War Letters : Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars

Rating:
Summary: An epic tapestry of Americans at war
Review: "War Letters: Extraordinary Corrspondence from American Wars" is an amazing anthology. Edited by Andrew Carroll and featuring an introduction by Douglas Brinkley, this book brings together a wide range of letters written by military personnel, nurses, family members, and others who have been part of the wars fought by the United States from the Civil War onward. The book is divided into several sections: "The Civil War"; "World War I"; "World War II"; "The Korean War & The Cold War"; and "The Vietnam War, The Persian Gulf War, Somalia, and Bosnia."

Editor Carroll has been quoted as calling these letters "this nation's great undiscovered literature." In his foreword, Brinkley gives probably the best description of the content of these letters: "impassioned evocations of love and sacrifice, duty and honor, fear and confusion, courage and perseverance, rage and the intimations of mortality that spark it." The letters are mostly by ordinary people, but the letters of some famous individuals are included. There are letters from both men and women, and from people of various ethnic backgrounds.

Enhancing the book is the presence of many historic photographs, as well as facsimiles of some of the letters. Probably the most extraordinary photograph is that of a letter pierced by a scorched bullet hole (the soldier, who was unharmed, was carrying the letter in his backpack when he got shot).

It is not really possible in a short review to cover all of the remarkable highlights of this anthology. But some letters that particularly struck me: the angry, frustrated rant of an anonymous Union soldier from the Civil War; a letter by an African-American soldier serving in the Union army during the Civil War; General John Pershing's letter praising African-American soldiers who served in World War I; a Red Cross nurse's touching letter of condolence to the mother of a soldier who died during wartime; an eyewitness account of the attack on Pearl Harbor; an amazing letter from Adolf Hitler's nephew, Patrick, to Franklin D. Roosevelt; a letter from a Japanese-American woman who was placed in an internment camp; and a letter from a real-life "Rosie the Riveter."

The letters are accompanied by supplemental notes that put them in historical and personal perspective. This is a wonderful book that offers some very human perspectives on history.

Rating:
Summary: Can't Say Enough Good Things
Review: 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".

Rating:
Summary: Can't Say Enough Good Things
Review: 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".

Rating:
Summary: Very good book, excellent audiobook selection.
Review: I was given this book by my daughter, and I had read from it from time to time. It is in fact a book that very much lends itself to that sort of intermittent reading, as the letters stand well enough on their own and are not part of any particular plot or developing idea. However, when my audiobook account had a balance on it that had to be used, I decided to download this book and have the letters read to me. With more than a dozen readers of excellent quality, and given the wonderful selection of the letters themselves, the narration occupied several days of my commute in a bittersweet but overall pleasant manner.

Rating:
Summary: Words Unspoken
Review: I was in the bookstore, walking around aimlessly when War Letters caught my eye. I turned to a random page, and started reading, within seconds my eyes started to water. I am not a a big fan of war, but I am a huge fan of the war hero. Men and Woman, that put their lives on the line so we can live the way we do. This book gives you first hand info of just that.
I am 30 years old. It's sad to say, but my generation gets most of its knowledge of American wars from the movies. The Civil War is hardly ever a topic. Thanks to this book, I am learning a lot more than I remember being taught in school, about the Civil War.

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: Beautiful - Definitly deserves the 5 star Review!
Review: Those who have read this book before me and left their reviews have said it all. It's almost impossible to read these letters with a dry eye.

This novel compiles letters written during the most prominent wars of our Nations history. I read these letters, almost feeling like I was peeping into another's life, and felt my heart wrench. It brought me to a different state of mind, I began wondering how I'd act or what I would do, in certain situations. It was like I had a chance to live in their shoes; military personnel, nurses, journalists, celebrities, and the leaders of our country at the time. It was enthralling... I'd curl up on the couch with my book in hand and emerse myself in letters written from a long ago time.

Mr. Carroll has a knack for writing, and his compilations of letters bring a new sense of awareness for what we went through as a country. What our military men & women went through as they fought daily for the freedom we take for granted, and they do it all for the love of their country. Their family.

I highly recommend this novel! Thank you, Mr. Carroll!

~Gina

Rating:
Summary: Offers the human side of war, and is poignant in tribute
Review: War Letters, begun after a project to preserve the writings of our servicemen overseas during the Second World War, here expands on that program very well. With letters from most American military conflicts, this offers insight into quite a few people in very different areans confronted with a need to connect with those they care about. In most cases, the fate of each writer is given, and provides further glimpses into the writers' lives. The exmaple of a 15-year-old who enlisted in WW2, then went to boot camp, and then to combat, is powerful, and not to be missed. This book is very helpful in my classroom as we prepare for veterans' visits, and would be worthwhile for anyone.