From the Publisher
“This three-hour set is filled with the stories that bring history to life, the actual memories of real men and women. This is what history is all about, not a bunch of names and dates in a stuffy old textbook, but real people telling their own stories. Nobody does this kind of work better than NPR.”
—Audiobook Heaven
“The well-selected stories take advantage of the fact that radio was the dominant news media of the period, splicing contemporary material with modern narration and nostalgic interviews.”
—AudioFile
“Strongly recommended as a supplement to textbook representations of World War.”
—Library Journal
Audiobook Heaven
This three-hour set is filled with the stories that bring history to life, the actual memories of real men and women. This is what history is all about, not a bunch of names and dates in a stuffy old textbook, but real people telling their own stories. Nobody does this kind of work better than NPR.”
—Audiobook Heaven
Library Journal - Audio
Nearly 70 years after its conclusion, World War II continues to capture the American imagination, its well of tales seemingly inexhaustible. National Public Radio has compiled interviews, remembrances, and excerpts that chronicle a variety of war experiences, from reflections on the atomic bombing of Nagasaki to more commonplace stories of those on the home front; a segment on the "kitchen sisters," for example, examines the sense of separation felt by wives and girlfriends of active-duty soldiers. Of note is an excerpt from Laura Hillenbrand's best seller Unbroken. VERDICT The stories compiled by NPR depict a wide range of people affected by the war, concentrating on both lesser-known stories and those of the average person caught in a historical flash point. Neal Conan provides the introduction, but the excerpts are generally told from the perspective of journalists, participants, or family members recounting stories they were told. Strongly recommended as a supplement to textbook representations of World War II.—Christopher Rager, Irvine, CA
JANUARY 2012 - AudioFile
This anthology of National Public Radio stories describes aspects of WWII, arranged in roughly chronological order. The voices and story formats will be familiar to anyone who listens to NPR regularly. The well-selected stories take advantage of the fact that radio was the dominant news media of the period, splicing contemporary material with modern narration and nostalgic interviews. Because the stories were produced over more than a decade, a careful listener will notice some shifts in what constitutes "the present." The NPR voices are as calm and authoritative as they are on the radio. F.C. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
