Ordinary Heroes is a narrative, nonfiction account of World War II as told through the perspective of veterans who served in various theatres of the conflict. Beginning with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and ending sometime after V-J Day, the book recounts the soldiers’ experiences at home and abroad, describing in detail what it was like to be at war. The stories are pulled from interviews conducted by the authors, which were verified and assembled into a timeline. Thus, the tales are presented chronologically as the war progresses.
Stylistically, Ordinary Heroes resembles a novel, as it is written from a third-person limited perspective and often forgoes sweeping historical commentary in favor of internal dialogue and introspection. Its focus lies squarely upon the shoulders of the characters and their personal experiences.
Of the sixty-plus men and women in the book, the majority are originally from – or currently reside in – Berks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Famous quotes containing the words ordinary and/or heroes:
“The Red Cross in its nature, it aims and purposes, and consequently, its methods, is unlike any other organization in the country. It is an organization of physical action, of instantaneous action, at the spur of the moment; it cannot await the ordinary deliberation of organized bodies if it would be of use to suffering humanity, ... [ellipsis in original] it has by its nature a field of its own.”
—Clara Barton (1821–1912)
“That for which Paul lived and died so gloriously; that for which Jesus gave himself to be crucified; the end that animated the thousand martyrs and heroes who have followed his steps, was to redeem us from a formal religion, and teach us to seek our well-being in the formation of the soul.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)