Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War I

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The book is liberally strewn with stories of Mr. Norris' personal interactions with many folks the rest of us have heard of - Bruce Lee, George Bush, Steve McQueen. Occasionally it feels like name dropping but from somebody whose entire professional life has been based on building relationships, it seems quite normal and acceptable. Dawn was now breaking off the coast of North Africa. In the far distance, men could make out the steeple of a Catholic church rising above the port of Fedala.4 There was the sound of machine-gun fire. Bright red tracers spat across the lightening sky. Ahead loomed a flat, broad beach a couple of miles to the east of Fedala. In this book, Mr. Kershaw tells the story of the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division in World War through the stories of 4 men, all of whom were among the most decorated soldiers in of the War. The four men are Maurice Britt, Michael Daly, Keith Ware and last but not least Audie Murphy. All four were awarded the Medal of Honor, multiple Silver and Bronze Stars. Murphy and Britt were also awarded DSCs – making them recipients of all 4 of the US medals for valor. There are many moments of stress; when diving face masks were too large, the breathing not heard underwater, and especially the panic of a diver as he loses ‘the line’ etc whilst pushing a body forward. Harry gets to him just in time and retrieved the boy to take out to the end himself.

An entertaining and uplifting autobiography by the well-known martial arts champion and actor. Not well written, but sincere and open. The reader gets Norris, warts (and scars) and all. Victim of ambush journalism. The spirituality of the region was very important. All of Thailand watched and prayed. Schools were closed. It gripped the world. Daly had made it home but he was adrift, aimless without the sense of responsibility that came with holding other men's lives in his hands." The cave area became a complex ‘instant’ city for journalists, locals helping out, political and international personnel with expertise in cave rescue, supposedly. Governments became heavily involved, red tape waived. In June 2018, for seventeen days, the world watched and held its breath as the Wild Boars soccer team were trapped deep in a cave in Thailand. Marooned beyond flooded cave passages after unexpected rains, they were finally rescued, one-by-one, against almost impossible odds, by an international cave-diving team which included Australians Dr Richard Harris and Dr Craig Challen.

Success!

The rescue operation started at Tham Luang cave in Thailand , From a deep flooded mountain cave , where 12 boys and one captain of a soccer team were trapped inside over a week. It’s the adventure itself and the two ‘authors’ and their story, which gives this book its high rating. Not the literary style. Of course there could be further editing and certain aspects left out, especially Harry’s ‘kidnapping’ adventure with friends in the city streets of Adelaide. And involving police. There was a little too much spent about his early years.

Taking chances is part of life, but when you bet your future against the odds, it’s a high-risk game. Kate Madison’s stylish resale shop has been a big SoHo success, supporting her and her four kids since her husband’s untimely death. Now they are grown and ready to forge lives of their own. And they all choose to play against the odds, to their mother’s dismay. In June 2018, 12 boys and their junior soccer coach wandered into a cave in Thailand - something they had doing many times before. It wasn’t yet flood season. None of them expected they wouldn’t make it home that night.

In the course of the war Murphy earned every citation for valor that the army awards: Bronze Star, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, and Medal of Honor. A compelling read that reveals a lot of what went on "behind the scenes" - the tensions, the problem-solving, the camaraderie of cave divers from around the world, the red tape, the many unknown people who were involved, and especially the bravery of all who were committed to the rescue mission. In the meantime, we, along with Harry and Craig, heard more about each boy, their lives, families, the coach etc. Pictures zoomed onto our TV screens. They represented our own sons, grandsons, nephews, friends etc. It was such an emotional time: will it end in tragedy? Nothing seemed to be happening. What was wrong? Again, Harry offered assistance. In any way. The word ‘sedation’ was mentioned by his UK friend… “really”? That’s never been done Harry replied at that stage. The story is filled with flawed but realistic characters, That's not to say I liked them all! I liked the very reasonable Kate who is the mother of four adult children. She is responsible and worries about her children all day. I enjoyed reading about her business and how she ran her second hand clothing store, "Still fabulous". I also liked Grandma Lou and enjoyed reading about her trips across the world.

Or the Wild Boars had to stay in the cave until the monsoon season ended and the water level dropped. It was a serious option too. Harry, the medical doctor, thought of several months ‘living’ in a darkened, damp environment and the high probabilities of dysentery, other illnesses and eventual death, a very slow one. How would this impact upon each boy? The essence of the book that I truly appreciated was its straight-forwardness. Some readers may consider it grandiose and bragging but when he achieved a major accomplishment he is not hesitant to claim quiet victory. And when he failed to meet a goal or reveals a character flaw, he does so with humility. Both time honored traits of a true martial artist and Christian. Harry and Craig needed each other, having worked extremely well as a team in the past. When they ‘nutted out’ their idea they had to convince the officials and Governor. Questions were naturally asked about the proposal.Rootin’-tootin’ history of the dry-gulchers, horn-swogglers, and outright killers who populated the Wild West’s wildest city in the late 19th century. Against All Odds" is a relatively easy read and for the most part clearly lays out the life experiences that developed Mr. Norris' character. He shares many personal memories that are obviously important to him. Some of these stories may seem trifling but taken as a whole you can see the evolution of character and faith. This book was a real eye opener for me and has made me grateful for my own childhood. Paul Connolly was abandoned as a baby and wound up in an awful children's home, where all the children suffered some level of abuse. This book was not easy reading at times as Paul explains how there was a lot of emotional, psychological, physical and also sexual abuse in the home. I felt my eyes fill up with tears many times. It is a true testament to just what a character Paul has managed to become though, as through all the horrors in his story he also managed to make me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Britt's landing craft ground ashore. Men began to unload it but then there was a "deafening rattle of fire" and Britt looked up and saw a French plane diving toward him, strafing his regiment. There had been no preinvasion bombardment in the hopes that the French would not put up any resistance. Many of Britt's fellow invaders carried American flags, figuring the French would be less likely to fire on US troops. The flags made no difference. Kate Madison leads a normal life with her Adult kids. Never did it occur to her to have a partner in her life, nor did her mother. All her kids are successful in their career but what troubles her most is that except her son Justin, none of her kids have a personal life. While her children start getting settled in their life, Kate finds her love. But, life is never easy.

His heroics led him to rise in rank from private to corporal to lieutenant and to the command of a platoon at age nineteen and a company at age twenty. Kate Madison's stylish second-hand clothing shop has been a big success in New York, supporting her and her four kids since her husband's untimely death. Now, her children have grown up and are ready to forge lives of their own. They all choose to play against all odds, much to their mother's dismay . . . Action and cooperation was required and so, these two men, worked out a plan. Using sedatives and needles, they taught other divers as well but all this urgency needed to be agreed upon by other divers, the Seals and the Thai Government officials. Thankfully the plan got the ‘green light’. The world watched on. Slowly each child came out, alive!Endings were the most amazing part in Against All Odds. The readers need to see both the happy ones and also the sad ones and the author has managed to provide both.