THE WAR Stories of Life and Death From World War II

War with all its warts comes at you from different perspectives in these eight pieces by writers who were there. Barrett Whitener's delivery puts you at Omaha Beach as troops are gunned down and drowned in the piece by Cornelius Ryan. A D-day parachute drop behind German lines is recreated in the scared but determined voice of Terence Aselford. Grover Gardner gives William Manchester's memory of killing a lone Japanese soldier almost reverential treatment. Colleen Delany reads "The Escape of Mrs. Jeffries" by Janet Flanner with the patience and stoicism required for a seven-month flight from Nazi-occupied Europe. The short report of a young German prisoner, made realistic and horrific in Gardner's heavily accented English, ends this satisfying collection. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]