Stop Making Sense
I read anything that's nailed down, or even just moving slowly. Cereal boxes, candy wrappers, all genres, etc., and I don't always have much time for arbitrary distinctions like literary fiction vs. genre fiction.
The World War II Stories You Won't Hear Elsewhere
This is the World War II info that you won't find in the history books. If you've read any of Terkel's books, you know what to expect: an expansive cross-section of people giving their perspectives on the topic at hand. It sounds so simple, but it isn't. I wish our military and civilian leaders would read a book like this before they get us into any more messes. (Note: I'm NOT saying that WW II wasn't worth fighting; it absolutely was.)
Just one little story by way of illustrating the value of Terkel's approach. I had no idea that young women of that era were pressured into marrying the soldiers and sailors that were leaving for combat, some of them they barely knew. You know, the whole "send them off with a smile" thing, but writ large. When these men returned home, the couple had to learn to live together somehow, with the added complication of PTSD in many cases. I wonder what the ramifications of this phenomenon were, and whether it contributed to the rise in divorce down the road. I've never seen this covered in another WW II work, let alone the stories of the others in this book.
This is an amazing achievement, and I strongly recommend it for everyone.