Good Books for WWII and Iraq

Hi, this is my first blog (ever!) I picked up a book at the library to possibly use to support our US History Class. It was Ryan Smithson's autobiographical Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-old GI. I kept it around, hoping we would get past WWII. Although I am still not sure I will get to use it this year, it was a great book! It is an easy read (I read it while sitting in my car during lunch periods), but details Ryan's journey from deciding to enlist to his readjustment at the end of his deployment. I don't really have any students that talk about enlisting, but this would be an excellent way to get a picture of what happens. It is mild enough for probably 5th grade or up, but should be previewed to see if it is fitting for a particular audience. It would be a good starting point for discussion of patriotism, effects on family, living in fear, etc.

The other book I reread (after 42 years!) was John Hersey's Hiroshima. It's still a great book for use during study of WWII. We just finished reading about the German surrender, so next week, I hope to use this as part of our study of the Pacific theatre.