Behind the Lines: Powerful and Revealing American and Foreign War Letters--and One Man's Search to Find Them - Softcover

"Extraordinary...Achieve[s] an evocative power rare even in the best war literature." -- Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943

"Each letter is extraordinary in its own right, but together they illuminate war as it is rarely seen.... This is a book born of great passion. This is a book with tremendous heart and soul." -- James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys

"Andrew Carroll studies the human side of war in this stirring, moving, and sometimes hilarious collection." -- Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

Andrew Carroll spent three years traveling throughout the United States and around the world to seek out the most powerful and unforgettable letters ever written during American wars. Behind the Lines is the result of that extraordinary trip and represents the first book of its kind: a dramatic, intimate, and revealing look at warfare as seen through the personal correspondence of US and foreign troops and civilians who have experienced major conflicts firsthand. From handwritten missives penned during the American Revolution to e-mails from Afghanistan and Iraq, Behind the Lines captures the full spectrum of emotions -- exhilaration, fear, devotion, despair, courage, heartache, patriotism, rage, and even humor -- expressed in times of war.