James Arness was born May 26, 1923, in Minneapolis. He entered college just as World War II began and dreamed of being a naval aviator. It seemed as if every night his fraternity was having a party to send off a brother to the service. Young Arness got his interview with a naval flight program officer, but his hopes vanished as he was informed that his six foot seven inch height disqualified him automatically. He wrote his draft board asking that they call him up as soon as possible and so he ended up as a private in the famed Third Infantry Division where he earned a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Because of his stature, he was chosen to be first off the landing craft (to test the depth of the water) when his division landed at Anzio, Italy. He was subsequently wounded by enemy machine gun fire and spent eighteen months recovering in overseas and stateside hospitals. Later his height would help him strike a commanding figure in the role of U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon of Dodge City. After Arness had toiled in Hollywood for a decade, John Wayne recommended him to CBS executives for the Gunsmoke part (after Wayne turned it down). As the principal performer of Gunsmoke for twenty years (1955-1975), the actor and the character took on mythic proportions--a born leader, honest and strong. Rare is the actor who has been cast in a role that so deeply fits his true self. James Arness gives a full account of his early years, his family, his military career, his film work in Hollywood which included appearances in the cult-favorite science fiction movies Them! and The Thing. He had a long run on Gunsmoke, a role in the highly popular television miniseries How The West Was Won, and his post-theatrical period is also covered. This is the long anticipated, never-before-told account of one of the icons of twentieth-century television. There are many personal revelations of interacting with some of the Gunsmoke family ensemble, such as Miss Kitty, Doc and Festus. His own work as a producer is covered. Throughout are rare, previously unpublished photographs from the author's personal collection. Appendices include comments by show biz colleagues and fellow Gunsmoke alumni, and a sampling of letters received from his legions of fans. As befits the man, this large-size book is a beautifully printed work in accord with the highest library standards--a luxurious and extra-strong cloth binding, acid-free paper, carefully designed photographic and textual layouts and sophisticated typography. Actor and fellow Gunsmoke performer Burt Reynolds has written a foreword to the book.

James Arness: An Autobiography

Biographies & Memoirs

James E. Wise Jr.

James Arness

Arts & Literature

McFarland Publishing

The war diary of former German naval officer Otto Giese recounts a seafaring career of extraordinary scope. It begins with the dawn of World War II, while the author is a junior officer on board the ocean liner SS Columbus, and continues through his confinement in a British prisoner-of-war camp after the war. This book showcases more than one hundred high-quality photographs taken by Giese throughout his wartime service to present a unique historical overview Interspersed among tales of hardship and loss are colorful, anecdotes that relay the camaraderie surrounding plots to escape detention at Angel Island the unlikely processing of German seamen at Ellis Island, and Giese's experiences policing guerrilla warfare in the Malayan jungle. He greets the incongruous movements of war with equanimity and offers an unwavering assessment of the dictates of duty.

Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II

Otto Giese

Leaders & Notable People

Naval_Institute_Press

The war diary of former German naval officer Otto Giese recounts a seafaring career of extraordinary scope. It begins with the dawn of World War II, while the author is a junior officer on board the ocean liner SS Columbus, and continues through his confinement in a British prisoner-of-war camp after the war. This book showcases more than one hundred high-quality photographs taken by Giese throughout his wartime service to present a unique historical overview. Interspersed among tales of hardship and loss are colorful anecdotes that relay the camaraderie surrounding plots to escape detention at Angel Island, the unlikely processing of German seamen at Ellis Island, and Giese's experiences policing guerrilla warfare in the Malayan jungle. He greets the incongruous movements of war with equanimity and offers an unwavering assessment of the dictates of duty.

The U-505 was a German submarine that was captured in battle by the US in June of 1944. James Wise (a former US naval intelligence officer) narrates the life of the vessel from its 1941 construction in Hamburg to its more recent home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Including numerous photographs throughout, Wise describes the u-boat's fortunes in World War II, the circumstances of its capture, and the long journey down the St. Lawrence River and through four of the Great Lakes to Chicago. He also offers two appendixes discussing operating and living on board the U-505 and the historical evolution of the submarine.

U-505: The Lone Wolf of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry

History

Americas

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by James E. Wise Jr.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by James E. Wise Jr.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by James E. Wise Jr.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

James Arness: An Autobiography

Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II

Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II

U-505: The Lone Wolf of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry