Carroll, Andrew, ed. War letters; extraordinary correspondence from American wars.

Simon & Schuster, Washington Square Press. 508p. illus. index. c2001. 0-7434-1006-8. $16.00. SA *

Although great leaders and great events directly shape the course of the world's history, it is easy to forget that most history is actually made by common people. Military history, likewise, invariably is presented in macroscopic detail--the progress of campaigns, the details of the major battles, and the competence of commanders--yet all of these factors ultimately depend on the junior-grade officers and the men in the ranks. To study the one without recourse to the other is to miss at least half of the story. Titles such as this one go a long way toward correcting the balance. War Letters is a collection of the intimate thoughts, eye-witness accounts, and combat tales written home by American soldiers: some 200 letters in all, from the Civil War down to a few representing the Gulf War, Somalia and Bosnia. As one might expect, they run the gamut from the dramatic to the mundane: a semiliterate Union trooper haranguing about the "Rebbles," a shocked survivor of Antietam, an eager young doughboy on his way to France, a soldier walking through the dead ashes of Nagasaki.

Editor Andrew Carroll assembled this collection of letters as part of the Legacy Project, whose goal is to preserve the letters and memories of those who have served their nation. The letters seem to be uncommonly well chosen, making this one of the best collections this reviewer has encountered. A nice feature is a brief note in the Table of Contents describing each of the letters. Within the text, further notes put each missive within the context of its war, and often tell the ultimate rate of the writer. All that could be wished for would be a few letters from the American Revolution and the Mexican War, but no doubt these will be forthcoming in a future book. Raymond L. Puffer, Ph.D., Historian, Edwards Air Force Base, CA