The Book Of War Letters

Hardcover

1st

Alternating Person

Non-Fiction

455

7

2018-06-26 16:44:38

Duress - the extreme experience war produces- brings out the most remarkable human qualities, and letters written in wartime contain some of the most intense emotion imaginable. The Book of War Letters includes private correspondence from the bate and home fronts during a century of war and peacekeeping, from South Africa in 1899 to Afghanistan in 2002. These are letters that truly illuminate - that explore the deepest feelings and frankest opinions and describe the bitter reality of battle and the often appalling conditions of combat zones. They are the authentic voices of soldiers, sailors, and air crew; privates and generals; military doctors and nurses; heroic warriors and courageous prisoners of war; and their loved ones who wrote from home. This is some of the most powerful writing that Canadians have ever committed to the page. Dr. John McCrae pens a lyrical letter home from the First World War trenches before composing "In Flanders Fields.” Major Barry Armstrong blows the whistle on the cover-up of the killings of Somali civilians. The remarkable Marc Leger writes love letters to Marley from Afghanistan, where he will die under friendly fire. Some of the most moving correspondence comes from little-known Canadians, a lieutenant describes the terrible drama of a mile-long line of mounted Boers galloping towards him across the South African hills. A wounded soldier gives his wife a close-up view of the disaster of Dieppe. An artillery officer relates the story of the train wreck that killed troops training to fight in Korea. Most of these letters have never before appeared in print. The Book of War Letters reveals the drama behind them - and brings the letter-writers to life - as it chronicles our military history through the eyes of the men and women who made it. Their bravery and fear, passion and humour help us understand what it means to be Canadian and what it means to be alive.

McClelland

1551991055

Canada

Canada

English

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2018-06-26 16:44:38