Today I am writing about the next book I plan to start, most likely later today. It was written by one of my dearest friend's brother-in-law as told to him by his grandfather. I can't imagine the horrors of war, the uncertainty of being a POW and the isolation a person must feel when they are finally allowed to come home. The book is called "1219 Days in Hell" and documents the story of Merle E. Tucker's time in the in the army, from enlistment at Fort Snelling in Minnesota to the time spent at a POW camp.
I can honestly say this is a book that I am looking forward to reading with trepidation, its hard to read about war, even harder still when its a real story and the long term effects can be seen in black and white. Its convenient to peek in on the news clips and think "that's just awful" then go back to making dinner. The past is not so far removed from our present situation in the Gulf that this will give you a second thought on what you see every night on the TV.
I am thankful to Helen Tucker, Merle's wife and Randy Cane, Merle's grandson for writing this book, hearing stories of things that happened so someone so close can be difficult at best. I still have nightmares about some of the stories my father told me about his time in the Pacific during WW11.
You can see further information on the book, some excerpts and a scrapbook at the Merle Tucker site. If you have a kindle you can download the book through Amazon for $3.99. If you don't have a Kindle you can still download it via Amazon's free reading apps that will work with iPhone, Windows, Mac, Blackberry and iPad.
I hope everyone is having a great weekend.
C.Q.
Its a very good book. As awful as the subject is, he put a bit of humor into it as well. Pointing out that war was hell, so you found humor where you could. When I read it, I felt as if I was actually listening to someone talk. Its not a bunch of descriptions of the views, procedure and so on. I'm so glad his family took the time to listen and publish this. Its well worth the read.
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