Once an Eagle

A Novel

By: Anton Myrer

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 41 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Once an Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self-interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances his career by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington’s corridors of power.

Beginning in the French countryside during the Great War, the conflict between these adversaries solidifies in the isolated garrison life marking peacetime, intensifies in the deadly Pacific jungles of World War II, and reaches its treacherous conclusion in the last major battleground of the Cold War.

A study in character and values, courage, nobility, honesty, and selflessness, here is an unforgettable story about a man who embodies the best in our nation - and in us all.

Anton Myrer (1922–1996) enlisted in the US Marine Corps following the attack on Pearl Harbor and served for three years in the Pacific. Wounded on Guam, he returned to Harvard, graduated, and began an illustrious literary career, during which he wrote such memorable novels as The Big War, The Last Convertible, and A Green Desire.

©1968, 1996 Anton Myrer (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A remarkable novel…Utterly engrossing. Myrer is a superb storyteller, one of the few gifted novelists now writing who cares about the art of narration and is a master of it…A grim, exciting, and almost overwhelming account of twentiethcentury war. It is an astute study of the mind and character of a good general and a good man. And it is a brilliant inside views of the life of a career officer in peace and war.” ( New York Times)

A book every military officer should read

Sam Damon’s experience is one that highlights the complexities, challenges, and duties of officership. It is a heart wrenching and tragic narrative of a combat soldier that is developed beyond imagination. An outstanding read.

A must read

If you’re fan of Herman Wouk’s, The Winds of War and the follow-up War and Remembrance - then grab this amazing book!

Longest Literary Adventure

I greatly enjoyed this book, long, complex, but insightful and informative to that part of the century, and our history!

A masterful & coneensous walk in American history

Fully developed characters you'll love and hate, root for and against. while marveling the surroundings

Every Soldier / Spouse should listen

This should be required reading for every first-term Soldier, Officer, and military Spouse. Well written story. Maybe all diplomats and policy makers should heed it’s warnings as well.

Worth it

It’s long and worth a listen. Some parts you may not like but listen to the whole book

Once an Eagle

Novel was excellent the performance was excellent One of the great novels of military history. Up there with Soldier of the Great War

Epic

The depth in characters, storyline and history spanning so many decades was incredible. This book is not only a military history book, but explores it’s impact on the family and friendships throughout the life of the key characters. It’s long but very worthwhile.

The truth of war and the life of a career soldier

When one speaks of the great writers who emerged from their own wartime service in The War the names include James Jones, Norman Mailer, Irwin Shaw but rarely do we hear the name of Anton Myrer. Maybe due to his signature lifetime work Once An Eagle wasn’t published until 1968 while the others were all early fifties. I had not even heard of him until almost twenty years ago when my dad gave me his copy of The Last Convertible to read saying it really captured his collegiate post war life. Then I stumbled into a late night move “In Love and War” about three marines during The War starring Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Wagner and Bradford Dillman. It wasn’t until a few years later that I read that the movie was taken from Myrer’s 1957 novel The Big War. So I read this relatively unknown book and fell under this writers spell. Almost immediately I was drawn into these Marines world and the American home front. The battle scenes read almost in a Poe like netherworld. I was emotionally devastated by its realism written with such a nearly poetic prose style that I had never before read. About this time Myrer’s Once an Eagle was made into a TV mini series which I watched and enjoyed very much but felt nothing even close to the same powerful magic of reading The Big War. So time passed until this last week when I pulled Once an Eagle off my Audible wishlist feeling it was time to read it. I couldn’t stop the listen. Several hours at a time then back while driving home from work. I had Damon, Tommy, Ben Crisler, Joe Brand, Dev, Rayburn and the nearly hundred other characters ingested into my readers soul. As a lifetime student of The War and with a library of over 1000 period books I can say with a very educated opinion that this book is in the same top shelf with From Here to Eternity, The Naked and The Dead, The Young Lions, All Quiet on the Western Front along with his own The Big War. Every other novel of The War will miss the true essence of war….just a little. If asked what one book should someone read to learn about America in The War I would probably suggest Once an Eagle. Sam Damon is the greatest American literary character ever created. After knowing him he will never be forgotten.
The only negative is against the nearly perfect narrator Grover Gardner who made this story so alive with his ability to keep all the characters succinct with his superlative talent…but I was agitated by his inaccurate pronunciation of the acronym BAR for Browning Automatic Rifle when he would say the word “bar” instead of the correct lingo of the soldiers would called it the B-A-R. So minor yet truly would take one out of that era.

Great Story

Very entertaining military based book. Wish I had found it earlier. Ties in nicely with historical moments.