Voices from Alabama: A Twentieth-Century Mosaic

Morgan's first book is a childhood reminiscence covering the years from 1941 to 1944, when she lived with her parents in a northern Florida farming town. Remembrances of growing up in a secure and loving home are collected with letters written by her Uncle Howard when he was a soldier in WW II. Evocative and powerful, Howard's early letters, addressed chiefly to Morgan's father, chronicle his first months as an idealistic private who felt privileged to serve. Later selections, written after he became a lieutenant and was wounded in action several times, testify to his growing cynicism and disillusionment with the war effort. Morgan has done an excellent job of contrasting her pleasure in celebrating family holidays at the same time as her uncle was experiencing violence and the death of comrades in battle. Howard was killed in action in 1944; Morgan is haunted by the last line he wrote home: ``I am beginning to wonder if I have a right to live.'' (Jan.)