Old Man in a Baseball Cap
A Memoir of World War II
Crude and often nonsensical, these stories of Rochlin's WWII experiences were written as monologues for his one-man show. In his 70s, Rochlin, a former B-24 navigator, took a storytelling workshop with Spalding Gray, and this is the result. Noting that the older I get, the more I remember things that never happened, he tells eight tales of varying credibility and tastelessness. In the title story, Rochlin, nicknamed Rockets, bails out over Yugoslavia, suffering a fractured jaw and broken ribs. Rescued by partisans, he is, without explanation, cheerfully asked to execute three German prisoners. His only comment: It didn't take any courage, you just pulled a trigger.'' His escort for the 400-kilometer stroll back to Italy, the earthy Maruska, following dual bouts of diarrhea, asks, You think I no beautiful? I don't want to die virgin. Why don't you put your hand on my siski?'' Following the first night of fig-fig,'' he complained his hooey was on fire and it started to drip stuff.'' Several of Rochlin's stories involve a glamour boy'' pilot and the colonel he's discovered in bed with, “in that head-to-toe 69 position . . . Hell, I didn't even know guys did stuff like that.” When the pilot is killed, the inebriated, grieving colonel tries to rape Rockets; he fends him off and, with the local priests help, fixes him up with a gay portrait painter. In another, quite detailed piece, he assists in a drunken cesarean section on a 14-year-old girl. The final entry has him having sex with his uncle's wife, who later tells him how much she loves her husband and will never betray him.'' Huh? Perhaps as staged monologues, in Rochlin's voice, these at least have some semblance of believability and sense. Here, they come off as simply careless, pointless, and offensive.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest sexual material. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
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Dark tone · Steady pace
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
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A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-0609-3227-5
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL9239803M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
Works well for a focused weekend or a few concentrated sittings.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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