Customer Reviews

World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book with great interest and enjoyed every page. As a Vietnam Era veteran I was enthralled by how compassionate the country was to the families of POWs. Ms. Spahr captured the "Greatest Generation" in this story about her family's history. It amazed me how her grandfather returned to this country and moved on to a productive life in W. Pennsylvania. I hope to see a movie or a Ken Burns type documentary about the radio operators who contacted the families to help this country's morale during the War.

Let me separate my comments into two categories: what is written and how the book appears in the Kindle edition.

THE WHAT. Radio Heroes is a one-of-a-kind compilation of radio relay stories linking captured American prisoners to their families at home. I am both amateur radio operator and student of World War II history. As a "ham," I've made many radio relays myself. I know first-hand what it's like to pass along good news from some remote corner of the world to anxious family members. Remember - this was before cell phones, satellite communications, and email. Ms. Spahr's writing is unsophisticated, but I think that style is appropriate. The author could have gotten in the way of the stories, but like the radio, she is the medium, not the message. The idea, the research, the assembly - all well done. My only criticism is the lack of technical information.

THE HOW. Unfortunately, the Kindle edition is poorly done. (I have the Kindle 2.) I don't know much about the conversion process, but the breakdown had to have occurred with Amazon or the publisher or both, but it is not a short-coming of the author. The problems are in the formatting and the images - the words are there, but they often are fragmented, compacted together when spaces are dropped, and, in some cases, missing. Many images appear simply as grey rectangles - no photograph or image scan - just ghostly grey. Other images have something there, but even with magnification, it is impossible to make out content.

BOTTOM LINE. Print edition 4 stars (based on the story) :: Kindle edition 2 stars :: Average 3 stars.

I expect that many people have never heard the heartwarming story of the men and women across America who regularly monitored Nazi short-wave broadcasts to learn the fate of American GIs taken prisoner by the Germans. After sorting the information out from the crackle of atmospherics and man-made interference, these great folks would pass the information on to the loved ones back home. What a great story!
As a life-long amateur radio operator (Ham), veteran, and child of the '40s, I'm glad to learn this fascinating story about the folks who made sure that 'no POW family would go without notice'. Lisa Spahr has added a valuable dimension to the story of the many ways in which Americans contributed to the World War II effort.

In an age when letter-writing is going the way of the dinosaurs, Spahr's book is a poingnant reminder of inherent power of letters. Would these letters have been as significant, the sacrifice in writing them as high, if they had been emails? Probably not.

The book also does a good job of bringing the story to life. I can imagine the impact these letters had on her great-grandmother from seeing pictures of the actual letters. The letters bring a mix of history and heart to the pages of the book.

It is also interesting to learn new things about WWII. There are so many horrible stories that came out of that era - it is nice to read one about human kindness for a change. Sometimes the worst of times bring out the best in people. And I think that's what this book is really about - the best in people. These radio listeners used their own time, energy and money to reach out to a complete stranger and give them comfort. How many of us would do that today? These heroes from the past have inspired me to not only be a better person but to write letters again.

We found the book, World War II Radio Heroes, very fascinating as this was an aspect of the war that I was not aware of. We would like to thank Lisa Spahr for showing us the care and compassion shown by total strangers, the long hours they spent monitoring the radio, and the people they touched, all of which are a very important, but unknown, part of history. World War II Radio Heroes is a very interesting and well-written account of the war's history that many of us have no knowledge of. We were not aware of the importance of the short wave radios and how they gathered information from Germany about prisoners of war from the United States. These radio listeners then tried to contact the relatives of the prisoners of war to let them know that their son, brother, father, or grandfather was a prisoner and that he was alive and doing OK. Lisa Spahr has a unique way of bringing out the emotions that people receiving these letters must have felt. It was a book we could not put down until we had finished reading it! We are looking forward to more accounts of WWII from Lisa!

In today's culture of such self-absorption, to read this true story about the generosity of the human spirit and the kindness of strangers is truly heart warming.

