Rating: 
Summary: Incredible and honest
Review: If you are looking for purity and truth from the people who lived and died in the atrocities of war this book tells it like it was. I cried when reading the accounts of the men describing their desperation of loneliness, fear and courage. I treasure it.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartfelt Phrasings from the Front Lines
Review: It's good to find a book that puts the carnival of carnage known as war in perspective, and such is the case with "War Letters", a collection of correspondence from just about every great and not-so-great conflict in American history. The editor, Andrew Carroll, does a superb job of mixing the types and plights of the American servicemen and women who pour their hearts into the pages of these letters. Examples: a man who writes a last letter before his hanging for participating in John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry; a WWII soldier who describes the horror of liberating the Dachau Concentration Camp; a Gold Star mother writes to her son, thirty years after his death in Vietnam. The editor also sets up the letters nicely with italicized lead-ins that provide historical perspective. As a whole, love of country is somewhat evident in these letters, but even more prominent and common is love of family. War represents the despicably vicious side of mankind, and it's a poignant irony that the experience yields some of the most tender, loving and eloquent phrasings ever placed on paper.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to life in the military
Review: 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:
Summary: One word: WOW!
Review: Reading these letters is a bit like finding a stack of correspondence in your attic and getting to snoop on someone's old declarations of love or fear. I bought the book because an old family friend is among the soldiers with a letter in this book. The letters make for fascinating reading, after which you sort of gulp and read the italicized copy hoping to find that THIS soldier did not die in action. Too many did. I was surprised to find that the more recent letters (Vietnam and Gulf War) were the most interesting to me. For whatever reason, they seemed more morally complex and sympathetic. Great book.
Rating:
Summary: War is Hell, but War Letters Isn't
Review: Reading these letters is a bit like finding a stack of correspondence in your attic and getting to snoop on someone's old declarations of love or fear. I bought the book because an old family friend is among the soldiers with a letter in this book. The letters make for fascinating reading, after which you sort of gulp and read the italicized copy hoping to find that THIS soldier did not die in action. Too many did. I was surprised to find that the more recent letters (Vietnam and Gulf War) were the most interesting to me. For whatever reason, they seemed more morally complex and sympathetic. Great book.
Rating:
Summary: One word: WOW!
Review: Strolling through a local bookstore, this book caught my eye, I read the covers, and immediately bought it. I consider myself a very patriotic American, although I normally don't read up on the subject of War. This puts you inside the mind of Soldiers from all wars & skirmishes dating back to the Civil War. Not only are the letters from the soldiers, but also the loved ones they left behind to fight for our great country. It's amazing to read all the emotions these people were going through, and to get their perspective. Highly recommend to others!
Rating:
Summary: Very personal accounts, not just fighting and killing
Review: The book has some great war letters in it, and they are not all about combat, some very personal and touching ones. Many letters in fact have nothing to do with War and in fact are about personal matters back home.
The Editor sometimes also sets up the letters with a bit of history behind the specific time of the war, a great touch.
It makes war a bit more personal and in a time we find ourselves prepared to perhaps see another War, it makes you realize War is not a glorious thing as Hollywood would paint it. There is a time when you must stand and defend what you and your country stand for, but make no mistake, War means death and pain.
The letter many of these soldiers wrote are touching not because of the bravery they showed, but because they showed often how scared they were or how no matter what was going on around them, they always kept their loved ones in their minds. It reminds us all that all soldiers have someone waiting for them back home.
I recommend you read this book along with "Slaughter House 5" and see if you ever look at War the same again.
