An American Requiem; God, My Father, and the War that Came Between Us

Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. Third Printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Michaela Sullivan (Jacket Design). 22 cm. [8], 279, [1] pages. Illustrations. Pencil erasure residue on fep. DJ has slight edge wear. National Book Award Winner Gold Sticker on front of DJ. James P. Carroll (born January 22, 1943, Chicago, Illinois, United States)[1] is an American author, historian, and journalist. A Roman Catholic reformer, he has written extensively about his experiences in the seminary and as a priest, and has published, besides novels, books on religion and history. He won the 1996 National Book Award for Nonfiction for An American Requiem, a memoir about the Vietnam War and his relationships with his father, the American military, and the Catholic Church. In an interview with the New York Times, Carroll explained why he wrote it: "I thought I would feel better. One of the effects of telling the story as I experienced it was for it to be redeemed, made meaningful. ...There's something tragic to the story I told." Nevertheless, after completing it, he said, instead of feeling relief, "I put my head down, and I wept." Derived from a Kirkus review: An ex-priest's confessional attempt to make peace with his dead father. For nearly 20 years, Carroll barely talked to his father, the late lieutenant general Joseph F. Carroll, founding director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. They fell out over the war in Vietnam; over the way the younger Carroll conducted himself as a priest; and over the son's finally opting out of the priesthood. Carroll confronts the demons left by his troubled relationship with his father and his church by telling his family's story, focusing especially on the political and religious turmoil that tore them apart in the 1960s. Carroll argues persuasively that he is still that priest, albeit in a different role, and with a wife and children. And despite his falling out with both his father and his church, he thanks them for giving him the courage of his convictions and for making him a priest, even as they broke his heart. A memoir that may help put more demons to rest for others of the '60s generation.