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American Hero: The Life and Death of Audie Murphy
A captivating biography of America’s greatest soldier.Perfect for readers of Carlo d’Este, E. B. Sledge and Alex Kershaw.As a teenager Audie Murphy left his home in Texas to join in the fight against the Nazis. By the end of the war, after landing on the beaches of Sicily, he had fought in the bloody battle of Anzio, helped liberate Rome, marched his way across France, repelled German counterattacks in Alsace, before finishing in Germany. He was wounded three times, killed over two hundred enemies, and won every medal for valor that the United States had to offer.Charles Whiting charts Murphy’s journey through World War Two, shedding light on his courageous actions, such as when he held off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket before leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.Yet what price did young Audie Murphy pay for becoming America’s most decorated soldier of the Second World War?Rather than simply focusing on Murphy’s achievements in combat, Whiting also explores his life after the war when he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction problems and even twenty years after the war slept with the lights on and a loaded Walther pistol beneath his pillow.American Hero draws upon numerous contemporary sources and a wealth of information drawn from interviews with Murphy’s friends and comrades to provide insight into the rise and fall of Audie Murphy.
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2000
105 people are currently reading
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About the author
Charles Whiting
256 books52 followersCharles Whiting was a British writer and military historian and with some 350 books of fiction and non-fiction to his credit, under his own name and a variety of pseudonyms including Ian Harding, Duncan Harding, K.N. Kostov, John Kerrigan, Klaus Konrad, and Leo Kessler.
Born in the Bootham area of York, England, he was a pupil at the prestigious Nunthorpe Grammar School, leaving at the age of 16 to join the British Army by lying about his age. Keen to be in on the wartime action, Whiting was attached to the 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment and by the age of 18 saw duty as a sergeant in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in the latter stages of World War II. While still a soldier, he observed conflicts between the highest-ranking British and American generals which he would write about extensively in later years.
After the war, he stayed on in Germany completing his A-levels via correspondence course and teaching English before being enrolled at Leeds University reading History and German Language. As an undergraduate he was afforded opportunities for study at several European universities and, after gaining his degree, would go on to become an assistant professor of history. Elsewhere, Whiting held a variety of jobs which included working as a translator for a German chemical factory and spells as a publicist, a correspondent for The Times and feature writer for such diverse magazines as International Review of Linguistics, Soldier and Playboy.
His first novel was written while still an undergraduate, was published in 1954 and by 1958 had been followed by three wartime thrillers. Between 1960 and 2007 Charles went on to write over 350 titles, including 70 non-fiction titles covering varied topics from the Nazi intelligence service to British Regiments during World War II.
One of his publishers, Easingwold-based Rupert Smith of GH Smith & Son said he was a quiet man and prolific writer.
"He's one of a band of forgotten authors because he sold millions of copies and still, up to his death was doing publishing deals.He was the kind of man who was very self-effacing, one of Britain's forgotten authors, still working at 80 years of age, with his nose down and kicking out books."
Charles Henry Whiting, author and military historian died on July 24 2007, leaving his wife and son.
Born in the Bootham area of York, England, he was a pupil at the prestigious Nunthorpe Grammar School, leaving at the age of 16 to join the British Army by lying about his age. Keen to be in on the wartime action, Whiting was attached to the 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment and by the age of 18 saw duty as a sergeant in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in the latter stages of World War II. While still a soldier, he observed conflicts between the highest-ranking British and American generals which he would write about extensively in later years.
After the war, he stayed on in Germany completing his A-levels via correspondence course and teaching English before being enrolled at Leeds University reading History and German Language. As an undergraduate he was afforded opportunities for study at several European universities and, after gaining his degree, would go on to become an assistant professor of history. Elsewhere, Whiting held a variety of jobs which included working as a translator for a German chemical factory and spells as a publicist, a correspondent for The Times and feature writer for such diverse magazines as International Review of Linguistics, Soldier and Playboy.
His first novel was written while still an undergraduate, was published in 1954 and by 1958 had been followed by three wartime thrillers. Between 1960 and 2007 Charles went on to write over 350 titles, including 70 non-fiction titles covering varied topics from the Nazi intelligence service to British Regiments during World War II.
One of his publishers, Easingwold-based Rupert Smith of GH Smith & Son said he was a quiet man and prolific writer.
"He's one of a band of forgotten authors because he sold millions of copies and still, up to his death was doing publishing deals.He was the kind of man who was very self-effacing, one of Britain's forgotten authors, still working at 80 years of age, with his nose down and kicking out books."
