Incredible digital book about six soldier brothers brings WWII to life!

The back cover of Ordinary Heroes: Six Stars in the Window declares, “If you’re only going to read one book about World War II, this should be it.” This statement is not false bragging. Without a doubt, Ordinary Heroes is the best book I’ve ever read about World War II. I have never read another book or seen a movie on the subject that I have found so enjoyable or accessible. The treatment and chronology of the war, as presented in the story of the six Koski brothers from Ishpeming, Michigan, brings the war to life in ways not even Ken Burns’ PBS World War II documentary could. achieve.

Author Dan Oja deftly weaves the story of the Koski brothers into the larger context of the war in the Pacific and Europe, including Koski family letters and recollections, interviews with soldiers who served with the Koskis, and myriad historical sources. The hardcover book on its own is a delight, but I highly recommend readers purchase the digital book which includes links to countless website references and access to hundreds of video clips ranging from family members being interviewed about their memories of the war, to old newsreels, interviews with the Koski brothers and their fellow soldiers about their war service, and footage of the memorial service for the brother who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

While I do not in any way wish to discredit the tremendous research that went into this book, along with Dan Oja’s impressive dedication to telling his uncles’ story, what I enjoyed most was reading the book in its digital format because it really made the war come alive for me. The book is available in hardcover or as a digital book on CD or downloadable to a computer. The hardcover purchase includes a CD of the first eight chapters in digital format; if interested, the reader can activate the CD to read the rest of the book digitally by visiting the author’s website and paying only $4.95, a great bargain considering all the additional information included in the digital version. Dan Oja not only made the ingenious decision to provide a digital format for the book, but as an experienced programmer, he created the BookOn digital publishing technology used. Beyond collecting hundreds of World War II video clips relevant to telling his uncles’ stories, he interviewed family members, read and scanned family letters, and made the technology work so that anything about World War II he could interest us was just a click away. . We can go to a website about Hitler’s fascination with Henry Ford or watch a video about the Normandy invasion. I think e-books are not as convenient as print versions, but Ordinary Heroes: Six Stars in the Window is far from a simplistic e-book. This book is a truly interactive reading experience. It took me twice as long to read the paper version as it did to read the digital book because I was so engrossed that I had to watch every video. I also clicked on many of the website links to learn more about such fascinating facts as the Victory Mail soldiers’ letters being scanned onto microfilm to be sent to the United States, where they would be reprinted and mailed, thus saving the space needed on ships to carry military supplies. Such information at my fingertips on the computer was fantastic. If Ordinary Heroes is a taste of the future of books, I’m ready to jump on board.

In terms of information about World War II, I learned a lot that I had never heard elsewhere; for example, Henry Ford had Ford Motor Company plants in Germany, which meant that Ford was basically supplying vehicles to the Germans as well. I found this contradiction surprising and mind-boggling, especially considering the role of the Ford company in the US war effort. (My own grandfather worked at the Ford plant in Kingsford, Michigan, making gliders for the war effort.) It is surprising to learn that Hitler had a picture of Henry Ford hanging on his wall because he thought that Ford was an inspiration, a leader of fascism and the anti-Jewish movement in America. While Hitler’s statement could be dismissed as crazy, Dan Oja provides links to websites on Ford, the Nazis, and Ford’s anti-Semitism that explore the matter in detail. This story is just one example of the fascinating information included in Ordinary Heroes.

No one who knows war can help but be moved by the courage of the English during the Battle of Britain, or horrified by the concentration camps, but again, by reading Ordinary Heroes, I learned so much more about war and humanity. . endurance. I had no idea how badly the Nazis treated the French, levied horrendous taxes on them to support the German government, deprived them of their former freedoms, and made them little more than slaves to the Germans. I was amazed at the videos of English children, even babies, being put on gas masks. I was made to feel the seriousness of the Nazi threat when I read that the British actually had a plan to move the government to Canada if necessary. Although I have always admired Winston Churchill and knew of his famous speech “We will fight on the beaches, we will fight on the landings, we will fight in the fields and in the streets, we will fight on the hills, he will never surrender”, I did not know that he made this statement hoping that the English had to fight the Germans on the very soil of England. And I admired Churchill’s humor and courage even more when I read that one night at dinner, he said to his wife and pregnant daughter-in-law, “If the Hun comes, I’m counting on each of you to take one with you before he kills you.” you”. Let’s go.”

Finally, let me talk about the real subject of this book: the role of the Koski family in World War II. The Koski family saw six brothers serve in the war. The book’s subtitle, Six Stars in the Window, refers to the flag with six stars, one for each brother in the army, that hung in the family’s window. Dan Oja provides background on the Koski family of twelve children trying to survive the Great Depression after their mother’s death. We got to know the members of the family intimately: Lilly, the oldest daughter who was a mother to her siblings, the father who worked in the mine to feed his children, the six siblings who fought so bravely, and Edna Mae, the daughter minor and the mother of Dan Oja. . Edna Mae is interviewed in numerous videos throughout the book. Hearing her describe her brothers going to war, and seeing her cry in a video filmed sixty years after the event, brings the war home in a way the printed page cannot; Hearing her words and the expressions on her face made me realize how heartbreaking, dramatic, and difficult the experience of World War II was for every American family who saw a son, brother, husband, father, or friend go to fight

All I can do is praise Ordinary Heroes. Whether you’re reading the hardcover book or the digital BookOnCD, you won’t be disappointed. In addition, Dan Oja has made a documentary video which is also available on his website. As our WWII veterans die, Ordinary Heroes will help keep their memory alive. This incredibly rich and informative book is the kind of project you’d expect a national foundation or museum to produce. That Dan Oja created it himself is truly remarkable. I hope that Ordinary Heroes inspires many more people to preserve their family stories and that the digital technology in this book will continue to be used to create more wonderful interactive digital reading experiences.

“If you’re only going to read one book about World War II, this should be that book.” Ordinary Heroes: Six Stars in the Window is a book that offers six stars.