Many people would have found that trunk of old letters but never ever thought to share the wonderful story with the rest of the world. It's a testament to Ms. Spahr's grandfather that she made the effort to write this tale. And it's a story that has allowed many generations of these families to have the knowledge that their relatives (in a time of having nothing) gave everything to Ms.Spahr's family - the knowledge that her POW grandfather was alive.

Thank you, Ms. Spahr, for sharing your family's wonderful story.

Lisa's book seems to be unconsciously all about the hidden. Hidden history, hidden family, and therefore hidden self. It's an almost imperceptible warning of the dangers of forgetting and the history that is lost when there is no one left to utter our names. Some cultures believe that a person is only truly dead and gone when there is no one left that remembers their name. Lisa ensures the legacies of her grandfather, the letter writers, and herself through her book, cementing history through the written word, much like the letter writers in the book did. The compassion of the letter writers and the compassion in Lisa's writing makes us realize that we can choose compassion. It is not only an inherited trait or explained through scientific definitions, but compassion can be the simple taking of pen to paper, the couple of undistracted minutes it takes to connect with another human being. Lisa tells a love story, the love of human beings trying to make their ways through an often terrifying world.

IT WAS A JOY AND GREAT PLEASURE TO LOCATE AND READ LISA SPAHR's BOOK.I HAVE READ HUNDREDS OF LETTERS FROM PEOPLE IN W.W.I I.UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE OF TIME AND RELOCATIONS MANY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LETTERS ARE GONE.MANY OF MY FRIENDS SERVED IN THE U.S.ARMY,ARMY SIGNAL CORPS,U.S.NAVY AND MARINES AND ARMY AIR FORCE DURING W.W.I I. THE BOOK IS A RARE NUGGET AND I GIVE LISA SPAHR VERY HIGH MARKS AND HER ASSOCIATE FOR GETTING IT PRINTED. I BELIEVE IT CAN BE MADE INTO A MOVIE EITHER SCRIPTED AS IS OR A STORY COULD BE MADE AROUND IT STILL KEEPING IT'S CORE MESSAGE OF "LETTERS OF COMPASSION". IN CLOSING HAVING EXAMINED THE LETTER COPIES I WANT TO NAIL THIS DOWN FIVE [ 5 ] STARS. BEST WISHES,CHIEF OPERATOR W.W.I I STATION CALLSIGN W1ACB BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Lisa Spahr has uncovered the story of untold Americans during the Second World War who used the medium of shortwave radio as an instrument to boost and reach out to family members of servicemen captured and imprisoned. She unfolds the story of her grandfather, a POW in Germany in 1943 and the efforts of Americans back home who diligently listened to shortwave broadcasts from Radio Berlin, an enemy propagation station. The German authorities allowed the reading of names and messages from POW's, in an effort to demoralize the families of the captured servicemen. Quite to the contrary, this turned out to be most beneficial to families in the states. Using shortwave radios and letter writing, a group of dedicated listeners made every effort to contact the families of names heard on the shortwaves. These letters proved to be beneficial in letting next of kin know that their loved ones were indeed alive.

I have been a shortwave listener for forty years and can relate well to the challenges these listeners faced, due to the constantly changing conditions experienced with the propagation of radio waves sent over long distances. This is yet another tribute to America's greatest generation and a testament to their strong will and unceasing efforts to help the cause of their fellow Americans back home.

Although Lisa Spahr mentions the Shortwave Amateur Monitors Club in Chapter 5, I would have enjoyed additional information relating to the shortwave radio equipment listeners used in the 1940's. Further information of a technical nature relating to shortwave listening (presented in laymens terms) would also have further enhanced the challenges, obstacles and painstaking efforts of these radio heroes. Perhaps this will appear in another edition of this interesting saga.

World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion is an amazing look into an unfamiliar part of WWII history. The "Letters" which were written and sent by the radio heroes are profoundly moving. After reading this book, "hope" is an apt word to describe one's feelings. I commend author Lisa Spahr for her valuable contribution to preserving an important part of WWII history. This book speaks to the masses of United States citizens that care so deeply about our great country. Highly recommended!