"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
"When Josiah “Woody” Wedgwood enlists in the army, he is immediately sent to England to prepare for the Normandy invasion, harboring only vague ideas about the nature of war. But when he lands on the beach in France, the reality of battle hits him. “We are at the water’s edge. A soldier runs past us onto the sand. Suddenly he falls to his knees and clutches his belly. As his body bends forward, I see the bullets rip into his bowed back. We move away from him. Move away from the terrible bullets.” Facing terror, Woody questions what he’s doing, makes desperate pleas to God, and worries about when and where to go to the bathroom. The brutal battle scenes and wartime musings are vividly told. But there’s also a sense of the times, such as the naive feelings Woody has for a girl back home or the racist and xenophobic attitudes among his fellow soldiers in the 29th Infantry Division. These Myers delivers, along with his themes, subtly through Woody’s matter-of-fact observations as his ragged battalion fights its way through Normandy. Woody, who is white, volunteered with hometown acquaintance (and important wartime friend) Marcus Perry, Robin Perry’s grandfather in Sunrise over Fallujah (rev. 5/08) and Richard Perry’s uncle in Fallen Angels (rev. 7/88). Marcus, a black soldier, faces grave danger driving a truck but doesn’t participate in direct combat (although the book jacket art seems to belie this fact); in 1944, troops were segregated and menial jobs frequently relegated to black soldiers. And this was the Good War." - Betty Carter, Hornbook Magazine starred review
Booklist Starred Review
It’s June 6, 1944, D-Day, and 19-year-old Josiah (Woody) Wedgewood is part of the Allied Invasion, huddled up with a group of other men against the cliffs on Omaha Beach. “We are in a killing zone,” he thinks in agony, “and we are dying.” All around him is a scene from hell: the beach filled with the dead and dying; more soldiers being mercilessly shot by the Germans as they attempt to land on the beach; the noise of war, shots and explosions ,so loud that Woody can’t hear the screams all around him. “I will never be the same again,” he thinks. Myers’ excellent prequel to his two other war novels, Fallen Angels (1988) and Sunrise over Fallujah (2008), charts the course of war in the month following the invasion as Woody, who tells the compelling story in his own first-person voice, and his comrades continue to fight through the countryside in pursuit of the Germans. The reader sees the fear, confusion, horror, and brutality of war through Woody’s eyes. In a subplot involving Woody and his African American friend Marcus, the reader is also acquainted with the ugly segregation that was a daily fact of life during WW II. In Invasion, Meyrs has done peace an inestimable service by showing so vividly what a truly terrible idea war is.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0545384281
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Walter Dean Myers brilliantly renders the realities of World War II.Josiah Wedgewood and Marcus Perry are on their way to an uncertain future. Their whole lives are ahead of them, yet at the same time, death's whisper is everywhere. One white, one black, these young men have nothing in common and everything in common as they approach an experience that will change them forever. It's May 1944. World War II is ramping up, and so are these young recruits, ready and eager. In small towns and big cities all over the globe, people are filled with fear. When Josiah and Marcus come together in what will be the greatest test of their lives, they learn hard lessons about race, friendship, and what it really means to fight. Set on the front lines of the Normandy invasion, this novel, rendered with heart-in-the-throat precision, is a cinematic masterpiece. Here we see the bold terror of war, and also the nuanced havoc that affects a young person's psyche while living in a barrack, not knowing if today he will end up dead or alive. Seller Inventory # DADAX0545384281
Book Description hardcover. Condition: New. Hardcover Book, Seller Inventory # 2311110012
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. 0.7. Seller Inventory # 0545384281-2-1
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0545384281
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 0.7. Seller Inventory # 353-0545384281-new
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Seller Inventory # GoldenDragon0545384281
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0545384281
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Excellent Condition.Excels in customer satisfaction, prompt replies, and quality checks. Seller Inventory # Scanned0545384281