''Richard Rubin has performed an extraordinary feat of World War I sleuthing. He has managed to track down numerous centenarians -
centenarians! - who fought in the trenches and has skillfully resurrected their memories in a way that brings that now sepia-toned conflict into focus as sharp as a bayonet. Rubin refers to these doughboys as 'the forgotten generation.' Yet he brings them back unforgettably. And his book is addictively readable.'' --Joseph E. Persico,
New York Times bestselling author of
My American Journey ''Richard Rubin has done something that will never be possible for anyone to do again. His interviews with the last American World War I veterans - who have all since died - bring to vivid life a cataclysm that changed our world forever but that remains curiously forgotten here. And his research and battlefield visits help us picture the background to the survivors' stories.'' --Adam Hochschild,
New York Times bestselling author of
To End All Wars''Richard Rubin has written the most riveting and astonishing book about World War I that I have read in a decade. No matter what you think about that terrible conflict, this book will lift up your heart, not only about the war but about being an American. It's unique!'' --Thomas Fleming,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Illusion of Victory ''Richard Rubin's brilliant
The Last of the Doughboys is a living, breathing monument to an almost criminally unsung generation of American heroes - and a vivid and richly detailed portrayal of their era and their war. Beautifully and knowledgably written, the book ensures that the doughboys' achievements on the battlefields of World War I, as well as at home, will never again be forgotten.'' --James Carl Nelson, author of
The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War and Five Lieutenants ''Affecting . . . Rubin is skillful in his interviewing, remorseless in his efforts to chase down his subjects, thoughtful of their age. He also wisely fills in their stories with biographical facts and establishes the contexts of the specific battles they fought in and what was at stake . . . His book is a fitting epitaph to brave men too often overlooked.'' --
Publishers Weekly''Richard Rubin's
The Last of the Doughboys is more than just a collection of memories. It is a moving tribute - a final salute - to a generation of men who gave their all to win the war that would, they hoped, end all wars. This intimately written book will stand at the forefront of World War I literature for many years to come.'' --Edward G. Lengel, author of
To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 ''Richard Rubin's vivid and lively interviews with the last surviving veterans of World War I have preserved the voices and memories of the men who fought the nation's first modern war. It is an important contribution to history, an act of historical justice to soldiers whose achievements and sufferings are seldom remembered, and a fascinating view of history through the eyes of those that made it.'' --Richard Slotkin, author of
Lost Battalions ''Before the Greatest Generation, there was the Forgotten Generation of World War I, the remaining members of which are depicted in this gloriously colorful swan song . . . A wonderfully engaging study executed with a lot of heart.'' --
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
--This text refers to the
audioCD edition.
There may be as many as a million surviving veterans of WWII, and their stream of memoirs continues, contributing to their place as part of the “Greatest Generation.” But the last known American veteran of the Great War died in 2011. Determined to obtain and document the remembrances of the surviving “doughboys,” journalist Rubin began an effort to locate and interview many of them a decade ago. The result is this fascinating and deeply moving collection of individual stories. These veterans, between the ages of 101 and 113, tell their stories in sometimes halting ways; but aided by the patience and prompting of Rubin, they provide a vivid picture of their wartime experiences as well as the vastly different American society from which they sprang. Most of these men came from rural backgrounds, and they used horsepower rather than tractors to plow fields. Some describe their shock at their first exposure to industrial-scale warfare, while others stepped easily into the beginnings of aerial combat. Some recall the comradeship, while others emphasize the terror of trench warfare. This is an important and masterful tribute to those who participated in a conflict that continues to shape the world today. --Jay Freeman
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
From the Inside Flap
In 2003, 85 years after the armistice, it took Richard Rubin months to find just one living American veteran of World War I. But then, he found another. And another. Eventually he managed to find dozens, aged 101 to 113, and interview them. All are gone now.
A decade-long odyssey to recover the story of a forgotten generation and their Great War led Rubin across the United States and France, through archives, private collections, and battlefields, literature, propaganda, and even music. But at the center of it all were the last of the last, the men and women he met: a new immigrant, drafted and sent to France, whose life was saved by a horse; a Connecticut Yankee who volunteered and fought in every major American battle; a Cajun artilleryman nearly killed by a German aeroplane; an 18-year-old Bronx girl “drafted” to work for the War Department; a machine-gunner from Montana; a Marine wounded at Belleau Wood; the 16-year-old who became America’s last WWI veteran; and many, many more.
They were the final survivors of the millions who made up the American Expeditionary Forces, nineteenth-century men and women living in the twenty-first century. Self-reliant, humble, and stoic, they kept their stories to themselves for a lifetime, then shared them at the last possible moment, so that they, and the World War they won – the trauma that created our modern world – might at last be remembered. You will never forget them. The Last of the Doughboys is more than simply a war story: It is a moving meditation on character, grace, aging, and memory.
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
From the Back Cover
Richard Rubin has done something that will never be possible for anyone to do again. His interviews with the last American World War I veterans who have all since died bring to vivid life a cataclysm that changed our world forever but that remains curiously forgotten here. Adam Hochschild, author of
To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914 1918
In 2003, 85 years after the end of World War I, Richard Rubin set out to see if he could still find and talk to someone who had actually served in the American Expeditionary Forces during that colossal conflict. Ultimately, he found dozens, aged 101 to 113, from Cape Cod to Carson City, who shared with him at the last possible moment their stories of America s Great War. Nineteenth-century men and women living in the twenty-first century, they were self-reliant, humble, and stoic, never complaining, but still marveling at the immensity of the war they helped win, and the complexity of the world they helped create. Though America has largely forgotten their war, you will never forget them, or their stories. A decade in the making,
The Last of the Doughboys is the most sweeping look at America s First World War in a generation, a glorious reminder of the tremendously important role America played in the war to end all wars, as well as a moving meditation on character, grace, aging, and memory.
An outstanding and fascinating book. By tracking down the last surviving veterans of the First World War and interviewing them with sympathy and skill, Richard Rubin has produced a first-rate work of reporting. Ian Frazier, author of
Travels in Siberia I cannot remember a book about that huge and terrible war that I have enjoyed reading more in many years." Michael Korda,
The Daily Beast [AU PHOTO] RICHARD RUBIN is the author of Confederacy of Silence. In addition to the Atlantic and the New York Times Magazine, he has written for The New Yorker, Smithsonian, New York, and Parade.
"
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
From the Author
RICHARD RUBIN is the author of Confederacy of Silence. In addition to the Atlantic and the New York Times Magazine, he has written for The New Yorker, Smithsonian, New York magazine, and Parade.
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
Book Description
HMH Hardcover, 2013
Previous ISBN: 978-0-547-55443-3
--This text refers to an alternate
kindle_edition edition.
![The Last of the Doughboys: The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War by [Richard Rubin]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51qEYJAMV-L._SY346_.jpg)
