| An Artist at War: The Journal of John Gaitha Browning Contributor(s): Browning, John Gaitha (Author), Toliver, Oleta Stewart (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0929398769 ISBN-13: 9780929398761 Publisher: University of North Texas Press OUR PRICE: $26.96 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 1994 Annotation: John Gaitha Browning was a 30-year-old artist when he joined the Army, and he did not cease to be an artist just because he had become a soldier. The extraordinary journal he kept during his two years in the South Pacific records the plight of any artist at war: "We are a lonely lot who ignore so many things and dream of a day when we will be free to create beauty again". Browning also brought to Army life his many years of experience (some while a Boy Scout) working among Native Americans, learning their lore and handiwork. Many entries in this journal are fascinating comparisons between them and the New Guinea and Philippine natives. Although his love of art and culture sometimes left him at odds with the youngest soldiers, he was determined to make a written and visual record of whatever "good and beautiful" he found amidst the confusion and destruction of war. The journals begin on February 6, 1943 in Fort Ord, California; cover Browning's journey to Australia aboard the U. S. Army Transport Willard A. Holbrook; his adventures in Brisbane and Cairns, and then New Guinea; and his combat experience in the Philippines during the spring and summer of 1945. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Military - History | Military - General |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 94020152 |
| Series: War & the Southwest |
| Physical Information: 1.26" H x 6.26" W x 9.26" (1.73 lbs) 331 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: When twenty-nine-year-old artist John Gaitha Browning enlisted in 1942, he was determined to keep a journal recording his observations of army life--from boot camp to combat. He is often wryly humorous: "We figured out recently just how long it would take to get our brigade home on the so-called 'rotation plan.' Exactly SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS " More often he is philosophical, as this entry from November 11, 1943 shows: "Only tonight did I have time to realize that this is Armistice Day celebrated for over twenty-five years as the end of war. I wonder what is taking place at home now and if they are celebrating this hollow victory of a quarter century ago." Although his love of art and culture sometimes left him at odds with the younger soldiers, his combat experience taught him an important lesson about humanity: "I can learn something valuable by making friends with all of them. In civilian life we would never have met, but in the army we are thrown together, and both may come out wiser if we make an effort to do so." Journals cover from February 6, 1943, in Fort Ord, California, through his journey to Australia; his experiences there in Brisbane and Cairns and then in New Guinea; and his combat experience in the Philippines, ending June 20, 1945. |