Reviews and Radio Interviews
Pacific Book Review
5 Star Review
As a boy growing up in Defiance, Ohio during the pre-World War I years of America, John Small was like every other boy of his youth; athletic, intelligent, and full of adventure. John enjoyed playing sports during his youthful years in school and would be known as the top athlete in football and baseball. But a ball would not be the only thing John would be chasing. Shortly after his high school graduation, John sought adventure in joining The Ohio National Guard with Brigadier General Pershing, to capture the known villain of Mexico, Pancho Villa. During this exciting adventure John would not only get to know the life of a soldier in the camps, but he also found romance with a young woman named Mary whom he would eventually make his wife. Although the happily married camp living couple was not in his future for long as the news of the war in Europe brought word the allied forces of France and England were in dire need of the United States’ assistance. As such the search for Pancho Villa ended and training for what would be World War I began.
When Johnny Doesn’t Come Marching Home, written by Marian Small, is a captivating factual story of a young man’s experiences, hardships and adventures entering into World War I and the years to follow. The story is about the author’s father, John Russell Small, as she tells the experiences as a soldier through actual handwritten and typed letters, photographs, official United States documentation, as well as John Small’s handwritten personal diary. Having access to the above factual resources allowed the author to tell the real life, up close and personal, true story of John Small. Having such personal writings as letters to his wife, family members and friends, as well as diary entries, allows readers entry into the heart and mind of a soldier, a son, a husband and a friend as he expressed through writing the hardships of battling a war overseas. Between all the factual evidence of letters and documents of personal accounts and information, the book is elegantly well developed and laid out to make a pleasing yet heartfelt read. The raw emotion of fear, guilt, happiness, sadness, anger, loneliness and many more emotions can be felt by the reader as they turn each page. The amount of courage along with willpower and strength John Small as a soldier and father had to produce, while still providing for his family, despite all the war anomalies aimed at him, is truly astonishing.
Being an avid reader of American History novels, I don’t often come across personal accounts of a soldier’s experiences with World War I. The amount of actual facts and documentation throughout the book makes me, as book lover and history fanatic “tinkled pink”, as they say. I certainly highly recommend this book be put in all public libraries, history classrooms and homes of fellow readers who love historical genre.
5 Star Review
As a boy growing up in Defiance, Ohio during the pre-World War I years of America, John Small was like every other boy of his youth; athletic, intelligent, and full of adventure. John enjoyed playing sports during his youthful years in school and would be known as the top athlete in football and baseball. But a ball would not be the only thing John would be chasing. Shortly after his high school graduation, John sought adventure in joining The Ohio National Guard with Brigadier General Pershing, to capture the known villain of Mexico, Pancho Villa. During this exciting adventure John would not only get to know the life of a soldier in the camps, but he also found romance with a young woman named Mary whom he would eventually make his wife. Although the happily married camp living couple was not in his future for long as the news of the war in Europe brought word the allied forces of France and England were in dire need of the United States’ assistance. As such the search for Pancho Villa ended and training for what would be World War I began.
When Johnny Doesn’t Come Marching Home, written by Marian Small, is a captivating factual story of a young man’s experiences, hardships and adventures entering into World War I and the years to follow. The story is about the author’s father, John Russell Small, as she tells the experiences as a soldier through actual handwritten and typed letters, photographs, official United States documentation, as well as John Small’s handwritten personal diary. Having access to the above factual resources allowed the author to tell the real life, up close and personal, true story of John Small. Having such personal writings as letters to his wife, family members and friends, as well as diary entries, allows readers entry into the heart and mind of a soldier, a son, a husband and a friend as he expressed through writing the hardships of battling a war overseas. Between all the factual evidence of letters and documents of personal accounts and information, the book is elegantly well developed and laid out to make a pleasing yet heartfelt read. The raw emotion of fear, guilt, happiness, sadness, anger, loneliness and many more emotions can be felt by the reader as they turn each page. The amount of courage along with willpower and strength John Small as a soldier and father had to produce, while still providing for his family, despite all the war anomalies aimed at him, is truly astonishing.
Being an avid reader of American History novels, I don’t often come across personal accounts of a soldier’s experiences with World War I. The amount of actual facts and documentation throughout the book makes me, as book lover and history fanatic “tinkled pink”, as they say. I certainly highly recommend this book be put in all public libraries, history classrooms and homes of fellow readers who love historical genre.
