There are two things you need to know before you start reading Westporter Stacy Enyeart’s book America’s Home Front Heroes: An Oral History of World War II. First, you’ll not be able to the book down once you open it.  Find a hammock or a recliner and spend  a few hours of non-stop mesmerizing reading. Secondly, expect the unexpected.

If you’re wondering how an oral history can be presented in a hardcover book, it’s not because of CD enclosed.  Uniquely comprised of intimate letters, personal remembrances, and some of the most touching and poignant journals and diaries ever put between book covers, the words of people who have lived through or have been touched by this war, come right at you. Enyeart has touched a raw nerve here. It is at once beautiful and terrifying. For instance, you’ll meet Martha Stewart’s mother who was so proud of her “victory garden.” Then, you’ll meet Charles Hazelip who as a child remembers seeing red, white and blue banners in the windows of houses. “In the white fields of these banners there would appear one, two or even more blue stars. One star for each service member from that house…One day…I noticed that there was now one gold star and two blue stars on the banner [of a friend’s house]. I later found out that the gold star was for their eldest son who was blown out of the turret of his tank in North Africa.”

Each first person story is told with such honesty that it doesn’t take long to realize that war has affected the lives of not only our brave fathers, grandfathers, husbands, uncles, and brothers, but also the men and women who were carrying on at home.  In a section titled “It Was a Time for War-Plant Women,” Enyeart not only provides a brief account of how women on the home front proved their mettle by keeping the factories going, but she includes photos of  children and families at home. She also includes photos of women at work (courtesy of the Westport Public Library) and reproductions of some of the famous posters from the National Archives and Records Administration.

One photo depicts a woman using a drill press to assemble airplane parts. One of the most shocking posters shows a man in a kelly hat driving in a car. Next to him is the sketchy outline of Hitler. The poster reads: “When you ride ALONE you ride with Hitler! Join a Car-Sharing Club TODAY!”

As I mentioned earlier, expect the unexpected in this totally engaging book. You’ll  have to smile when you imagine the joy one family must have experienced when  you actually get to read a reproduction of the telegram they received from Western Union. It read:

“I am pleased to inform you that a corrected report has been received from the theater of operations which states that your son…has been released from a German hospital and was not – repeat was not – killed in action 26 December as you were previously informed…”

Dear reader, before you wipe away that joyful tear, know that a few pages later, you’ll be reading another reproduction of another letter with a much sadder message. Honestly, we’ve all heard war stories on the knee of someone or other. We’ve heard of great heroism and great sacrifices. What this Westport author has done is to document for posterity what it was like for the wives and sweethearts, mothers and fathers, and children who were left behind at home while the men were off fighting for freedom. They were directly affected by the war and remember vividly how their lives were turned upside down. In many ways, they too were unsung heroes.

Though the entries are brief, they are powerful. It’s not possible to read one section and put it down. It’s always “Oh, I’ll just read one more little section, and on and on until before you know it the book has been read from cover to cover. From the first attack at Pearl Harbor to the V-J Day celebrations, Enyeart fills in gaps that we never heard much about before. We know about some of the great battles and war heroes, but we never heard very much about the little boys and girls who grew up at home in America in the worst of times, but made the best of those times.

Based mostly on primary sources, this book not only documents a unique American experience, but serves as one speaker with many voices. It is also a reminder that when a country is at war, it’s not just the men who serve that are affected by it.

America’s Home Front Heroes: An Oral History of World War II

By Stacy Enyeart

Published by Praeger, 2009

Hardcover, 125 pps. $34.95