A Politically Incorrect Memoir
Opening two days before President Franklin
Roosevelt’s death, Part I covers the period 1945 through
1966, including Brooklyn, New York’s comfort and
simplicity in the early fifties. Especially entertaining is
the chapter “Mame,” the author’s wife’s nickname, a
classic love story chronicling the couple’s first meeting
through their marriage.
Part II focuses on the author’s service in the
Marines and begins with his training in Quantico, Va.,
where his experiences range from hilarious to grueling.
The chapter “Vietnam: Our Least Popular and Least
Successful War” precedes compelling individual stories
amid historical accounts of the war. The part ends with
Mansfield’s joyous homecoming from Vietnam.
Part IV is a rousing exposé of contemporary
America’s culture wars.
Part V contains several short biographies, and
concludes with “Kid Stuff” on the rearing of Mansfield’s
own children and the values he deems essential to
producing self-reliant, responsible citizens.
Part III opens with “Modern Watersheds: May
4, 1970 and September 11, 2001.” Here Mansfield
elucidates his view of the dates’ significance by
comparing their effects, respectively, to November 22,
1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated, and
December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
This part also describes his business career, his life in
Paris and London, and the side-splitting tale of a physical
attack on the author.