War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars

Written by Andrew Carroll

Narrated by Joan Allen and Tom Brokaw

In 1998, Andrew Carroll founded the Legacy Project, with the goal of remembering Americans who have served their nation and preserving their letters for posterity. Since then, over 50,000 letters have poured in from around the country. Nearly two hundred of them comprise this amazing collection—including never-before-published letters that appear in the new afterword.

Here are letters from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf war, Somalia, and Bosnia—dramatic eyewitness accounts from the front lines, poignant expressions of love for family and country, insightful reflections on the nature of warfare. Amid the voices of common soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors, nurses, journalists, spies, and chaplains are letters by such legendary figures as Gen. William T. Sherman, Clara Barton, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernie Pyle, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Julia Child, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, and Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Collected in War Letters, they are an astonishing historical record, a powerful tribute to those who fought, and a celebration of the enduring power of letters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: May 15, 2001
• ISBN: 9780743561365

Andrew Carroll

Andrew Carroll is the editor of three New York Times bestsellers, including Letters of a Nation and War Letters. Visit www.warletters.com.

Reviews for War Letters

[schmerguls · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5651. War Letters Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, edited by Andrew Carroll (read 28 Sep 2019) This is a 504 page book (plus index) published in 2001 and having therein numerous letters written during the Civil War, World Wars One and Two, the Korean War, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, Somalia, and Bosnia.. I found the book eminently readable and since the letters are in most cases short if one is is of limited interest one quickly gets to the next one. Many are poignant and often give a picture of what war is doing to the writer. Some are by famous people--Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, General Patton, General MacArthur, etc. Most are by less famous persons and there are even Dear John letters and many are highly introspective. All too often a note tells that the writer did not survive the war and when the note tells that the writer survived and returned to his loved ones the fact is a joy. This was a good book to read and savor.

[angelic55blonde · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book because of the various types of correspondence included in it. It allows the reader to get a different perspective of war.