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Letters of Note: War
In Letters of Note: War, Shaun Usher brings together some of the most remarkable letters that encapsulate the human experience of war, from unimaginable feats of courage and compassion, to unthinkable episodes of violence and horror.
A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Natascha McElhone, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson and Mark Strong.
The collection features letters by Mark Twain, June Wandrey, Evelyn Waugh, Lord Horatio Nelson, Alexander Hamilton, Luis Alvarez and many more.
Letters of Note: War also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Listen to Ben Kingsley reading Mohandas Gandhi’s letter to Adolf Hitler and Colin Firth and Taron Egerton read letters exchanged between Rudyard Kipling and his son, John.
A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Natascha McElhone, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson and Mark Strong.
The collection features letters by Mark Twain, June Wandrey, Evelyn Waugh, Lord Horatio Nelson, Alexander Hamilton, Luis Alvarez and many more.
Letters of Note: War also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Listen to Ben Kingsley reading Mohandas Gandhi’s letter to Adolf Hitler and Colin Firth and Taron Egerton read letters exchanged between Rudyard Kipling and his son, John.
Audible Audio
First published October 6, 2020
15 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Usher
47 books301 followersShaun Usher is a writer, editor, and compulsive collector of remarkable words. He is the author of Letters of Note, an international bestseller that began life as a blog and grew into a celebrated series of books and inspired the live stage show Letters Live, which he has co-produced since 2013. He has published 16 books so far, covering everything from love and grief to music, dogs, and outer space, and in October 2025 will release his 17th, Diaries of Note: 366 Lives, One Day at a Time, a curated journey through a year’s worth of diary entries from history. He lives in Manchester with his wife, Karina, and their three children.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 9, 2023
4,5*
#nonfictionnovember
War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it.
-1864-
O que mais me impressionou nesta recolha de cartas foi o seu carácter universal. Apesar do inevitável destaque para as duas guerras mundiais, esta correspondência não se circunscreve geográfica nem temporalmente a esses eventos, recuando a tempos tão remotos como o século I, com as placas de Vindolanda…
Masculus to Cerialis his king, greetings. (…) My fellow soldiers have no beer. Please order some to be sent.
…até chegar aos nossos dias, com as despedidas de um bombista suicida à sua família.
Em “Letters of Note: War” há cartas de grandes estadistas, como Lord Nelson à sua amante, de correspondentes de guerra como Martha Gellhorn a Leonor Roosevelt, de soldados anónimos às suas mães desde continentes distantes como na Guerra Anglo-Zulu, de escritores como Kurt Vonnegut a interceder pelo filho objector de consciência, e até de crianças a apelar ao um Secretário de Guerra:
Dear good Lord Kitchener, we are writing for our pony, which we are very afraid may be taken for your army. Please spare her. (…) It would break our hearts to let her go. We have given 2 others and 3 of our family are now fighting for you in the Navy.
O tom geral é pesaroso, sobretudo nas cartas de mães para filhos…
Dear Bill, today is February 13, 1984. I came to this black wall again to see and touch your name and as I do I wonder if anyone ever stops to realize that next to your name, in this black wall, is your mother’s heart. A heart broken 15 years ago, when you lost your life in Vietnam.
…mas aligeira-se noutras como a de Mark Twain e roça o absurdo com o chorrilho de insultos dos Cossacos de Zaporizhia ao sultão do Império Otomano em 1675:
You Babylonian scullion, Macedonian wheelwright, brewer of Jerusalem, goat-fucker of Alexandria, swineherd of Grater and Lesser Egypt. (…) Pig’s snout, mare’s arse, butcher’s dog, unchristened brow, screw your own mother!
Shaun Usher refere-se a si mesmo como “professional letter nerd” e creio que me contagiou, pois pretendo ler todas as compilações que publicou, onde espero encontrar pequenos tesouros como este, a carta de Blanca Brissac Vázquez, uma das jovens que ficaram conhecidas como as Trece Rosas e foram fuziladas durante a Guerra Civil de Espanha.
My dear, my precious son, I’m thinking of you in my last moments. I only think of my darling boy, who is now a young man, and knows to be honourable as his parents were.
#nonfictionnovember
War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it.
-1864-
O que mais me impressionou nesta recolha de cartas foi o seu carácter universal. Apesar do inevitável destaque para as duas guerras mundiais, esta correspondência não se circunscreve geográfica nem temporalmente a esses eventos, recuando a tempos tão remotos como o século I, com as placas de Vindolanda…
Masculus to Cerialis his king, greetings. (…) My fellow soldiers have no beer. Please order some to be sent.
…até chegar aos nossos dias, com as despedidas de um bombista suicida à sua família.
Em “Letters of Note: War” há cartas de grandes estadistas, como Lord Nelson à sua amante, de correspondentes de guerra como Martha Gellhorn a Leonor Roosevelt, de soldados anónimos às suas mães desde continentes distantes como na Guerra Anglo-Zulu, de escritores como Kurt Vonnegut a interceder pelo filho objector de consciência, e até de crianças a apelar ao um Secretário de Guerra:
Dear good Lord Kitchener, we are writing for our pony, which we are very afraid may be taken for your army. Please spare her. (…) It would break our hearts to let her go. We have given 2 others and 3 of our family are now fighting for you in the Navy.
O tom geral é pesaroso, sobretudo nas cartas de mães para filhos…
Dear Bill, today is February 13, 1984. I came to this black wall again to see and touch your name and as I do I wonder if anyone ever stops to realize that next to your name, in this black wall, is your mother’s heart. A heart broken 15 years ago, when you lost your life in Vietnam.
…mas aligeira-se noutras como a de Mark Twain e roça o absurdo com o chorrilho de insultos dos Cossacos de Zaporizhia ao sultão do Império Otomano em 1675:
You Babylonian scullion, Macedonian wheelwright, brewer of Jerusalem, goat-fucker of Alexandria, swineherd of Grater and Lesser Egypt. (…) Pig’s snout, mare’s arse, butcher’s dog, unchristened brow, screw your own mother!
Shaun Usher refere-se a si mesmo como “professional letter nerd” e creio que me contagiou, pois pretendo ler todas as compilações que publicou, onde espero encontrar pequenos tesouros como este, a carta de Blanca Brissac Vázquez, uma das jovens que ficaram conhecidas como as Trece Rosas e foram fuziladas durante a Guerra Civil de Espanha.
My dear, my precious son, I’m thinking of you in my last moments. I only think of my darling boy, who is now a young man, and knows to be honourable as his parents were.
December 7, 2023
🇬🇧 English review below ⬇
........................................................................................
Heute habe ich mal keinen Roman für euch, sondern eine Briefsammlung, die als Neuerscheinung im März mein Interesse weckte. Das Online-Museum "Letters of Note" kannte ich bis dahin nicht, mag das Konzept aber sehr und werde da wohl demnächst öfters mal vorbei schauen.
Um der Menschheit willen
Letters of Note sammelt Briefe aus aller Welt mit mehr oder weniger bedeutendem Inhalt, die mal berührend, mal witzig, mal belanglos, aber von berühmten persönlichekiten sind. In diesem Sammelband geht es um Briefe, die im Zusammenhang mit Krieg geschrieben wurden, viele stammen direkt von den Fronten der Welt, es finden sich aber auch welche von Angehörigen, die Liebste im Krieg verloren, von Aktivisten und Pazifisten, einer Krankenschwester oder berühmte Persönlichkeiten wie Mark Twain.
Jeder Brief wird von einem kurzen erklärenden Text eingeleitet, der kurz beschreibt, wer die schreibende Person bez. der Adressat ist und ggf. historischen Kontext erklärt. Diese kurzen Einleitungen haben mir ausgezeichnet gefallen, da sie, auch wenn sie nie langer als zwei Seiten waren, stets alles Wichtige, was es zum Verständnis des folgenden Briefes bedurfte, erklärt haben. Das ist für mich ein großer Pluspunkt, denn die relevantesten Informationen kurz und knapp wiederzugeben ist auch eine Kunst.
