Letters from the Greatest Generation

"Over the last several decades there has been a tendency to simplify and romanticize the experiences of the men and women that fought World War II. These letters, written in the war moment itself, offer a poignant response. Page after page, often in lyrical prose, ordinary Americans tell of their lives at basic training, at bases and camps on the home front and overseas, and at the front lines in the Pacific, Atlantic, North Africa, Europe, and Asia. What emerges is an intimate portrait of the mundane and remarkable, of heroism and terror, of friendship and loss, of the complexities, contradictions, and, ultimately, the horror of war. Timely, compelling, and important reading."—Matthew L. Basso, author of Men at Work: Rediscovering Depression-era Stories from the Federal Writers' Project

"From the time the first Japanese bomb fell on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor to occupation duty in conquered Japan, Americans served in every theater around the world during World War II. These letters give voices to the men and women who served, letting them tell their own stories of loss, heartbreak, and hope. A fitting honor for all veterans."—Ray Boomhower, author of John Bartlow Martin:

A Voice for the Underdog

"These letters build up a picture of war, piece by piece, until the total effect is almost unbearable. . . Every American should read them at least once a year."—Indiana Magazine of History, December 4, 1949, reviewing a previous edition or volume

"One cannot read these pages and miss the stark realities of war—how it 'looked and sounded, how it smelled and felt'—to these particular Americans."—The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1950, reviewing a previous edition or volume

"Through eyes that remained essentially civilian, they present objective pictures of the good and bad in military life, of the battles and campaigns they helped to win, and of places they visited. Their reactions to contemporary events and problems, to discussions of postwar planning, for instance, are as interesting as they are varied."—Maryland Historical Magazine, 1949, reviewing a previous edition or volume