Al Murray's (AKA The Pub Landlord) musing on his childhood where his fascination with history and all things war began. Have you ever watched a film with someone who, at the most dramatic scene, argues that the plane on screen hasn't been invented yet? Or that the tank rumbling towards the hero at the end of the film is the wrong tank altogether? Al Murray is that someone. Try as he might, he can’t help himself. Growing up in the 1970s, Al, with the help of his dad, became fascinated with the history of World War Two. They didn’t go to football; they went to battlefields. Because like so many of his generation whose childhood was all about Airfix, Action Man and Where Eagles Dare, he grew up in the cultural wake of the Second World War. Part memoir, part life obsession, this is Al Murray musing on what he knows best. And he’s sure to tell you things about history that you were never taught at school.

Focusing on the broad span of American social, cultural, and economic change over about 100 years, the book views the Civil War through the eyes of children listening to their father's stories and World War II through the eyes of the same children as grown-up participants.

A heart-warming collection of easy-to-read true stories as told by a WWII veteran that took place during and after the war. Each story is a true look at the war and life through the eyes of a soldier. A father was willing to pass his experiences on to his son, and now they can be passed on to everyone.

Wesley Johnston's Dad survived WWII but died when Wesley was only 8. Wesley had a few fragments of stories, a scrapbook and some WWII souvenirs but little notion of what his Dad had seen and done. After seeing Quentin Aanenson's autobiographical "A Fighter Pilot's Story", Wesley wondered what documentary his Dad would have made if he had lived. And so he resolved to find out. He soon realized that what we was learning about how to do this research could help others and began the Dad's War web site and workshops. Health forced him to stop the workshops, but the workshop book and web site continue to help others seeking to find and tell their own father's WWII story.

Son, a Soldier's Work Is Never Done By Kathy Barnes, Ph.D. and Smith McGarr Helps children and parents talk about feelings when a military dad or mom goes to war. "Sealing feelings harms, not helps" War is scary. It can swallow up soldiers like monsters in books or bad dreams do. Seven-year-old Jackie knows because he heard it on the news. "The U.S. Military has lost 2,050 men in Iraq and the number is rising daily." This worries him because his dad is fighting in the Third Brigade in Iraq. When he and his dad hug good-bye at the army base, each promises to be brave and carry out his duty. Jackie's duty is to help his mom at home for ten long months. He finds this hard when taking care of his two younger sisters. "I've broken Dad's rules. I've called Sarah 'stupid' when she won't leave me alone. I've pinched little Allie when she chewed Samson's bone." He also shares his triumphs. "...I've worked pretty hard. I've washed the car and raked the yard." Jackie shares that he feels sad a lot. He hesitates telling his mom, because he doesn't want to be a coward. When he finally tells her, she says it is okay to feel sad. She does too. Our readers will quickly finish the book to see if Jackie's dad comes home. They will re-read it again and again because it's their story too. Praise for Son, a Soldier's Work Is Never Done. "This book is a great tool for helping children understand war. Whether they are military or not, all kids hear about war on the news, radio, television, and from neighborhood and school friends. War scares them and they need to talk about it." - Maria Edwards, executive vice president of the military writer's Society of America

This story depicts a woman and two children whose husband and father is fighting in combat. The son, who is a fifth grader in elementary school, finds it very hard to accept the fact that his dad is away from home and fighting in a war. He is very upset. The absence of his father has affected his schooling and his relationship with his mother, his little sister, and his peers. His teacher observes the sudden change in both his behavior and his academics and summons his mother to a conference. The teacher and the administration were shocked to find out that the boy's father was fighting in combat. A survey of the student body at the school disclosed the fact that more than fifty students had parents or close relatives fighting in combat. The outcome of the conference caused the creation of a student support team. The students were able to meet twice a week, sharing their feelings about the absence of their family members who are fighting in the war. The fifth grader soon realizes how noble his dad is and why he went to war. He writes to his dad and tells him that he is proud of him and that he should be careful. He also made it known to his dad that he, too, wants to be a soldier when he grows up. This is a thrilling story dedicated to children all over the world, whose parents or close relatives are fighting in combat, or protecting people who are living in war-torn countries. Dr. Pauline Wright

