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I'll Be Home for Christmas: The Library of Congress Revisits the Spirit of Christmas During World War II
 
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I'll Be Home for Christmas: The Library of Congress Revisits the Spirit of Christmas During World War II [Hardcover]

Tom Spain (Editor), Michael Shohl (Editor)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)


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Book Description

October 19, 1999
America is ready to remember and honor the men and women who courageously served the nation during World War II. To celebrate those brave souls and their families, and the spirit that carried them through our nation's darkest days, the Library of Congress has created a magnificent gift book. Themed around memories of Christmas during the war, I'll Be Home for Christmas is a unique and handsomely packaged collection of poignant stories, correspondence, more than 100 photographs and illustrations, and diary excerpts from those who went off to war and those who kept the home fires burning.

One of the key events that shaped the twentieth century, World War II left an indelible mark on mankind. All too often overlooked in the shadow of official accounts and the sheer volume of documentation of the war are the millions of individual stories and experiences of those who served in the war and of the loved ones who waited for them to come home. Never were the personal sacrifices made both here and abroad more heartfelt than at that special time for family that is Christmas.

Now the Library of Congress has opened its treasure trove of more than 110 million items (maps, photographs, drawings, recordings, rare books, published and unpublished writings, music, and motion pictures) to craft the perfect gift for anyone interested in World War II. With more than 100 beautiful photographs, cartoons, and illustrations, I'll Be Home for Christmas captures in brilliant relief how the worst of times can bring out the best in humankind.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In December 1943, Jill Oppenheim wrote to her husband, Alfred de Grazia, who was serving in the 5th Army overseas:

...I am cheerless in the exact proportions to which Bob Hope et al were full of holiday mirth. There is a peculiar psychology in missing someone you love--the pain becomes greatest during the times you deviate from the ordinary, & to most people, distasteful, routine of living--the Sundays, the feast days, the idle moments just before you go to bed.
For thousands of soldiers and their families, the Decembers during World War II were especially trying times. Far away from friends and family, the men and women serving overseas made do as best they could to celebrate, some decorating trees with C-ration cans or surgical gloves, some making up gifts for local children, and all hoping for packages from home. Those on the home front made do as well, dealing with travel restrictions and rationing--or, worse, the loss of friends and family. I'll Be Home for Christmas is a bittersweet look at how the holiday was celebrated during the dark Decembers of World War II. Taken from the archives of the Library of Congress, stories, correspondence, illustrations, diary excerpts, and photographs provide poignant glimpses of how America survived the war years. Even Grinches and Scrooges will be touched by a Christmas letter to his mother from Emit F. Logan, imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp; or a little boy's gift to thrice-wounded marine Edward Andrusko; or pictures of GIs in foxholes, grinning as they open their Christmas packages. A wonderful celebration of The Greatest Generation's spirit--and a wonderful look at an oft-forgotten side of World War II. --Sunny Delaney

From the Inside Flap

America is ready to remember and honor the men and women who courageously served the nation during World War II. To celebrate those brave souls and their families, and the spirit that carried them through our nation's darkest days, the Library of Congress has created a magnificent gift book. Themed around memories of Christmas during the war, I'll Be Home for Christmas is a unique and handsomely packaged collection of poignant stories, correspondence, more than 100 photographs and illustrations, and diary excerpts from those who went off to war and those who kept the home fires burning.

One of the key events that shaped the twentieth century, World War II left an indelible mark on mankind. All too often overlooked in the shadow of official accounts and the sheer volume of documentation of the war are the millions of individual stories and experiences of those who served in the war and of the loved ones who waited for them to come home. Never were the personal sacrifices made both here and abroad more heartfelt than at that special time for family that is Christmas.

Now the Library of Congress has opened its treasure trove of more than 110 million items (maps, photographs, drawings, recordings, rare books, published and unpublished writings, music, and motion pictures) to craft the perfect gift for anyone interested in World War II. With more than 100 beautiful photographs, cartoons, and illustrations, I'll Be Home for Christmas captures in brilliant relief how the worst of times can bring out the best in humankind.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Delacorte Press; First Edition edition (October 19, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 038533463X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385334631
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,345,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

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Average Customer Review
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Chicken Soup for Your Soul, June 30, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: I'll Be Home for Christmas: The Library of Congress Revisits the Spirit of Christmas During World War II (Hardcover)
This book is by and about ordinary people in extraordinary times, whose prayers were sometimes answered, and sometimes not. It's also about real people at the one time of the year when everyone is vulnerable, people who mostly made it through the war with quiet faith and courage, despite everything. I remember as a young boy during this time seeing gold stars in peoples' windows at Christmas (a sign that they had lost a loved one) and yet right behind it, a Christmas tree.

I bought "I'll Be Home for Christmas" for my daughter and told her that this book is the real "Chicken Soup for the Soul"--written by people who sometimes didn't have enough ration coupons for the chicken-or for a holiday goose-but celebrated anyway.

It's a great history lesson and a good read.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Christmas Book Ever, May 28, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: I'll Be Home for Christmas: The Library of Congress Revisits the Spirit of Christmas During World War II (Hardcover)
I'll Be Home For Christmas is a must have. This book recreates Christmas time all over the world telling the stories of soldiers at the front, in prison camps (both sides), familys at home, and at internment camps. Filled with great pictures, excerpts from diaries, and newspaper clippings it leaves the reader with a feeling of gratefullness for what they went through. Some is funny, but most is thoughtful or just plain sad. Now I wouldn't put this up with say A Christmas Carol, but it is one that you can choose one story that means something in partucular to you. Each story being uniquely different,and is one that everyone can enjoy.
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