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| | | General Teacher Resources | Home » » » The Far Reaches (Josh Thurlow Series #3) | | | | | | | Description: | | The year is 1943 and World War II in the Pacific rages on, with Americans engaged in desperate battles against a cunning enemy. Coast Guard Captain Josh Thurlow is on hand at the invasion of Tarawa, as the U.S. Navy begins the grand strategy of throwing her marines at island after bloody island across the Pacific. But nothing goes as planned as young Americans go up against fanatical defenders, who revel in snipers, big guns, and human wave attacks from which there is no escape save death.
As blood colors the waters around Tarawa, Josh flounders ashore through a floating graveyard of dead men and joins the survivors, determined to somehow wrest victory from disaster. Critically wounded, ,Josh expects to die. Instead, he is spun off on one of his greatest adventures when Sister Mary Kathleen, a young Irish nun, nurses him back to health, then shanghais Josh, sidekick Bosun Ready O'Neal, and three American marines to a group of beautiful tropical islands invaded by a brutal Japanese warlord. Josh and his little band must decide whether to help the Sister fight the battle she demands, return to Tarawa and the "real" war, or settle down in the romantic splendor of the South Seas.
Hickam expertly weaves the adventures of these hot-blooded characters tighter and tighter until the Sister's secrets and sins are finally revealed during a horrific battle in the lair of the warlord. With an incredible eye for historical detail and the talent of a master storyteller, Homer Hickam delivers another tour de force.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Homer Hickam | | Hardcover:
| 320 pages | | Publisher:
| Thomas Dunne Books | | Publication Date:
| June 12, 2007 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0312334753 | | Package Length:
| 9.3 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.25 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 25 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 25 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 His tough crust still surrounds a tender core for the men and women who are loyal and true.Jun 18, 2007
By Bookreporter
Captain Josh Thurlow is back in a new World War II adventure, packed with action and pathos. Fans will remember the feisty U.S. Coast Guard Captain from two previous books. We first met Josh in THE KEEPER'S SON as he hunted a wolfpack of German U-boats off the Outer Banks of the Carolinas before the U.S. entered the war. In THE AMBASSADOR'S SON, Josh and his crew were sent to the Solomon Islands on a secret mission to search for President Roosevelt's missing cousin early in the war.
Captain Thurlow's sea-savvy has been duly noted by Washington after his action in the Solomons, and he is dispatched to the Mariana Islands as an observer for Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. The Americans had met blistering resistance from the Japanese in the bloody battle of Guadalcanal, and now the U.S. seeks to secure the island chain to the east as a strategic stopping point in the supply lines as they gear up for invasion of Japan. Late in 1943 the Marines are launching an assault of Tarawa.
Hickam's earlier war stories have leaned toward storytelling and character development in the early pages. Not so in THE FAR REACHES. The opening chapters are filled with graphic, action-filled battle scenes, as his impressive writing skills chronicle a near-catastrophic battle early in World War II. Based on recorded history of that battle, THE FAR REACHES aims a zoom lens on the fighting men from both sides in what began as a fiasco as the Marines tried to land under poor sea conditions. It is here that Hickam injects his rich and colorful characters into the story.
Captain Thurlow, horrified at the carnage taking place during the misguided landing, discards his observer role to jump ship and join the battle.
Meanwhile, Sister Mary Kathleen, a pretty, young Irish nun and her retinue of "fella boys," a group of South Sea Islanders fleeing a prisoner-of-war camp on a Japanese occupied island, have had the misfortune of being recaptured by the Japanese holding Tarawa. They are sequestered in a bunker under guard beneath the dunes of the small atoll and due to be executed. When the pounding begins from the American warships offshore, their future is even less certain as shells fall on the bunker.
During a lull in the bombardment, the nun and her fella boys crawl out of the smoldering ruins to give aid to the few wounded Marines still alive after the first unsuccessful beach assault. Among them are Josh and his bosun, Ready. Josh, gravely wounded during the landing, succumbs to a recurrence of malaria and is shanghaied by Sister Mary Kathleen, who has a war of her own to win back on the island she fled.
