MOUNTAIN TROOPERS!

Numbering among its ranks many celebrities of the ski world as well as refugees from Austria and Norway, trained in the mountains of Colorado and later (with typical army logic) in the deserts of Texas, the exotic Tenth Mountain Division first saw action in an abortive assault of the Aleutian Island of Kiska (which the Japanese had already evacuated) and later served with distinction in Italy -- ascending Riva Ridge, advancing through the Apennines and crossing the Po under enemy fire. From its beginning as the brainchild of Minot Dole of the National Ski Patrol System (until ""In time, two War Department colonels picked up the ball and ran with it"") the story of the Tenth is productive of many anecdotes which illustrate the heroic toughness of its members and the ironies of war; perhaps because the narrative is built around interviews with many of the division's veterans, it lacks focus and momentum. War buffs, and to some extent ski buffs, will forgive the literary shortcomings, but there's nothing in the telling to suggest a wider appeal.