The last few days I have been staying up past my bedtime watching the eagerly-anticipated new documentary from Ken Burns: The War. Just in case you missed any of the action, be assured that we have ordered the DVD set for the library. In the interim, perhaps you would like to thumb through the companion book - The War: an intimate history 1941-1945. Co-written by Geoffrey Ward and Ken Burns, this book covers the same ground as the documentary, and contains many of the same photos. The eerie original score composed by Wynton Marsalis is, alas, absent from the book.
Even after 60 years, WWII history remains one of the most popular subjects in the library collection. We are losing the veterans themselves as time marches on, but their children will continue to be interested in what life was like for their parents then. Succeeding generations - the grandchildren and great-grandchildren - will hopefully watch this series and gain some appreciation of what a world war looks like. It's very easy to forget that we are in a war right now if you do not have a family member serving. (I myself am somewhat detached from events in Iraq, even though I have a nephew stationed in Bagdhad). Ken Burns' new documentary is wonderful fodder for family discussions of what war means to those involved and where it can potentially lead to.
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