When & Where: Pulitzer
prize winning author Rick Atkinson lectured for about 35 minutes
about his new book, The
Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
at the Decatur Public Library on June 12, 2013 (just four days before
Father's Day). The word “lecture” is a little misleading because
although Atkinson provided attendees an overview about World War II,
he fills in the facts with so many small narratives from the book
that you see Atkinson more as a storyteller than a
journalist-historian.
Attendence:
Almost a full house of ~150 people, which was double the number of
several years ago (September, 2008), when Atkinson was on tour with
the paperback release of Day
of Battle: The War in Italy, 1943-1944.
Both my longtime partner, Denise and I went last week. It was an
older crowd. We are not talking World War II vets (they are in their
90s and disappearing at rate of about 800 veterans a day), but more
like us – sons and daughters of World War II vets. Denise's father
Mickey Koslow (lower left) was in the Army Air Corp in North Africa and Italy and
my father Glenn R. Browne (top left) fought in Western Europe. I remember once,
when asked about his tour of duty, my Dad remarked jokingly “that
he broke the back of the Wehrmacht
taking the port of Marseille.” After I read The
Guns at Last Light, I
will know more what he meant.
Why I Went. I've
read the other two books of Atkinson's The Liberation Trilogy: the
aforementioned Day of
Battle and An
Army at
Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943. Both
books are extraordinary and there is a graciousness and confidence
about Atkinson that is refreshing. His books are as he says, take you
from the foxhole to the tactics of the commanders, which the latter
is influenced by their own personal histories and temperaments.
Atkinson often shows us how “the small catastrophe illuminates the
major disasters.” I compare him to Shelby Foote, a writer that
Atkinson matches in his storytelling prowess. I have personally given
many copies of his books to friends, they all read him and are not
disappointed. (When Denise's father Mickey was reading Day
of Battle, he'd call her
daily to tell her not only how much the book brought back his own
memories, but clarified the big picture of what was going on.)
Q & A. Before
signing books, Atkinson fielded questions for about 45 minutes from
the crowd ranging from the particulars of the mutilation of Italian
dictator Benito Mussolini's body to speculating on what strategy
British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery would have implemented if
had lead the campaign in Europe instead of U.S. General Dwight
Eisenhower. When a woman asked where she could find research
information about her father who was awarded the Silver Star for
fighting around Rennes, France in August, 1944, Atkinson asked, “Was
he in the 4th
Armored Division?” When the woman said he was, Atkinson received a
round of applause. We were all amazed --- knowing we were in the
prescence of a man who was both “archival rat” (Atkinson's
self-reference) and parlor magician.
Worth Mentioning. In
2008, when Denise and I saw Atkinson we had a book signed for her
father. This time we had the book signed in the memory of our fathers
since Mickey died in 2011 and my father died in 1985. As we have come
to expect, Atkinson was warm and accomodating. He knew that Denise,
myself and the others who attended were following Atkinson's only
mandate from the evening: “That it is our first duty to remember.”
great man :D
Posted by: bedroom furniture | July 28, 2013 at 03:40 PM