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Title: War Letters : Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars by Andrew Carroll, Joan Allen, Michael Beach, Eric Stoltz ISBN: 0-7435-0843-2 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Pub. Date: 15 May, 2001 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 5 List Price(USD): $32.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.85 (27 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Welcome to military live
Comment: Let me start this review by confessing that I am biased. One of my letters from Vietnam is included in the book. I therefore view the book differently from the average reader.
I also got an advance copy of the book a week before the official release date, and have been able to read it.
Andrew Carroll produced this book by reading through almost 50,000 letters and selected roughly 200 that best show what everyday life in the military - and in war - are like from the viewpoint of the average soldier, sailor, marine, and airman.
Andy was able to get these letters by persuading Dear Abby to publish an appeal in her column on Veteran's Day in 1998. The column urged readers to contribute these letters so that the sacrifices of the writers would not be forgotten. The result was a flood of 50,000 letters - some faded, some muddy, some blood-stained, and one pierced by a bullet. One letter was written on Hitler's personal stationary by an American sergeant who worked in Hitler's personal quarters in Germany just after WW II. What could be a better symbol of justice?
The letter writers' views are very different than the views you will get by reading the memoirs of a general or an admiral. When I was in the Army, there was a wonderful comment that explained life in the Infantry:
"The general gets the glory, The family gets the body, and We get another mission."
Your view of the military - and of war - changes depending on your position in this food chain.
Overcoming an enemy machine gun is an interesting technical problem when you are circling a firefight in a helicopter at 1,000 feet. You take a very different view of the problem when you are so close to the machine gun that your body pulses from the shock wave of the muzzle blast.
These letters were written by soldiers while they were in the military. They are describing events that happened that day, the pervious day, or the previous week. Their memories are very fresh. Their views also are very different from the views that someone might have when writing his memoirs thirty years later. In thirty years the everyday pains, problems, and terrors could very well be forgotten or become humorous.
The book groups these letters by war or police action. There are sections for letters from the Civil War, WW I (the war to end wars), WW II, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Somolia/Bosnia/Kosovo.
Some things never change. The Civil War letter writers grumble about poor food, tiresome marches, mindless sergeants and incompetent officers. The Vietnam letter writers (myself included) grumbled about the same things.
One anguished letter was from an officer in Vietnam who was torn by his need to hide his opposition to the war for fear of demoralizing his men. At the end of the letter is a brief comment explaining that the officer stepped on a mine and died shortly after writing this letter.
Welcome to life in the military. Welcome to war.
You should read this book if you want to see what life was like and is like in the military and in war.
Rating: 5
Summary: Connections to the Past
Comment: This book, War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, by Andrew Carroll (Editor) is a touching book. With the recent release of the movie Pearl Harbor, the questions that my generation wants to ask the veterans of war are rising out of the ashes once again. Carroll did an excellent job of putting together a collage of soldier's letters which portrays the true emotions of our freedom fighters. Recently having studied many of the wars included in this book, War Letters pulled everything into one book; from the Civil War all the way through Bosnia/Kosovo. The letters in WWI and WWII seemed more hopeful, and 'the great generation' seemed more patriotic. While the soldiers fighting Vietnam had more of a sense of urgency, kind of 'get this over with already' attitude. A common theme with all the letters was they were writing to loved ones, and would claim they would see them soon. Unfortunately, many of these letters were the 'last letters' to the families, some even written on backs of photographs, on scratch paper, or on Hitler's personal stationary. Also, these letters are written a few hours, days, or weeks after the events happened. The soldier has no opportunity to hear what the media said, or how the nation reacted to such a horrific event. They write with their souls, spilling their guts to their families, and shedding their blood for their nation. Granted, having just completed one year of US History helps me understand these events just that much more, but all in all, this book was everything from terrifying to heart warming.
Rating: 5
Summary: Can't Say Enough Good Things
Comment: I can't say enough good things about the book, video and articles produced by Andrew Carroll. In addition, he's a kind, caring and compasionate gentleman. If you want a true taste of what the soldiers and their families are feeling during war time, get this book. This is "reality reading".
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Title: Letters of a Nation by Andrew Carroll ISBN: 0767903315 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 05 January, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam by Bernard Edelman ISBN: 0393323048 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Greatest Generation Speaks : Letters and Reflections by Tom Brokaw ISBN: 0375503943 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 30 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Martyred by Richard E. Kim ISBN: 9997547535 Publisher: George Braziller Pub. Date: June, 1964 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: Americans Remember the Home Front: An Oral Narrative of the World War II Years in America by Roy Hoopes ISBN: 0425186644 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 07 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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