These are the stories of five American veterans from World War Two. Each is based on interviews the author performed, covering the soldier’s background and experiences, and each could easily be expanded into a much longer work. The “About the Book” section gives a few details about the interviews, which is a nice addition to the book.

The first two stories cover Bataan, first the siege and fall, and second the notorious Bataan Death March and the experiences of a POW taken by the Japanese. The third, the story of a sailor in the US Merchant Navy during a convoy attack, is one that will resonate with many of the British. The fourth covers an airman shot down over France and his escape attempt with the aid of the Resistance. The last, hard to read in the modern era, is the story of one of the troops sent in to Nagasaki after the bomb fell, to clear up in the radioactive aftermath.

The author has a very spare style and these stories are not told in great depth – long periods of time are skipped over, and notable events are given one or two sentences, when they could go on for pages – but they are detailed enough to keep a reader engaged. This ebook would probably be useful and interesting to younger readers, teens and older children, as a quick and easy to read resource about events in World War Two. This is particularly true in Britain where some of these events are not covered as part of the curriculum, and as a quick, informative, read this is ideal.

Lest we forget.