Mathews wrote the book in an attempt to better understand his own father, a WWII veteran now in his eighties. Upon returning from the war, Richard Mathews had been a strict and distant father to his children, resulting in a lifetime of anger and disappointment for the son. As a former reporter and editor for Newsweek magazine, Tom Mathews began his quest for reconciliation with his father in a way that made sense to him -- by interviewing other adult sons of WWII vets and, when possible, speaking to the elderly fathers themselves. Following his interview experiences, Mathews persuades his dad to take a trip with him to Italy, where they retrace the route of the 10th Mountain Division, the elder Mathews' wartime unit.

The stories told here, including Mathews' own, are powerful and honest but not maudlin. Though each father-son relationship in Our Fathers' War is different, some common threads emerge. The combat experiences of the fathers clearly had a profound and lasting effect on each man, yet none of them was ever able to share those experiences with his children.

This book was particularly meaningful to me because my own father, a combat veteran who saw action in France, Belgium, and Germany, has never been able to speak to me or my brothers about his wartime experiences. Many of the father-son relationships described in Our Fathers' War struck a resonant cord based on my own family history.

Although Our Fathers' War focuses on World War II, anyone with family members, particularly a father, who served in any of America's wars will find this book a helpful guide to better understanding their loved one.

Readers may also want to pick up Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, which tells brief, inspirational stories of approximately 50 men and women -- some famous, most not -- whose lives were shaped by the events of World War II.