Rating:
Summary: This is how patriotism should be celebrated
Review: The review section for this book will be glowing and overrun by 4 and 5 star reviews I'm sure, but I so enjoyed reading this that I thought I would add my gratitude to the pile. As obviously stated, the book is composed of approximately 200 letters and correspondances sent during wars in American History, ranging across 5 chapters and spanning 140 years of warfare in and involving the United States. The chapters are divided into "The Civil War", "World War I", "World War II", "The Korean War & The Cold War", and "The Vietnam War, The Persian Gulf War, Somalia, & Bosnia". Put together and transcribed by the editor, Andrew Carroll, the book was started as something called The Legacy Project, dedicated to preserving letters of war correspondance throughout the course of American history. The project was initially started when a fire in Carroll's home consumed all of his family letters dating back through history, making him realize that the preservation of such materials must be started on a larger scale effort, and prompting Abigail Van Buren to post in her "Dear Abby" column, a request for such letters. As expected, Carroll's mailbox overflowed, and 200 of the finest letters he received are published here. The correspondances range from soldiers in the battlefield writing home to their loved ones, wives, children, girlfriends, and friends, to family members updating soldiers on what is going on back on the homefront. Letters by Army-type and government celebrities such as President George Bush, Richard Nixon, General George S. Patton, General William Tecumsah Sherman, Julia Childs, Helen Keller, and numerous others can be found here, but most of the book is comprised of letters written by soldiers who were simple men serving their country. The writings are in their original form, unedited and without corrections, such as to show the personality of the writer and the conditions/stress under which the letters were written. While many are comforting and consoling as soldiers write love letters and those of reassurance back home, a great number show the fear, suspense, and horror of battle, while many of them describe death, being wounded, and the physical horrors of war in graphic detail. The fact that these men took the time to chronicle these events and the editor took it upon himself to organize and get recognition for them gives a great sense of appreciation. While many letters written during the Civil War are difficult to read due to the high rate of illiteracy and low rate of education then, these traits reflect the stress and time period of when they were written. Those written in World War II and Vietnam are the longest and most grueling, with their graphic details about mens death in battle, and the horrors of the concentration camps. The sections on Somalia and Bosnia are the shortest, but enough to give the reader a detailed look into the real situations that occurred there. Those written during The Cold War period are more political than anything else, and one of the only sections than touches the politics of war more than anything else. A small number of letters leave the subject of actual battle, such as ones chronicling the Kent State shootings, ones discussing reflections on the war after being home, and several prophetic letters written before war was declared, discussing the writers thoughts of the escalating situations. Each letter contains an explanation of the situation, the writer, and the historical events surrounding the war going on, and finally explains the fate of the writer, i.e. whether they returned home alive or not, or how their fate was met. More than anything, "War Letters" gives one a sense of pride to be an American and to have such a military that has laid down, and continues to lay down, numerous sacrifices for the good of its country. I only appreciate the freedom this country has fought for even more after reading "War Letters", and have a great sense of pride in the countrys military. I highly recommend this to anyone, especially those who appreciate and indulge in history or need a crash course on the REAL side of war and its effects. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Letters that were never stamped 'Return to Sender'
Review: There can hardly be anything more personal and poignant that WAR LETTERS. Love letters come close but the emotions that a person taps when remembering some buddy blown away, nights of fear from being under fire, or some family member far away, result in an outpouring of oneself onto paper that is the essence of humanity. The letters here run the gamut of human emotional expression: fear, anger, grief, joy, love, faith, hope, courage, humor. They are from every major war or engagement that the US has been in from the Civil War through to the Gulf War and finally Bosnia and Kosovo. Soldiers, their family members, journalists, doctors and nurses, all have something to say to someone else that suddenly seems very important in the shadow of war. If you step back from the emotional impact for a moment and look at this book objectively, the the appeal of these letters and the willingness of the writers or recipients to make them public, may seem a bit puzzling. Afterall, they are all very personal letters. The mystery is removed when you realize that it's not a coincidence that these letters are singularly American; I doubt there would be such an equivalent public sharing from citizens elsewhere. Our openess is sometimes called American bravado and exhibitionism by others, but as these letters of humanity plainly show, they are more properly seen as simple testaments to honesty and truth. I for one am proud of a country that appreciates such human expressions but am even more proud of the many men and women who served or waited for those who did, and whose stories are told here. They, more than most of us, can appreciate the following sentiments. "Everything that I have written is closely related to something that I have lived through." (Henrik Ibsen)
Rating:
Summary: This brings it on home for me
Review: This book blends the thoughts and feelings of soldiers in combat while at the same time it strips away the veneer of myth and romance that young men throughout history have felt at the unset of deadly struggles. It dispenses, without trying, the bromide that "God is on our side". As we can see here, God is personal to each and every one no matter which side of the field they're fighting on. These letters are moving beyond belief, particularly as the fate of the writer is factored into the discussion at the end of each one. Andrew Carroll has done a wonderful thing here, and he needs as much media exposure as possible. As telecommunication technology proliferates on every continent it will incrementally reduce the ability of dictators to expose young men, in wars of attrition, to the maiming and death that so often awaits them; and let's not forget the heartbreak and emotional suffering of families and friends. The "Black Book of Communism" and "Modern Times" should be read for perspective on why so many have died in the 20th century. Men who have seen combat don't often like to talk about it, the emotional trauma is just too great. On the History channel we are treated to interviews of veterans of various conflicts in past wars, usually on the anniversary date or some such. You can always see it in their faces, they never forget the horror, they choke up, they go silent, they look away, they shake their heads; this book tells you why. Reality is hard. I bought this book after hearing Mr. Carroll interviewed on the Gordon Liddy show. My wife's father was killed on the eastern front north of Riga in August of 1944. He was in the Wehrmacht and had just written home to his wife and two small children telling them not to worry, that he would be home soon. Three days later he took a direct hit from a rocket. I had to buy this for her. She had gone to Riga this past February to try and find the area where he fell, and she did although everything was just a jumble of mass graves. Good men die in all wars, and this book shows that in a way no other could. A blockbuster and one for the time capsule.
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