Alan's Letters [Paperback]

Nancy E. Rial (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 2009

This is a personal chronicle of a teen soldier in WWII from basic training to his adventures across northern France on the front lines as a member of the Fifth Division, part of Patton's Third Army. Using all primary sources from the historical period, the book is attractively designed in beautiful color. The letters from Alan to his family represent all the young soldiers' voices when he expresses a yearning for a normal life again and appreciation of all that he has had as a youth growing up in America. For young adults and up.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nancy Rial has a background in both the fine arts and in library science. She has taught both subjects, and is currently a library media specialist who is always looking to find a way to make books more attractive to teens. She has been researching WWII events for the past 10 years, and has made many trips to France to follow the trail of the Red Diamond Infantry Division, in Alan's footsteps.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Nancy Rial (February 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982270003
• ISBN-13: 978-0982270004
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,572,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Rial has a background in the fine arts, and in library science. She has taught both subjects from grades k-12, and is currently a library media specialist in an urban public school system. She has been researching World War II events of the 5th Infantry Division of Gen. Patton's Third Army in the ETO for the past ten years.
She says: "In this book, I was able to use both my research skills and my design background to produce a meaningful tribute to my uncle Alan, an infantry soldier in the front lines of the fast paced march across France in the summer of 1944. I have made extensive use of primary resources from both the family and national archives, enriched by many trips to France to investigate and report on what daily Army life was like for a young soldier such as Alan."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2011 GOLD MEDAL WINNER - Military Writers Society of America, October 23, 2011

By 

Kathleen M. Rodgers "Author" (Colleyville, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alan's Letters (Paperback)

I had the pleasure of judging this book in the 2011 Military Writers Society of America Book Awards. I gave Nancy Rial's "Alan's Letters" a PERFECT score. This book deserved nothing less.

From the moment this book arrived, I opened the first page and was drawn right in. I dropped everything and curled up in my favorite reading chair and read the book in one sitting. Nancy Rial engages the reader from the first line: "My Uncle Alan was not discussed." Turns out his death was too painful a subject for the author's grandmother to talk about. The brief forward by the author, stating why she wrote this book, was better written and more interesting than many books on the market today. I was struck by her question: How do you miss someone you never knew? "My Uncle's absence was always present in my life. I cannot say why I missed someone whom I would never get to meet, but I did."

The book contains letters written by a young soldier named Alan W. Lowell, the author's uncle. He was killed in France Nov. 10, 1944. The author has done her homework on the historical text that is interspersed between the letters. The writing is spot on and compelling, and I was in tears by the end. I wanted to jump up and contact the author and tell her the impact her story had on me. But I had to wait until the awards were announced.

"Alan's Letters" could have easily been titled "Your Loving Son, Alan." His love and concern for his mother back home was heartwarming and gut-wrenching at the same time.

As the mother of a soldier in today's Army, I highly recommend this book to every American who cares about our military and the families left behind during deployment. This book should be taught in our schools.

Kathleen M. Rodgers ~ author of the award-winning novel "The Final Salute."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, January 23, 2010

By 

Susan C. Moynihan (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alan's Letters (Paperback)

I couldn't stop reading Alan's Letters. I felt like Alan was a family member, and I felt his loss deeply at the end. Rial has done what a lot of people have probably dreamed of doing - following in the actual footsteps of an American GI. The result is outstanding: it is an absolutely beautiful book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in World War II, and, especialy in the life of an American soldier.

Susan

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Those who sacrificed, September 1, 2011

By 

Timothy F. Blixt "Tim Blixt" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alan's Letters (Paperback)

One of the things that today's conflicts in the Middle East thankfully bring back to us here on the home front is the stories of the men and women who are sacrificing so much for us. Telling the stories of the men and women who leave home to fight our wars was not always a given. During WWII what coverage those young folks got was often filtered through a lens that left a lot of the grim reality of war out in order to not upset those back home. As those veterans of WWII leave us at the rate of about 1000 per day, we are finally being treated to some wonderful books as these guys leave behind the stories they feel they can now share. Sadly, the subject of this book, Alan Lowell, did not survive the war to tell us his entire story. But through the very thoughtful efforts of his niece, we now have a wonderful picture of Alan and his war through the collection of letters Alan's niece has compiled. His niece, Nancy Rial, has augmented Alan's letters with period notes to help flesh out the story of a young man going off to war. I have long been of the opinion that the full story of WWII cannot be known until you really know what fighting the war was like for those who endured those horrific times. This book is geared for those readers who would most benefit by learning about WWII, young readers. If you're looking for a way to tell an essential part of American history to a youngster in your life, I encourage you to check out "Alan's Letters"---it's as good a place to start as I can think of.