Father Duffy’s Story; A Tale Of Humor And Heroism, Of Life And Death With The Fighting Sixty-Ninth [Illustrated Edition]

Fr Duffy was chaplain of the "Fighting 69th" a brigade of mostly Irish-American soldiers from the New York City area. The book follows the history of the unit, from early recruiting efforts in New York, to basic training, shipping out for France, and then into battle at the Ourcq river and in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The battle descriptions are very powerful, and harrowing in some cases, but there is also much lighter material: Christmas and Easter Masses, confessions, singing, jokes, getting to know the French townspeople, etc. There are numerous personal sketches of the officers and men, now otherwise lost to history. A great book.

Father Duffy crafted an excellent story that chronicled the story of the 165th Infantry (formerly Fighting 69th) during World War 1. He offers facts and insights that simply cannot be found elsewhere that carries the reader from New York through France and beyond the front lines. His humorous takes on the otherwise morbid characteristic of war really draws the reader in using interpersonal descriptions of even the most junior-ranking soldier. Any person with even the slightest bit of Irish in his/her blood will swell with pride and love for the 'Erin go Bragh' Brigade when reading Father Duffy's story. Spending time to recount the demise of nearly each and every battlefield casualty, Father Duffy provides an inside story that friends and family might never have known. I definitely recommend this book for everyone, especially for anyone that had a family member in WW1.

I really wanted to like this book. I could not get past the constant spelling errors and lazy editing. It seems like this book was a total cash grab which I consider a dishonor to the legacy of the brave men that fought those battles described in its pages. This is one of the worst edited books that I have ever purchased. Even for journal entries their is a right way to maintain the integrity of the source material, no such care was taken.

The formatting of the book was atrocious. I realize that it was only $0.99, but in some spots it was hard to read. There were misspellings, superfluous characters, footnotes in the middle of the text, and the formatting was horrible. All this combined to ruin the reading experience. It's too bad really, because I just saw the movie and was very excited to read Fr. Duffy's account. I was totally disappointed.

This is an excellent book, but I would recommend any reader interested in WWI in general, and the 69th NY National Guard Brigade specifically, read it in tandom with Stephen Harris's book, Duffy's War. Both books are excellent - the best!! One complements the other. Father Duffy's moving account of the 69th is wonderful memorializing the Soldiers who served in the brigade and those within the 42nd Rainbow Division. Stephen Harris's work goes into more detail highlighting the larger picture of the Rainbow Division and the various units within it. Read them together - you won't be disappointed!!