NO RED RIBBONS

The two heroes of this long, long book are described at one point by the author as a young and a young MacArthur; this may-or may not- enlist the reader's sympathies. These two, and literally hundreds of other characters, are Navy Air Force officers who engage in flying, drinking, loving, practical joking, forming corporations and entering poli with the same, doggedly sophomoric, enthusiasm. The title indicates that for them there can be no second place. Apparently little maturity either, even though in the many and involvements in which they figure they show an indomitable will to win. The period covered is from the beginning of World War II to the late the settings from the Mediterranean as seen from a touring aircraft carrier in to Detroit. Mr. Quirk has written a book that is profuse if not profound, and complicated if not complex. It has a certain primitive dynamism which does not slow up even though it is interlaced with a good deal of political and social doctrine, all of it farther, right than Goldwater. The only conceivable liberal character is a Jew with a persecution complex who shoots himself. The explicit moral is that ""America will be strong and vital if our leaders lead"". But is this kind of leadership desirable? Still, the book has popular possibilities which the publishers will try to strengthen, although Quirk as a mouthpiece is a kind of Junior Chamber of Commerce Ayn Rand.