Death doesn't always happen in combat, it can also happen slowly - after the soldier returns. Julie Sands writes her first memoir and tells the true story of her father returning from the Vietnam War alive, only to die a slow death on the streets of Los Angeles, Ca. In this book, Julie Sands relives her life as a daughter of war and writes about the damage it caused on her father and her childhood as a result of her father's heroin addiction and alcoholism. Although Sands recounts a story of a horrific childhood and what could have destroyed her, she also brings hope for others who are suffering from the damages of war. Emotional and raw, War Dad takes you through a journey into the destruction of a spirit, the dissolving of a girls self-esteem and the fight to survive as she witnesses her father's addictions, life of crime, domestic violence and prison. Sands vividly describes the events which could have destroyed her but she also teaches how she was able to rise above her situation and live the life of her dreams. It is said that over 300,000 soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. War Dad uncovers the harsh after-life of many soldiers and sheds light on the damaging effects war has on the families, spouses, and children of the soldier.

More than a tribute by the author to his late "Greatest Generation" father, it includes the bigger picture of U.S. involvement and strategy in WWII, especially in Italy--the so-called "Forgotten Front." Copiously illustrated with photographs, many the subject himself brought home from overseas and available for the first time. Includes the dramatic story of the death of Mussolini, the brutal end of Italian Fascism, and how secret negotiations and a sweeping Allied "Blitzkrieg" resulted in the first front of the War to fall.

Philip Gambone, a gay man, never told his father the reason why he was rejected from the draft during the Vietnam War. In turn, his father never talked about his participation in World War II. Father and son were enigmas to each other. Gambone, an award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer, spent seven years uncovering who the man his quiet, taciturn father had been, by retracing his father's journey through WW II. As Far As I Can Tell not only reconstructs what Gambone's father endured, it also chronicles his own emotional odyssey as he followed his father's route from Liverpool to the Elbe River. A journey that challenged the author's thinking about war, about European history, and about "civilization." Praise for As Far As I Can Tell "In retracing his father's World War II army service across the U.S. and Europe, Phil Gambone ingeniously uses public records to plumb private mysteries: Who was this "impossibly foreign" man, and what did he have in common with his son, who dodged the Vietnam draft by being gay? This is a travel book unlike any other: across continents but also into the past and toward self-forgiveness." Richly researched and written with unerring grace, Gambone's journey is an act of witness, of belated connection, and, ultimately, of courage that does justice to his father's." - Michael Lowenthal, author of Paternity Test "Philip Gambone weaves a moving memoir of his family, a vivid portrayal of his travels through the locales of WWII, and a powerful description of what that war was like to the men who fought it on the ground into a seamless and eloquent narrative." - Hon. Barney Frank, former Congressman, Massachusetts "A single question pulses through As Far As I Can Tell: why didn't my father talk about his time in the war? With meticulous research, Philip Gambone puts sound to silence, offering us a book-length love letter, not just to his father, but to anyone whose life has been hemmed in by obligation, obedience, and the brutality of the system. It's also a coming to terms with the unknown in others, which is its own hard grace. A vital, dynamic read." - Paul Lisicky, author of Later: My Life at the Edge of the World "As Far As I Can Tell is a fascinating mix of autobiography, travelogue, and historical research that not only takes us on a great adventure in search of what World War Two was like for those who fought in the European theater but probes that most difficult of all subjects, the relationship between a father and a son -- in this case, a gay son. Extensively researched, highly literate and profoundly thoughtful, the story Gambone tells uses not only soldiers' memoirs but writers as disparate as Samuel Johnson and James Lord to make this a reader's delight."- Andrew Holleran, author of Dancer from the Dance

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Restart, a story of telling truth from lies -- and finding out what being a hero really means. There are two things Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games and his great-grandfather Jacob, who is a true-blue, bona fide war hero. At the height of the war, Jacob helped liberate a small French village, and was given a hero's welcome upon his return to America.Now it's decades later, and Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war -- from training to invasion to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get to the village, Trevor discovers there's more to the story than what he's heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his great-grandfather's heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and importance of genuine valor.