Dear Boys: World War II Letters from a Woman Back Home Contributor(s): Somerville, Keith Frazier (Author), Litoff, Judy Barrett (Editor), Smith, David C. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 1604734000 ISBN-13: 9781604734003 Publisher: University Press of Mississippi OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2009 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | Military - World War Ii - Literary Collections | Letters - History | United States - 20th Century |
Dewey: 940.537 |
Physical Information: 0.58" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (0.85 lbs) 274 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Chronological Period - 1940's - Cultural Region - South |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Throughout the war years of the 1940s there were enormous outpourings of correspondence from all parts of the United States to men and women in the service. Among these were local news columns written in the form of letters to soldiers. With a mission of sustaining morale as well as insuring that young Americans stationed far away were informed of local events, the Dear Boys column from the Mississippi Delta is a shining example of this genre. Dear Boys collects memorable columns written by Mrs. Keith Frazier Somerville (1888-1978) for the newspaper of Bolivar County, Mississippi. Filled with illuminating insights and anecdotes, these poignant letters provide a fascinating look at life in the Mississippi Delta during wartime and at what happened to local citizens scattered over the four corners of the world. Keith Frazier Somerville, a remarkable writer, gave breadth and depth to many significant, wide-reaching topics in addition to reporting entertaining tidbits of local news. She describes the important role played by women in the winning of the war. She offers commentary upon race relations, an uncommon subject in wartime America, especially in the Deep South. She apprises her readers of the fact of Nazi atrocities against Jews, though many governmental figures shied from this subject in their public pronouncements. With her clear view and her fair mind she expressed pride in the multi-ethnic and multi-faith composition of her local county, and she hoped that a positive influence of the war would be greater personal and social equality at home. |