered the conflict to aid the Filipino freedom fighters. The American occupation was marked by torture and repression of the very people they had come to help.
Portrayal in film
James Bradley's Father, John Bradley, is featured in the 2006 Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
movie Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers (film)
is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
, where he is played by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe
Matthew Ryan Phillippe , better known as Ryan Phillippe, is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live, he came to fame in the late 1990s starring in a string of films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54...
. The movie is based on James Bradley's book of the same title
Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers is a New York Times bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about the five United States Marines and one United States Navy Corpsman who would eventually be made famous by Joe Rosenthal's lauded photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, one of the costliest and...
.
Works
- Flags of Our Fathers (with Ron Powers). New York: Bantam, 2000. ISBN 0553111337
- Flyboys: A True Story of Courage Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 2003. ISBN 0316105848
- The Imperial Cruise: The Secret History of Empire and WarThe Imperial CruiseThe Imperial Cruise is a non-fiction book authored by James Bradley pertaining to the history of American political affairs in the Pacific during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The material covers a wide array of details that loosely relate to the largest diplomatic delegation ever sent to...
Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 2009. ISBN 0316008958
External links
- Interview on The Imperial Cruise at the Pritzker Military Library