Norm Goldman
Reviewer, Publisher & Editor at BookPleasures.com
Many soldiers who participated in World War I recorded their daily experiences in letters, journals and diaries and several of these were published after the war while others remained hidden in drawers, closets or elsewhere. In 1978, sixty years after the signing of the armistice between the Allies of World War I and Germany, Marian Small, daughter of 1st Sergeant John Russell Small, a veteran of a war that was to end all wars, inherited her father's collection of memorabilia dating back to the time he enlisted in the Ohio National Guard in 1916. Among the findings were photographs, postcards, and the original letters her father had written to his parents and his sweetheart Mary (later his wife) as well as a diary his wife gave him and that he carried with him when he was sent over to France in 1918.
When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home is a true account of John's experiences during the war, which he described as the adventure of a lifetime? It also describes his life before and after the war and as Marian states in her introduction, “it is a story that needs to be told in recognition of and to honor the memory of a valiant soldier.” It is a rich heritage that Marian had the opportunity to share with her readers.
These writings are especially revealing as they describe mundane daily military life as well as the terrifying experiences fighting day and night through rain and mud in the various trenches in France's No Man's Land. Unfortunately, Mary's letters were never retrieved and as Marian mentions, were probably lost when John went “Over the Top” in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive Drive. In addition, John's writings enable readers to receive a personalized eyewitness account dealing with conditions at the front, trench warfare, daily life, personal concerns, inner feelings, the love, the doubts, the faith, the pain, and the bravery that shaped him.
In some instances Marian has offered her own narrative, taken from John's original writings, his memorabilia, and from other sources concerning the war. As for the many pictures included in the book, these have been taken from the original pages of a publication that was presented to John and other Veterans after the war, entitled: To the Secretary of War: A Final Report of John J. Pershing, General, at the American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters on September 1, 1919.
Although John's writing opportunities may have been limited due to military censors as well as conditions at the front, we nevertheless get a vivid picture of his innocence when he first enlisted and his subsequent wartime character evolution from spirited recruit to a resigned injured veteran. Unfortunately, John did not come marching home as he sustained a serious injury while fighting in the Argonne Forest drive with his company on September 29, 1918. There had been a high explosive shell that let go and the fragments broke his left leg and inflicted a deep wound in his right leg. As it turns out, he had endured six months in four different hospitals in France and after his return to the USA he had to undergo another year and eight months in four hospitals. Once home, John had difficulty in securing employment not only due to his injury, but also the economic situation of the early and late 1920s and the Depression during the 1930s that made employment rare. Sadly, John was also deprived of a full pension because obligatory proof was required of inability to earn a living because of his disability, which in his case was adjudged to be lacking.
By and large, this is a book that is much more than a brave soldier's witness testimony of his war experiences, which in itself is fascinating, but there is also something else. Due to Marian's extensive research, interwoven into the narrative are several historical background historical tidbits that give us a better understanding of the war. I wonder how many more such testimonies are still gathering dust in attics and basements?
Reviewer, Publisher & Editor at BookPleasures.com
Many soldiers who participated in World War I recorded their daily experiences in letters, journals and diaries and several of these were published after the war while others remained hidden in drawers, closets or elsewhere. In 1978, sixty years after the signing of the armistice between the Allies of World War I and Germany, Marian Small, daughter of 1st Sergeant John Russell Small, a veteran of a war that was to end all wars, inherited her father's collection of memorabilia dating back to the time he enlisted in the Ohio National Guard in 1916. Among the findings were photographs, postcards, and the original letters her father had written to his parents and his sweetheart Mary (later his wife) as well as a diary his wife gave him and that he carried with him when he was sent over to France in 1918.
When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home is a true account of John's experiences during the war, which he described as the adventure of a lifetime? It also describes his life before and after the war and as Marian states in her introduction, “it is a story that needs to be told in recognition of and to honor the memory of a valiant soldier.” It is a rich heritage that Marian had the opportunity to share with her readers.
These writings are especially revealing as they describe mundane daily military life as well as the terrifying experiences fighting day and night through rain and mud in the various trenches in France's No Man's Land. Unfortunately, Mary's letters were never retrieved and as Marian mentions, were probably lost when John went “Over the Top” in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive Drive. In addition, John's writings enable readers to receive a personalized eyewitness account dealing with conditions at the front, trench warfare, daily life, personal concerns, inner feelings, the love, the doubts, the faith, the pain, and the bravery that shaped him.
