Voices from the Second World War: Stories of War as Told to Children of Today

The Second World War is almost as complex as it is fascinating. Due to this complexity, the way we know the war is often a tangled list of dates, places, and events with very little cohesion or relevance; and perhaps more importantly, no human element. But behind every event in the war, there's a story waiting to be told. This incredible collection of 80 stories conveys the personal experiences of dozens of men and women caught on all sides of the conflict. Each story is written as a narrative recollection, collected mostly from children interviewing relatives who lived through the war.

There are very few “war heroes" here – instead, the focus is on survivors or those who helped make the war just a little more bearable. But it doesn't change the visceral experiences – such as those of Per Lindeblad, a Danish resistance fighter. He relates tales of boyhood arson (targeting German dormitories), his arrest and the multitude of beatings he received, his life in a prison camp, and the aftermath. While the stories contain many mature elements, they are told in such a way to be free from profanity or graphic violence. And each, carrying everything from horrific tragedies to ironic comedy, brings the reader just a little closer to understanding the human cost of the war.