Kommen wir aber zu den Briefen. Diese habe ich aufmerksam und sehr gerne gelesen. Manche stimmten nachdenklich, andere ließen das Herz bluten, wie z.B. wenn eine Mutter an ihren gefallenen Sohn schreibt und all ihren Schmerz des Verlustes in diese Worte legt. Eins haben die Briefe alle gemeinsam: Sie sind ein Zeugnis für die Irrsinnigkeit, der Abscheulichkeit von Krieg und ein Mahnmal an die Menschheit, stets den Frieden zu suchen. In dieser Hinsicht fand ich einen Satz treffend, den Mahatma Gandhi an Adolf Hitler schrieb (Das war etwas, was ich nicht wusste: Er schrieb nämlich zwei Briefe, in denen er Hitler inständig darum bat, den Krieg zu verhindern, bez. zu beenden.):
Die Kriege der westlichen Welt
So ergreifend ich diese Briefe auch fand, zwei kleinere Kritikpunkte habe ich dennoch. Zum einen fand ich die Auswahl der Briefe bez. der Konflikte aus denen sie stammen sehr eurozentrisch bez. wenn man Amerika berücksichtigt sehr auf die "westliche" Welt ausgerichtet. Ich hätte es aber auch sehr interessant gefunden zu erfahren, was der indische Rebell dachte, als er sich 1857 gegen das Empire auflehnte oder die Soldaten im Chinesisch-Japanischen Krieg, oder auch einfach mal die andere Seite des Vietnamkrieges, von diesem haben wir nämlich nur amerikanische Briefe. Ebenso fehlen Konflikte aus Südamerika und Afrika völlig. Aber auch zu diesen Konflikten gibt es erhaltene Briefe, weswegen ich mir die Auswahl nicht wirklich erschließt.
Mein zweiter Kritikpunkt betrifft einen speziellen Brief von Irvan Sirko: Von diesem ist es nämlich gar nicht sicher, ob es ihn überhaupt gab. Dass er geschrieben wurde, ist eine Legende, der Wortlaut nur überliefert. Dies wurde im Text aber so nicht kommuniziert, sodass der Leser annimmt, der Brief sei real, was man aber eben nicht mit Sicherheit sagen kann.
Fazit:
Diese Briefe berühren, stimmen nachdenklich und brechen das Herz und sind in alldem ein Appell an die Menschen: Für den Frieden und gegen den Irrsinn des Krieges. Einen Minuspunkt gibt es für die sehr auf die westliche Welt konzentrierte Auswahl. Perspektiven aus Asien, Afrika oder Südamerika fehlen fast völlig.
◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾
❗Important note: English is not my first language. So that English-speaking community members can still read my review, my review has been translated with the help of a translation program (since I don't have the time to translate it myself every time). I therefore apologize for any mistakes and strange phrasing.
Today I don't have a novel for you, but a collection of letters that aroused my interest as a new publication in March. I didn't know the online museum "Letters of Note" until then, but I like the concept very much and will probably visit it more often in the near future.
For the sake of humanity.
Letters of Note collects letters from all over the world with more or less significant content, sometimes touching, sometimes funny, sometimes trivial, but from famous personalities. This anthology is about letters written in connection with war, many of them coming directly from the fronts of the world, but there are also some from relatives who lost loved ones in war, from activists and pacifists, a nurse or famous personalities like Mark Twain.
Each letter is introduced by a short explanatory text that briefly describes who the person writing or the addressee is and, if applicable, explains the historical context. I liked these short introductions very much because, even though they were never longer than two pages, they always explained everything important that was needed to understand the following letter. This is a big plus for me, because giving the most relevant information in a short and concise way is also an art.
But let's move on to the letters. I read them attentively and with great pleasure. Some were thought-provoking, others made the heart bleed, such as when a mother writes to her fallen son and puts all her pain of loss into these words. The letters all have one thing in common: they are a testimony to the insanity, the abomination of war and a reminder to humanity to always seek peace. In this respect, I found a sentence apt that Mahatma Gandhi wrote to Adolf Hitler (This was something I did not know: he wrote two letters imploring Hitler to prevent, or rather to end, the war):
The Wars of the Western World.
As moving as I found these letters, I still have two minor criticisms. Firstly, I found the selection of letters to be very Eurocentric in terms of the conflicts from which they originated, or, if you take America into account, very focused on the "Western" world. But I would have found it very interesting to learn what the Indian rebel thought when he rebelled against the Empire in 1857, or the soldiers in the Sino-Japanese War, or simply the other side of the Vietnam War, of which we only have American letters. Conflicts from South America and Africa are also completely missing. But there are also preserved letters on these conflicts, which is why I don't really understand the selection.
My second point of criticism concerns a special letter by Irvan Sirko: It is not at all certain that this letter existed at all. The fact that it was written is a legend, the wording has only been handed down second-hand. However, this was not communicated in the text, so that the reader assumes that the letter is real, but this cannot be said with certainty.