Charles Henry Whiting, author and military historian died on July 24 2007, leaving his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 1, 2023
3 grew up hearing about Audie Murphy from my father, and watching his western movies on TV. I also remember seeing his autobiography "To Hell and Back." Audie Murphy won more medals for valor than any U.S. soldier in history, including the medal of honor. He also won medals from France and Belgium. He won the medal of honor by holding up alone and wounded an entire German company including six tanks, using a machine gun atop a burning tank destroyer. His military record is incredible, but that is much more to his story. This book was well researched. In addition to using all available unit records, the author spoke to surviving members of his company, read recorded individual histories, letters to family members, and friends. Most importantly he spoke with Audie's best friend and the ghost writer of his autobiography. The book covers his childhood as the son of a poor Texas sharecropper and his early military training. Audie was so small and undernourished that his training commanders sought to protect him from a combat role by moving him to a service duty in supply or cooking, but Audie demanded that he be allowed to serve in combat. He was first sent overseas to North Africa and served throughout the campaigns in Sicily and Italy, and on into France with the 3rd Division which suffered the highest percentage of combat losses in the U. S. Army. Audie was the only original member of his company to survive the war. I found it very helpful that as the author followed Audie through the various campaigns and battles he put the action in context by providing background of the strategy and the commanders. He also provided personal details about Audie as a person, using the words of those who served with him. This included descriptions of the common soldier during his little free time away from the front lines. Audie is always painted as the hero, but little has been know about the high cost the war had on him and others as one after another their friends died around them. The book makes a point of describing the high price that Audie paid for his service. Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) was unknown and unrecognized at that time, but it is certain that Audie suffered from PTSD the remainder of his life. This included boredom with regular life, insomnia, gambling addiction, stomach disorders, and he always slept with the lights on and a pistol underneath his pillow. Following the war he was brought to Hollywood by James Cagney and eventually got into acting, mostly in B-Westerns. The author covers his life in Hollywood and the rising affects of PTSD and the cost that it had on his life. This is a book on a remarkable man and true American hero. It is also a book on cost that war pays on the lives of those who serve. I want to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for allowing me to read his advance copy in extra for an impartial review.
December 1, 2025
An extensive biography about Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. soldier in history. It is really fascinating to read about his upbringing and life in the army, but I do have to say that my biggest gripe was how unnecessarily long the book was, going too much into detail about his post-war life.
I do understand the author's point how Audie was only venerated for his 2 years in the army, and how everyone ignored him later on, but still, the book became a chore to read in the post-war years. It was just sad to read how mentally drained and scarred Audie became after WWII.
It is an okay biography, however If I had to recommend, I would only recommend the first half covering until the end of WWII.
I do understand the author's point how Audie was only venerated for his 2 years in the army, and how everyone ignored him later on, but still, the book became a chore to read in the post-war years. It was just sad to read how mentally drained and scarred Audie became after WWII.
It is an okay biography, however If I had to recommend, I would only recommend the first half covering until the end of WWII.
November 7, 2023
Amazing, wounded, sad hero!
My father served in the army in WWII. These men left home to serve their country. I remember, as a kid, watching movies Audie Murphy appeared in on television. This book opened up his wartime horrors that he carried with him his entire life. He was a hero. He was a mortal man, a war hero, who sadly died damaged and broken. I am glad to know this broken man's story. May he lie among in peace among the heroes in Arlington. Along with my eldest brother,who served his lifetime in the military, and with whom also lies in Arlington! God bless our warriors. Patricia LaDuke
My father served in the army in WWII. These men left home to serve their country. I remember, as a kid, watching movies Audie Murphy appeared in on television. This book opened up his wartime horrors that he carried with him his entire life. He was a hero. He was a mortal man, a war hero, who sadly died damaged and broken. I am glad to know this broken man's story. May he lie among in peace among the heroes in Arlington. Along with my eldest brother,who served his lifetime in the military, and with whom also lies in Arlington! God bless our warriors. Patricia LaDuke
May 26, 2023
I remember being taken by my father to see To Hell And Back.I've just watched it again and it's pretty good by 1950s standatds.
I saw many of Murphy's films at my local Odeon as support of the main feature.He wasn't a great actor.
You can only but feel sorry for Murphy,but you do wonder why he did these brave acts again and again.
This is a well written biography.My only criticism is that there are a couple of chapters where Murphy isn't mentioned a.t all.
I saw many of Murphy's films at my local Odeon as support of the main feature.He wasn't a great actor.
You can only but feel sorry for Murphy,but you do wonder why he did these brave acts again and again.
This is a well written biography.My only criticism is that there are a couple of chapters where Murphy isn't mentioned a.t all.
April 26, 2023
great book
Very interesting insight into an American hero. PTSD was an unknown after world war 2 but Audie Murphy definitely suffered from it until the day he died.
Very interesting insight into an American hero. PTSD was an unknown after world war 2 but Audie Murphy definitely suffered from it until the day he died.
June 7, 2020
The first book I have read on Audie Murphy,the first two thirds of the book deal with his wartime exploits and rightly so.the last few chapters on his time in Hollywood.his films were pedestrian but entertaining as far as being typecast he was stuck in a genre similar to elvis Presley was,they were made cheap showed a profit so onto the next one.he didnt seem to play the Hollywood game of schmoozing the right people.i believe he suffered PTSD which hadn't been thought of then,his recklessness with money and his total disregard for his career.if he had been managed in the right way instead of the usual tales of hangers on he might have made a capable character actor.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews