Another River, Another Town: A Teenage Tank Gunner Comes of Age in Combat--1945 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780375759635)

Many narrative accounts of men in combat during World War II have conveyed the horrors and emotions of warfare. However, not many reveal in such an intimate way the struggle of innocent youth to adapt to the primitive code of "kill or be killed," to transform from lads into combat soldiers.

Another River, Another Town is the story of John P. Irwin, a teenage tank gunner whose idealistic desire to achieve heroism is shattered by the incredibly different view of life the world of combat demands. He comes to the realization that the realm of warfare has almost nothing in common with the civilian life from which he has come.

The interminable fighting, dirt, fatigue, and hunger make the war seem endless. In addition to the killing and destruction on the battlefield, Irwin and his crew are caught up in the unbelievable depravity they encounter at Nordhausen Camp, where slave laborers are compelled to work themselves to death manufacturing the infamous V-rockets that have been causing so much destruction in London, and that are expected one day to devastate Washington, D.C.

At the end of the war, the sense of victory is, for these men, overshadowed by the intense joy and relief they experience in knowing that the fighting is at last over.

Author: John P. Irwin
ISBN-10: 0375759638
ISBN-13: 9780375759635
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Language: English
Published: 05/13/2003
Pages: 192
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 8.54h x 5.71w x 0.50d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.5
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 70711 / Another River, Another Town: A Teenage Tank Gunner Comes of Age in Combat-1945


Review Citation(s):
Kliatt 09/01/2003 pg. 42