Conclusion:
These letters are touching, thought-provoking and heart-breaking, and in all they are an appeal to the people: For peace and against the madness of war. One minus point is awarded for the selection, which is very much concentrated on the Western world. Perspectives from Asia, Africa or South America are almost completely missing.
........................................................................................
Heute habe ich mal keinen Roman für euch, sondern eine Briefsammlung, die als Neuerscheinung im März mein Interesse weckte. Das Online-Museum "Letters of Note" kannte ich bis dahin nicht, mag das Konzept aber sehr und werde da wohl demnächst öfters mal vorbei schauen.
Um der Menschheit willen
Letters of Note sammelt Briefe aus aller Welt mit mehr oder weniger bedeutendem Inhalt, die mal berührend, mal witzig, mal belanglos, aber von berühmten persönlichekiten sind. In diesem Sammelband geht es um Briefe, die im Zusammenhang mit Krieg geschrieben wurden, viele stammen direkt von den Fronten der Welt, es finden sich aber auch welche von Angehörigen, die Liebste im Krieg verloren, von Aktivisten und Pazifisten, einer Krankenschwester oder berühmte Persönlichkeiten wie Mark Twain.
Jeder Brief wird von einem kurzen erklärenden Text eingeleitet, der kurz beschreibt, wer die schreibende Person bez. der Adressat ist und ggf. historischen Kontext erklärt. Diese kurzen Einleitungen haben mir ausgezeichnet gefallen, da sie, auch wenn sie nie langer als zwei Seiten waren, stets alles Wichtige, was es zum Verständnis des folgenden Briefes bedurfte, erklärt haben. Das ist für mich ein großer Pluspunkt, denn die relevantesten Informationen kurz und knapp wiederzugeben ist auch eine Kunst.
Kommen wir aber zu den Briefen. Diese habe ich aufmerksam und sehr gerne gelesen. Manche stimmten nachdenklich, andere ließen das Herz bluten, wie z.B. wenn eine Mutter an ihren gefallenen Sohn schreibt und all ihren Schmerz des Verlustes in diese Worte legt. Eins haben die Briefe alle gemeinsam: Sie sind ein Zeugnis für die Irrsinnigkeit, der Abscheulichkeit von Krieg und ein Mahnmal an die Menschheit, stets den Frieden zu suchen. In dieser Hinsicht fand ich einen Satz treffend, den Mahatma Gandhi an Adolf Hitler schrieb (Das war etwas, was ich nicht wusste: Er schrieb nämlich zwei Briefe, in denen er Hitler inständig darum bat, den Krieg zu verhindern, bez. zu beenden.):
"Ein Erfolg im Krieg beweist nicht, dass Sie im Recht sind. Es beweist lediglich, dass Ihre Zerstörungskraft größer ist."
(Brief von Mahatma Gandhi an Adolf Hitler vom 24.12.1940 in: Letters of Note: Krieg von Shaun usher (Hrsg.), Heyne Hardcore, S.185)
Die Kriege der westlichen Welt
So ergreifend ich diese Briefe auch fand, zwei kleinere Kritikpunkte habe ich dennoch. Zum einen fand ich die Auswahl der Briefe bez. der Konflikte aus denen sie stammen sehr eurozentrisch bez. wenn man Amerika berücksichtigt sehr auf die "westliche" Welt ausgerichtet. Ich hätte es aber auch sehr interessant gefunden zu erfahren, was der indische Rebell dachte, als er sich 1857 gegen das Empire auflehnte oder die Soldaten im Chinesisch-Japanischen Krieg, oder auch einfach mal die andere Seite des Vietnamkrieges, von diesem haben wir nämlich nur amerikanische Briefe. Ebenso fehlen Konflikte aus Südamerika und Afrika völlig. Aber auch zu diesen Konflikten gibt es erhaltene Briefe, weswegen ich mir die Auswahl nicht wirklich erschließt.
Mein zweiter Kritikpunkt betrifft einen speziellen Brief von Irvan Sirko: Von diesem ist es nämlich gar nicht sicher, ob es ihn überhaupt gab. Dass er geschrieben wurde, ist eine Legende, der Wortlaut nur überliefert. Dies wurde im Text aber so nicht kommuniziert, sodass der Leser annimmt, der Brief sei real, was man aber eben nicht mit Sicherheit sagen kann.
Fazit:
Diese Briefe berühren, stimmen nachdenklich und brechen das Herz und sind in alldem ein Appell an die Menschen: Für den Frieden und gegen den Irrsinn des Krieges. Einen Minuspunkt gibt es für die sehr auf die westliche Welt konzentrierte Auswahl. Perspektiven aus Asien, Afrika oder Südamerika fehlen fast völlig.
◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾◾
❗Important note: English is not my first language. So that English-speaking community members can still read my review, my review has been translated with the help of a translation program (since I don't have the time to translate it myself every time). I therefore apologize for any mistakes and strange phrasing.
Today I don't have a novel for you, but a collection of letters that aroused my interest as a new publication in March. I didn't know the online museum "Letters of Note" until then, but I like the concept very much and will probably visit it more often in the near future.
For the sake of humanity.
Letters of Note collects letters from all over the world with more or less significant content, sometimes touching, sometimes funny, sometimes trivial, but from famous personalities. This anthology is about letters written in connection with war, many of them coming directly from the fronts of the world, but there are also some from relatives who lost loved ones in war, from activists and pacifists, a nurse or famous personalities like Mark Twain.
Each letter is introduced by a short explanatory text that briefly describes who the person writing or the addressee is and, if applicable, explains the historical context. I liked these short introductions very much because, even though they were never longer than two pages, they always explained everything important that was needed to understand the following letter. This is a big plus for me, because giving the most relevant information in a short and concise way is also an art.
But let's move on to the letters. I read them attentively and with great pleasure. Some were thought-provoking, others made the heart bleed, such as when a mother writes to her fallen son and puts all her pain of loss into these words. The letters all have one thing in common: they are a testimony to the insanity, the abomination of war and a reminder to humanity to always seek peace. In this respect, I found a sentence apt that Mahatma Gandhi wrote to Adolf Hitler (This was something I did not know: he wrote two letters imploring Hitler to prevent, or rather to end, the war):
"If you attain success in the war, it will not prove that you were in the right. It will only prove that your power of destruction was greater."
The Wars of the Western World.
As moving as I found these letters, I still have two minor criticisms. Firstly, I found the selection of letters to be very Eurocentric in terms of the conflicts from which they originated, or, if you take America into account, very focused on the "Western" world. But I would have found it very interesting to learn what the Indian rebel thought when he rebelled against the Empire in 1857, or the soldiers in the Sino-Japanese War, or simply the other side of the Vietnam War, of which we only have American letters. Conflicts from South America and Africa are also completely missing. But there are also preserved letters on these conflicts, which is why I don't really understand the selection.
My second point of criticism concerns a special letter by Irvan Sirko: It is not at all certain that this letter existed at all. The fact that it was written is a legend, the wording has only been handed down second-hand. However, this was not communicated in the text, so that the reader assumes that the letter is real, but this cannot be said with certainty.
Conclusion:
These letters are touching, thought-provoking and heart-breaking, and in all they are an appeal to the people: For peace and against the madness of war. One minus point is awarded for the selection, which is very much concentrated on the Western world. Perspectives from Asia, Africa or South America are almost completely missing.
December 31, 2020
A wonderful and varied collection of letters revealing opinions, realisations, and insight about war. I expected an account of the Christmas truce in one of the letters and there it was! I was pleasantly surprised by who expressed opinions of a conscientious objector. This letter alone would complement any study of 'Hacksaw Ridge', 'Field Punishment No.1', or the TV series 'World on Fire'.
I'm sure readers will be very different in their list of "favourites". Mine included those penned by Gelihorn, Gandhi, the Hewlett family, Wandrey, women of Germany and England, Vonnegut, and Wimbish. The most surprising was by Wellington.
Topics touched on in the letters include: duty, pride, humility, and equality. There were plenty of pleas, thanks and warnings.
I'm sure readers will be very different in their list of "favourites". Mine included those penned by Gelihorn, Gandhi, the Hewlett family, Wandrey, women of Germany and England, Vonnegut, and Wimbish. The most surprising was by Wellington.
Topics touched on in the letters include: duty, pride, humility, and equality. There were plenty of pleas, thanks and warnings.
May 8, 2020
Klappentext
Eine Sammlung der ergreifendsten Briefe zum Thema Krieg und Frieden – im Geschenkbuchformat und in wunderschöner Ausstattung. Das Buch basiert auf der sensationell populären Website »Letters of Note«, einer Art Online-Museum des Schriftverkehrs, das bereits von über 70 Millionen Menschen besucht wurde. Mit Briefen von u.a. Lord Nelson, Evelyn Waugh, Gandhi, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain und Blanca Brisac Vázquez.
Meine Meinung
Das Cover des Buches passt sehr gut zum Thema. Ich wüsste nicht was besser symbolisieren würde, wovon die Briefe im Krieg geprägt sind – der Sehnsucht nach Frieden.
Innerhalb des Buches finden wir eine Sammlung von Briefen, die zu Kriegszeiten geschrieben wurden. Um auf diese Briefe einzustimmen gibt es jeweils eine kurze Einleitung. Durch diese erfährt der Leser unter welchen Umständen und Gründen der Brief verfasst wurde. Dies ist sehr hilfreich, da man sich so viel besser in die Lage der Person versetzen kann. So unterschiedlich wie ihrer Verfasser sind auch die Briefe in dieser Sammlung. Dennoch haben sie alle etwas entscheidendes gemeinsam: Sie drücken die Sehnsucht nach Frieden und den unermüdlichen Kampf dafür aus. Diese Briefe sind geprägt vom Krieg und zeugen unter anderem auch von starkem Zusammenhalt und dem überragenden Einsatz der Soldaten für ihr Land. Die Briefe sind wirklich sehr emotional und ergreifend. Teilweise handelt es sich um herzzerreißende Abschiedsbriefe. Zudem sind die Briefe aber auch interessante, wichtige wertvolle Zeugnisse über den Krieg und das Kriegsgeschehen. Dieses Zusammenspiel aus Emotionen und historischem Zeugnis hat mir gut gefallen.
Fazit
„Krieg – Letters of Note“ ist eine kleine und gelungen Sammlung von Briefen aus Kriegszeiten, die von der Sehnsucht nach Frieden geprägt sind! Ergreifend und interessant!
Eine Sammlung der ergreifendsten Briefe zum Thema Krieg und Frieden – im Geschenkbuchformat und in wunderschöner Ausstattung. Das Buch basiert auf der sensationell populären Website »Letters of Note«, einer Art Online-Museum des Schriftverkehrs, das bereits von über 70 Millionen Menschen besucht wurde. Mit Briefen von u.a. Lord Nelson, Evelyn Waugh, Gandhi, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain und Blanca Brisac Vázquez.
Meine Meinung
Das Cover des Buches passt sehr gut zum Thema. Ich wüsste nicht was besser symbolisieren würde, wovon die Briefe im Krieg geprägt sind – der Sehnsucht nach Frieden.
Innerhalb des Buches finden wir eine Sammlung von Briefen, die zu Kriegszeiten geschrieben wurden. Um auf diese Briefe einzustimmen gibt es jeweils eine kurze Einleitung. Durch diese erfährt der Leser unter welchen Umständen und Gründen der Brief verfasst wurde. Dies ist sehr hilfreich, da man sich so viel besser in die Lage der Person versetzen kann. So unterschiedlich wie ihrer Verfasser sind auch die Briefe in dieser Sammlung. Dennoch haben sie alle etwas entscheidendes gemeinsam: Sie drücken die Sehnsucht nach Frieden und den unermüdlichen Kampf dafür aus. Diese Briefe sind geprägt vom Krieg und zeugen unter anderem auch von starkem Zusammenhalt und dem überragenden Einsatz der Soldaten für ihr Land. Die Briefe sind wirklich sehr emotional und ergreifend. Teilweise handelt es sich um herzzerreißende Abschiedsbriefe. Zudem sind die Briefe aber auch interessante, wichtige wertvolle Zeugnisse über den Krieg und das Kriegsgeschehen. Dieses Zusammenspiel aus Emotionen und historischem Zeugnis hat mir gut gefallen.
Fazit
„Krieg – Letters of Note“ ist eine kleine und gelungen Sammlung von Briefen aus Kriegszeiten, die von der Sehnsucht nach Frieden geprägt sind! Ergreifend und interessant!
February 8, 2025
This is a great little collection of letters, very varied in the times they were written and the people who wrote them, yet with similar sentiments arising from very different wars.
There is anxiety, of course, but the anger seems to belong to those who are at home, or to reporters rather than soldiers. Most of the fighters have a pride in what they are surviving and succeeding at. But there is very little blind jingoism (apart from the letter of the Ukrainians, which is hilarious). There is camaraderie and love between the fighters, and often respect for those they fight, too.
Altogether, these letters are a fantastic insight into the human spirit, and all the details and grand visions which make it up.
There is anxiety, of course, but the anger seems to belong to those who are at home, or to reporters rather than soldiers. Most of the fighters have a pride in what they are surviving and succeeding at. But there is very little blind jingoism (apart from the letter of the Ukrainians, which is hilarious). There is camaraderie and love between the fighters, and often respect for those they fight, too.
Altogether, these letters are a fantastic insight into the human spirit, and all the details and grand visions which make it up.
February 28, 2021
This book contains a dying soldier’s last letter to his mother; a letter dropped from a bomber above Japan minutes before the atomic bomb hit Nagasaki; and an exchange between the young owner of a pony and the Secretary of State for War, as well as some rather mundane notes from ancient Rome through the 20th century. It contains quite a few gut punches in not so many pages, but it's definitely a worthwhile addition to a study of war literature or world history.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
November 8, 2024
This was very immersive and thought-provoking as an audiobook. Some of the letters had some pretty blatant propaganda, though I suppose (hope) their inclusion here was not meant to sign off on it. I wish there had been less of a Western focus, but I enjoyed it all the same. My favorites were absolutely the letter from the WWII G.I. to his late secret lover, a fellow soldier, and by Martha Gellhorn, war correspondent and wife of Ernest Hemingway. Her bravery to write to her friend, the First Lady and condemn British and American imperialism was inspiring.
August 18, 2020
I read this in one sitting (obviously the book is quite small and due to the size of letters, the book doesn't require much time apart from taking in the content). I will be passing this book onto my friends studying history for sure as this makes horrific acts of destruction seem a little more realistic and real, opposed to being dramatised and taught from a textbook.
Even if you do not study history, this book is a must read for sure!
Even if you do not study history, this book is a must read for sure!
March 15, 2020
Kleinere Überschneidungen mit den "Letters of Note", aber dennoch immer noch interessante Briefe. Visuell nicht so aufwändig gestaltet wie die größeren Ausgaben, dafür wesentlich handlicher. Schön wären etwas umfangreichere Einleitungen zu den Briefen gewesen.
December 15, 2020
Reflections and lessons learned:
Letters from often extreme moments and situations all stemming from conflict. Amazing performances from Taron Egerton, Benedict Cumberbatch and a couple of star turns from Stephen Fry... oh my heart
Letters from often extreme moments and situations all stemming from conflict. Amazing performances from Taron Egerton, Benedict Cumberbatch and a couple of star turns from Stephen Fry... oh my heart
March 3, 2022
5 stars.
This was lovely to listen to in audio. I laughed a few times, I also cried a few times.
I picked it up because I was feeling useless, so wanted to at least educate myself further in the perspectives of people during war. The full cast audio made this one special.
This was lovely to listen to in audio. I laughed a few times, I also cried a few times.
I picked it up because I was feeling useless, so wanted to at least educate myself further in the perspectives of people during war. The full cast audio made this one special.
July 29, 2024
I’ve been interested in war and its effects on people for a while now and one way I explore that is by reading firsthand encounters. It’s a very different experience from watching movies or reading textbooks.
March 13, 2020
Really powerful collection
April 5, 2020
Great collection of letters written during various wars throughout history.
Very heartfelt and emotional.
Very heartfelt and emotional.
August 16, 2020
A small collection of letters sent by people from war or to war. Something special about a written note, especially during times of crisis.
December 27, 2020
Letters are precious snapshots of our fleeting contemporaneous mental states.
July 19, 2021
Really recommend the audiobook. It was a great listen.
August 29, 2021
Great letters, some embarrassing editing mistakes.
November 12, 2021
Very sad but very interesting, would recommend.
November 23, 2021
A collection of heartfelt letters from moments of war. These letters express the purest form of sentiment at the moment of realisation and acceptance of death.
July 4, 2023
3.5 stars
Great addition to the series and poignant at times
Great addition to the series and poignant at times
May 7, 2024
An absolutely fascinating cache of letters.
February 3, 2025
Very interesting collection of personal letters written from various people in times of war or about effects of war. The letter and story from the mom whose son was killed in war really effected me.
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