'Were you a child, toddler or teenager during the War? If so, please share your memories and anecdotes: the blackout, bombing, evacuation, shortages, absent fathers! and the fun. Need YOUR help. It's important, for those of us still around -- and for the future.'This was the wording of a boxed ad Susan Goodman placed in a number of local newspapers -- and the response was colossal: she had touched a dormant nerve. And this remarkable book is the result -- a rich tapestry of the dramatic, amusing, poignant and everyday during the twentieth century's greatest conflict, through a child's eyes.Its compelling first-hand stories reflect not only British life in the towns, suburbs and countryside, but also the experience of those who arrived as refugees. It has heartwarming and harrowing accounts of both sides of the evacuee experience; tales of extraordinary family resourcefulness in times of near-impossible rationing; and brings a new understanding of what it was like to come of age in wartime.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'One of the best books I have ever read about the evacuation ... Every former evacuee should read this book, as well as everyone who wants to know the true story of what happened.' -- The Evacuee 20050401 'An eye-opening eyewitness history of a story we thought we already knew ... Fascinating, hilarious and horrifying on every page, Susan Goodman's book makes almost tangible what is really almost unimaginable.' -- Word Magazine 20050501 'Joining the number of excellent oral histories of WWII is this look at the experience of children in wartime ! an absorbing read' -- Publishing News 20041112 'A panoramic sweep of stories ... a lively examination of the war-time experiences of the children of this country ... humorous and moving by turn ... wealth of anecdote ... chatty tone ... Susan Goodman has performed a most worthwhile task in seeking out and passing on such stories, which might otherwise have been lost' -- Jewish Chronicle 20050506 'If ever a book re-created an experience, this is the one ... a compelling collection of first-hand accounts ... Historically priceless and a spell-binding read.' -- Good Book Guide 20050401 'A rich tapestry of anecdotes ... heartwarming and harrowing accounts from both sides of the evacuee experience ... brings a new understanding of what it was like to come of age in wartime' -- Blackpool Gazette 20050321 'A virtual oral history of the experiences of evacuees in this country. It is a moving story, often tragic but frequently funny, of extraordinary resourcefulness' -- Western Daily Press 20050419 'Wonderful, warm and nostalgic read, painting a vivid picture of the Second World War ... a remarkable oral history of the war years' -- Northern Echo 20050419 'She has produced a lively examination of the war-time experiences of the children of this country' -- Jewish Chronicle 20050506 'Contrasting and vivid memories of VE Day ... [and] hundreds of reminiscences and anecdotes ... [are] expertly woven together' -- Stratford Herald 20050521 'Every aspect of life on the Home Front is recorded here ! this is a magnificent book and absolutely essential for anyone who wants to know what is was really like.' -- This England 20050901 'A remarkable book on childhood recollections of the Second World War.' -- You Magazine, Mail on Sunday 20050227 'Written to almost make you wish you were there.' -- The Times 20050430 'Keep an eye out for ... Children of War' -- Daily Mail 20041231 'The truth is as amazing, as poignant and sometimes as amusing as any fictitious rendering ... Both the vulnerability and the resilience of children emerge movingly from this stirring book' -- Sunday Times 20050515 'She tucks in the factual history gracefully ... This book of survivors' tales avoids nostalgia. It ends with a brave epilogue ... it does present some of the hard realities not often recognised in Second World War television documentaries.' -- Brenda Maddox, Literary Review 20050701 'This is social history at its best' -- Daily Mail 20050812 'She has captured the simplicity of the impact of huge events on children and she clearly views the era with great warmth ... enables individuals normally overlooked by history to be overheard' -- Financial Times 20050507 'Wonderfully recreates the rich tapestry of everyday life on the home front. Children of War attracted dazzling reviews when originally released and its appeal is not restricted to the usual military market' -- The Bookseller 20051021
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Susan Goodman is the author of Blue Dusk, Mother Love, Summer Secrets, Dancing Ledge and Choices. She is also the biographer of Ludwig Guttmann, who was the founder of the Paralympics and a director of Stoke Mandeville Hospital. She has contributed to the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Observer and Homes & Gardens. She lives in west London.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
War Through the Eyes of Children,
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This review is from: Children of War (Hardcover)
British novelist, Susan Goldman,has researched and written an extraordinary oral history of young children growing up during WW II throughout England. In her book, she explores a number of dislocating and unsettling experiences that many of her subjects endured throughout this tumultuous time in modern English history. While this period of war on the home front is usually seen through the eyes of adults and parents, Goodman, perhaps influenced by some of her childhood memories, taps the often neglected recollections of her generation to offer a fresh perspective on what it means to grow up under the shadow of a world war. The reader is treated to a number of fascinating social phenomena that emerged from this time, some of which can only be cast as typically British. There were the Kindertransports involving Churchill's orders to move hundreds of thousands of children from the cities to the countryside during the blitzes; the introduction of wholesale food rationing and the learning to eat awful concoctions like whale-meat sausages; women stepping into fill the role of men while they fought overseas; the ritual of preparing for the ever-constant threat of bombing raids; and the many games children played to pass the time while waiting for the war to end. What makes Goodman's work so memorable is that its many stories are the personal reflections of children who were traumatically affected by this prolonged and devastating conflict. Their accounts of being separated from parents, living daily with the sounds of bombs exploding in their neighbourhood, and contending with life-altering demands of a war regimen make for both an heroic and harrowing tale. Goldman does a wonderful job in capturing that combination of human vulnerability and adaptation that make children a very unique breed of humans during times of great social upheaval. This book is definite a must read for those who want to get a taste of what it was like to grow up in the middle of a war under a different moral compass.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thank you for this,
This review is from: Children of War (Paperback)
As a child who grew up in this time and in this place, outer London, this book is truly a gift. Just the language and the turns of phrase, no longer used, bring back the flavour of my childhood. I had forgotten so much and buried so many memories that I found I wanted now, in my old-age to re-visit.
A book to treasure and to give to my children.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
book was wonderful,
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This review is from: Children of War (Hardcover)
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