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Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite
Author Joseph Richardson has given many generations much food for thought in "Visions of Mary." A current-time emergency room physician finds himself baffled by an elderly patient who simply will not allow himself to be known. The doctor sees confusion and orientation and surmises the man may be in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Eventually, the doctor is able to get the man to talk about the past, memories which remain intact in the mind of the patient. We then flashback to 1942 and the entrance of the USA into World War II. We are taken through the enlistment and training of one John Stone as well as his immediate marriage to a woman he has known for four weeks. Mary becomes the love of and the motivation for John's life. She is his inspiration as he goes from basic training to flight school to flight training and then, to an assignment in the Pacific.
I loved the first and third sections of the story. John is developed as an intelligent and responsible character to whom his men will give absolute loyalty as he becomes their pilot and commander. I felt the second part of the story became a bit sluggish due to the descriptions of the training and the various airplanes. But to those who love the technicalities of the involvement of the Army Air Force in this era, this will be a goldmine! The story of the survival of the crew and the capture of a crew member is stunning in their descriptions. Anyone wanting a refresher or an instruction on the sacrifices made by those fighting men during WWII will want to savor this part of the story. All in all, this is a wonderful read which will hold most historical fiction readers captivated!