In some instances Marian has offered her own narrative, taken from John's original writings, his memorabilia, and from other sources concerning the war. As for the many pictures included in the book, these have been taken from the original pages of a publication that was presented to John and other Veterans after the war, entitled: To the Secretary of War: A Final Report of John J. Pershing, General, at the American Expeditionary Forces Headquarters on September 1, 1919.
Although John's writing opportunities may have been limited due to military censors as well as conditions at the front, we nevertheless get a vivid picture of his innocence when he first enlisted and his subsequent wartime character evolution from spirited recruit to a resigned injured veteran. Unfortunately, John did not come marching home as he sustained a serious injury while fighting in the Argonne Forest drive with his company on September 29, 1918. There had been a high explosive shell that let go and the fragments broke his left leg and inflicted a deep wound in his right leg. As it turns out, he had endured six months in four different hospitals in France and after his return to the USA he had to undergo another year and eight months in four hospitals. Once home, John had difficulty in securing employment not only due to his injury, but also the economic situation of the early and late 1920s and the Depression during the 1930s that made employment rare. Sadly, John was also deprived of a full pension because obligatory proof was required of inability to earn a living because of his disability, which in his case was adjudged to be lacking.
By and large, this is a book that is much more than a brave soldier's witness testimony of his war experiences, which in itself is fascinating, but there is also something else. Due to Marian's extensive research, interwoven into the narrative are several historical background historical tidbits that give us a better understanding of the war. I wonder how many more such testimonies are still gathering dust in attics and basements?
A Great Way To Honor A Father And A Soldier
ElyLibrarySec 5 Star Amazon.com Review
When I got the invitation for the blog tour for this book, I could not pass it up. The book seemed to speak to me. My grandfather fought during World War I. I loved that this book would give me an idea of some of the things that he may have gone through – he never talked about that time to us (or at least I don’t remember he did). You may wonder what that has to do with romance.
Romance is all about love. And what better way to show your love to a parent but to honor him but by letting others hear his story. This story may resonate with you the way it did with me. The Preface and Introduction is so interesting that I ask that you not skip and go right to chapter one. I found myself saying “wow” a few times during the Intro. It’s a great incentive to talk with some of your relatives, before it’s too late, you might learn something about them and something you may never read in a history book.
Like the fact that you had relatives come over on the Mayflower. If I had not read this book, I would never have guessed that the author’s and my relatives might have known each other. It shows how small our world actually is. And if our relatives met on the Mayflower, it makes me wonder if her father and my grandfather ever crossed paths.
In school, I didn’t enjoy history much. But reading a book like this makes learning that subject a lot more interesting. The pictures, letters, and his diary just add an extra depth to this fantastic book. It’s a book that would be perfect for history buffs but I think even those that aren’t buffs will get a lot out of John Small’s legacy. I have to give a big “thank you” to the author for bringing my grandfather, who passed away in the 70’s, back into my life and my heart. And this is the first book that I’ve recommended my dad, who served in the Navy during the Korean War, read.
ElyLibrarySec 5 Star Amazon.com Review
When I got the invitation for the blog tour for this book, I could not pass it up. The book seemed to speak to me. My grandfather fought during World War I. I loved that this book would give me an idea of some of the things that he may have gone through – he never talked about that time to us (or at least I don’t remember he did). You may wonder what that has to do with romance.
Romance is all about love. And what better way to show your love to a parent but to honor him but by letting others hear his story. This story may resonate with you the way it did with me. The Preface and Introduction is so interesting that I ask that you not skip and go right to chapter one. I found myself saying “wow” a few times during the Intro. It’s a great incentive to talk with some of your relatives, before it’s too late, you might learn something about them and something you may never read in a history book.
Like the fact that you had relatives come over on the Mayflower. If I had not read this book, I would never have guessed that the author’s and my relatives might have known each other. It shows how small our world actually is. And if our relatives met on the Mayflower, it makes me wonder if her father and my grandfather ever crossed paths.
In school, I didn’t enjoy history much. But reading a book like this makes learning that subject a lot more interesting. The pictures, letters, and his diary just add an extra depth to this fantastic book. It’s a book that would be perfect for history buffs but I think even those that aren’t buffs will get a lot out of John Small’s legacy. I have to give a big “thank you” to the author for bringing my grandfather, who passed away in the 70’s, back into my life and my heart. And this is the first book that I’ve recommended my dad, who served in the Navy during the Korean War, read.