As the second wave of the 2nd Marines is gathering for what will be a successful battle for the island chain, the unconscious Josh, his bosun Ready, the determined young nun and three surviving Marines are being rowed in three reed outrigger canoes by the nun's faithful fella boys back to the island group known as the Forriges, or the Far Reaches, to help Sister Mary Kathleen exact her revenge on her brutal captor.
Members of the crew find love, honor and insights into their own human spirit as they go from hand-to-hand fighting on the brutal beaches of Tarawa to an idyllic existence on an outlying island. There, they finally confront the cruel Japanese warlord and the lives of each are changed forever.
Hickam's hero is strong, filled with zeal and brave in the face of overwhelming odds as all heroes must be. His past books have been laced with humor and hijnks by Josh and his unlikely band of sailors, but THE FAR REACHES is dead serious and strikes a darker note. The war has hardened Josh and the games are over. The curmudgeonly Captain frightens strangers but doesn't fool his trusted friends. His tough crust still surrounds a tender core for the men and women who are loyal and true.
--- Reviewed by Roz Shea
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Hickam's Best Novel to DateJul 20, 2007
By Allen
If you've read any of Hickam's other books you will love this one. If you haven't read any of his books yet, what are you waiting for? As a Vietnam combat veteran you can tell that Homer uses a lot of his own experiences in this novel. A must read.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A fascinating novelJun 13, 2007
By Alexandria
The Far Reaches is a great page-turning read. I liked all the characters, especially Sister Mary Kathleen. Josh Thurlow is a character who has grown on me. In this novel, he is so real I think Hickam is either channeling him or he's based on a real person. As in all the Thurlow books, Hickam not only writes a page-turner but also teaches a little history. The opening chapters of the battle of Tarawa are absolutely spell-binding and gut-wrenching, too. I think I learned what it was really like in that battle and I'm a huge WWII buff and have read nearly everything written about Tarawa. Hickam captures the sand, grit, sweat, and stink of battle like few authors. W.E.B. Griffin seems always a little above the fray. Hickam has Thurlow right in the middle of it. After Tarawa comes the islands of the Far Reaches. I will never forget when I read of Sister's greatest sin. I thought I had it all figured out but Hickam surprised me at the end. This novel is historical fiction at its best. Just good writing and a reading pleasure.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 I didn't think this was Homer Hickam's bestJul 13, 2007
By Michael in Helena, Alabama
"Michael"
First and foremost, I am a HUGE Homer Hickam fan. If you look back at the history of my reviews, you'll see that I've probably read and reviewed all, if not most, of Homer Hickam's books. And I have completely enjoyed Mr. Hickam's writing, up until now.
I just didn't get the feeling that I'd finished a masterpiece with The Far Reaches. The initial few chapters make Josh Thurlow seem to be some sort of an invincible Rambo, surviving multiple injuries that would have done in a mere mortal. The rest of the book plows forward, and has some interesting moments. I'll admit that at times I longed to be sitting in a hammock on The Far Reaches, which was a great accomplishment by Mr. Hickam.
The dialogue of the fella boys wasn't quite what it was in The Ambassador's Son, and the "nostalgia" factor just wasn't there.
Yes, I get it that this was a differenct perspective on the harsh realities of war, and I get it that there were some new characters introduced, and I did like the Sister character.
To me, the best part of the book was Colonel Burr's realization of what his life had become, and the short conversation between him and Josh. I wish that had been more of the theme of the book, rather than what it ended up being.
I just finished this book and didn't feel like I connected with any of the characters like I have before, and I just wasn't thrilled with this one.
I expected more out of Homer Hickam, savvy?
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
bullseye again!Jul 28, 2007
By Robert Popp
I just finished reading this book and came away impressed again. The story moves along at a brisk pace and there are very few slow parts. It holds your attention. The only flaw I found in the book was toward the beginning when Josh Thurlow was shot up pretty bad and survived. A previous poster mentioned he was like rambo and I have to agree with that. That doesn't take away from the book at all for me though. Great summer reading!
Do yourself a favor a pick this one up.
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