LETTERS OF NOTE: WAR

The popular Manchester-based writer presents a new volume of missives about combat by Alexander Hamilton, General Sherman, Evelyn Waugh, Kurt Vonnegut to offer a more nuanced and moving look at the act of war. A black corporal beseeches President Lincoln to ensure that his regiment receive proper payment for performing their duties. Evelyn Waugh relates the hijinks that ensued when his brigade tried to blow up an old tree stump for a local nobleman. Defeated Cossacks taunt the pompous sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a suicide bomber in Iraq explains his simple motivation to his family. Gandhi implores Adolf Hitler to turn back the tides of World War Two. After learning about her son's last months in combat, a Gold Star mother leaves a heartbroken letter by his name on the Vietnam Veterans? Memorial Wall. Each of these 30 remarkable letters sheds light on what it means for us to take up arms against one another and each records a piece of that terrible deed. They encapsulate the full experience of battle from feats of courage and sacrifice to the grief that follows acts of violence. A poignant collection, 132 pages with roughcut deckle edges denoting quality in the USA. Softback 13 x 18cm approx.