Jack- gets to do the book review again – – –

Woody, Cisco, and Me – Jim Longhi.

I was fascinated by Woody Guthrie from the minute I discovered folk songs, and not just because Guthrie is a Scottish name.

I knew that he and Cisco Houston (another Scottish name) had sailed in the US merchant marine during world war 2 and that they’d wound up briefly in Glasgow after their ship was mined.

But I didn’t know about the third member of the gang, Jim Longhi!

Longhi’s book is completely wonderful and engrossing. It tells the story of how they kept themselves together through very scary times and also kept their shipmates and traveling companions hopeful and entertained as well. There are many hilarious shore trips from Sicily to Liverpool and Belfast, but lots of really nail biting times as well, as other ships are torpedoed and sink around them.

Although I knew about Woody and Cisco I had never heard of Jim.

The only disappointment is that, despite a lot of details about their shore visits, there’s nothing about the shenanigans in Glasgow, which are well documented. Despite that very minor quibble I thoroughly recommend this to anyone interested in Woody or what life was like for mess hands on the Atlantic convoys in WW2.

Dulce et Decorum Est – – –