New Books On World War II Are Battle Ready

Published: Oct 21, 2007

When I interviewed poet Peter Meinke recently, he talked about the poem "P-Town, '04" in his book, "The Contracted World."

His poem is set in an expensive cafe, where patrons drink $9 bloody Marys, seemingly blithely oblivious to the war in Iraq or to any other shattering news outside.

I've had that same feeling while watching people shopping in a mall or laughing in a restaurant.

Authors and publishers apparently do have war on their minds, especially World War II. It always seems to take years after a war for books and movies to surface, or resurface, in this case.

It took years before many movies about the Vietnam War were produced. And, now, maybe because we are losing so many World War II vets to old age,authors and publishers are telling their stories and publishing books describing battles, strategies and entire divisions.

One of the most definitive I've seen among the many that have come across my desk is "The Library of Congress World War II Companion," edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy and published by Simon & Schuster.

I'm one of those strange birds who finds joy reading encyclopedias, and this book is as close to the best of good encyclopedic writing there is. In clear, concise prose, its 12 chapters inform readers about everything from the world politics that led to the war, to military operations, the Holocaust, and instruments of war, ranging from radar to planes and machine guns.

Its structure makes it easy to pick up and put down, reading some here and some there. That's why "companion" in the title fits.

Another finely done book is "101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II," just published by Zenith Press. The late author-historian Stephen Ambrose wrote about the 101st Airborne in "Band of Brothers."

Military historian Mark Bando wrote the text to this coffee-table-style book that is filled with photographs. The most moving were taken aboard an airplane en route to Normandy and on the ground during the Normandy invasion.

More than anything, the black and white photos - of men chest-deep in snow, of men in battle on Christmas Day, of men deep in trenches - starkly show the tremendous hardships of war.

Also just out: "The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea - the Forgotten War of the South Pacific," published by The Crown Publishing Group.

Author James Campbell retraced the route of the Ghost Mountain Boys and came back with a gripping tale of courageous Americans fighting in horrendous conditions - even for war.

Karen Haymon Long is the Tribune's book editor.