Home : Book details : Book description

Description of  Fate's Finger

When you commanded a tank during World War II, you never knew where Fate's Finger would fall. Author Robert W. Christie knows that fact firsthand because he served as a tank platoon leader in Europe during WWII, and his riveting account of that experience will linger in your memory. His tank was named Fate's Finger. Fate's Finger is all true, all based on Dr. Christie's experiences. But in order to protect the memories of those who served with him, he has carefully fictionalized his book so that, in his words, "the living and the dead can remain in peace." But the ghosts in Christie's memories will haunt you. There's Captain Shapiro who's just trying to stay alive in a world where the life span of a tank platoon leader averages 30 days. Sergeant Schoolman is part of that platoon, a man who's mind has become so dark, the rest of the platoon calls him "the Mole." And then there's the story of Marie, part of the so-called collateral damage of war, whose end brings home the true costs of the lust for conquest. Sometimes, you just don't want to know what's true and what's not. Christie's account not only puts you into the turrets of tanks, his historical research gives readers a soldier's-eye understanding of what the costs of poor design and lack of foresight mean for the men who live through the mud, terror, and trauma of war. This is a searing account of a thoughtful man thrust into circumstances that called for the best-and worst-of humankind.