War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars

In 1998, Andrew Carroll founded the Legacy Project with the goal of remembering Americans who have served this nation and preserving their letters for posterity. Since then, more than 50,000 war letters discovered in basements, attics, scrapbooks, and old trunks have poured in from around the country. The best of these letters are assembled in this extraordinary collection, offering unprecedented insight into the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, the Persian Gulf, and even the fighting in Somalia and the Balkans.

Featured here are dramatic accounts of combat written immediately after the most ferocious battles American troops have ever faced; poignant expressions of love by homesick husbands and sweethearts; humorous anecdotes and gripes about insufferable conditions; thoughtful reflections on the nature of warfare; and perhaps most devastating, a startling number of last letters, heartfelt messages penned just hours before the sender was killed.

"War Letters" is a testament to the heroic contributions and astonishing literary voices of common soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors, as well as war nurses, journalists, spies, and chaplains. There are also previously unpublished letters by such legendary figures as William T. Sherman, Clara Barton, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernie Pyle, Helen Keller, Douglas MacArthur, Julia Child, Dwight Eisenhower, Norman Schwarzkopf, and America's first black general, Benjamin O. Davis Sr.

"Individually, the war letters collected here are distinct, finely cut works of art, some more polished, some rougher around the edges, but each one exquisite in its own right. Together, they create a larger narrative: the story ofAmericans at war against themselves and other nations," observes Carroll in his introduction. These historic letters capture the full fury and intensity of warfare, and they reveal in vivid detail what the servicemen and -women of this nation have experienced and sacrificed on the front lines. "War Letters" is a lasting tribute to those who have fought for this country, and a celebration of the enduring power and lyricism of personal letters.