Book Excerpt: 'American Soldier' by Tommy Franks

Aug. 3, 2004 -- American Soldier, former Gen. Tommy Franks' long awaited memoir, talks about the life and career of the man who led the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. As commander of the U.S. Central Command from 2000 through July 2003, Franks kept away from the limelight, despite his high profile.

Following the war in Iraq, there were reports of disagreements between the media-shy U.S. general and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Both men have vociferously denied the rumors and Rumsfeld has called Franks, a "wise and inspiring commander."

Read excerpts about Franks' childhood years in his latest memoirs:

Chapter One

WYNNEWOOD, OKLAHOMA, JUNE 1950: My understanding of the world and its consequences — of right and wrong, good and evil — began when I was five in central Oklahoma. That may be hard to believe, but it's true.

It was my father, Ray Franks, who taught me those lessons.

"You pull up just as hard as you push down, Tommy Ray," Dad said. He was trimming two-by-fours for our barn roof with a handsaw on the tailgate of the old Ford pickup. The saw blade snarled down through the board and ripped up with a thinner sound. His right arm, tanned like leather under the short sleeve of a washed-out shirt, bulged as he leaned his stocky weight into the saw.

It was summer, nice in the shade of the cottonwood trees near the barn. I was barefoot, in faded bib overalls that were getting short in the legs, sitting in the dirt, watching my father work, listening closely, as always, to his soft-spoken words. He smiled a lot and liked to josh around. But when we were alone together, my dad often took a moment to explain the things he'd learned in his life.

"Here, Tommy Ray," he said, tossing me a couple of splintery cuttings. "You can play with these blocks."

"But, Dad, they ain't real toys."

"Aren't real toys," he corrected, flipping another board end to me. "But they are, you see. A few years back, kids had to make do with toys their daddies made for them. They couldn't just drive to the five-and-dime in town and buy ready-made."