Wednesday, March 27, 2019

World at War: Invisible Heroes

Invisible Heroes of World War II: True Stories That Should Never Be Forgotten. Jerry Borrowman. 2019. Shadow Mountain. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: The story that follows comes from personal interviews with Henry Robert "Pat" Patton, a survivor of the infamous Bataan Death March and prisoner of war in Japan during World War II.

Premise/plot: The first half of Invisible Heroes introduces readers to five heroic individuals: Pat Patton, Nancy Wake, Joseph Hyalmar Anderson, Joseph Medicine Crow, and Dickey Chapelle. Three men who served during the war. One woman who was part of the French Resistance. One woman who was a photojournalist.
The second half of Invisible Heroes introduces readers to heroic groups who made significant contributions to the war effort: the Navajo Code Talkers, the Purple Heart Battalion, combat engineers, African Americans, and Rosie the Riveter. Each chapter begins with a general introduction or summary before sharing a more in-depth story.

My thoughts: I enjoy reading about the war. Usually my reading focuses on one person--or one family--during the war. This is a general nonfiction title that focuses on many different people. Even though it's not my typical kind of read, I ended up really enjoying it. I had favorite chapters. I loved, loved, loved the chapter on Dickey Chapelle. I had not heard of her before. But after reading this chapter, I would love to read a full-length biography of her. I think the author himself had a soft spot for her. (She made the cover. And he admits that he loved, loved, loved reading her autobiography).

I would recommend this one. It is an often fascinating read.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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