With the centennial of American involvement in World War I upon us, there has been a surge of interest in both the war and the scenes of the fighting. For anyone planning a visit to France and the Western Front of World War I, this book is an excellent choice. It is a look at the places where American troops fought, died, and earned for themselves a lasting place in the hearts of Frenchmen. Richard Rubin takes his readers on a journey 100 years in the making, through the French countryside where the memory of World War I is still very much alive.
From the publisher:
For months he followed the trail of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front, finding trenches, tunnels, bunkers, century-old graffiti and ubiquitous artifacts. But he also found an abiding fondness for America and Americans, and a colorful corps of local after-hours historians and archeologists who tirelessly explore these sites and preserve the memories they embody while patiently waiting for Americans to return and reclaim their own history and heritage. None of whom seemed to mind that his French needed work.
Based on his wildly popular New York Times series, Back Over There is a timely journey, in turns reverent and iconoclastic but always fascinating, through a place where the past and present are never really separated.
You will find this engaging book in the Shop.
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