CHECK IT OUT

Between the barbecues, camp-outs and outdoor fun, it’s easy to forget

why we will observe Monday as a national holiday.

“Memorial Day is a day when Americans remember the men and women in

the military who died for their country,” writes children’s author Amy

Margaret in “Memorial Day.” Along with a history of the observance, the

newest addition to her “Library of Holidays” series includes information

about symbols and traditions, military landmarks and Web sites for

further research.

For more sophisticated audiences, many new volumes document the

conflicts that have taken the lives of those we honor. The bloodiest

battle of the Civil War is the focus of “American Heritage History of

the Battle of Gettysburg.’ In this lavishly illustrated chronicle, Craig

Symonds has amassed letters, diaries and memoirs that humanize the blue

and gray. Nearly 300 photographs, paintings and illustrations combine

with firsthand accounts to give a vivid picture of what happened over

three days in July 1863.

From acclaimed military historian John Keegan, “An Illustrated History

of The First World War” features an equally astonishing collection of

photos, maps, posters, ads, paintings and postcards that illustrate the

tragedy of the first globally significant armed discord. A compelling

narrative supports almost 500 images that record the horrors of war.

While many books portray the gritty side of combat, former World War

II medic Leo Litwak adds a personal dimension gleaned from being a

recruit whose mission was saving lives, not taking them. In “The Medic,”

he offers a disturbing account of his overseas experiences of service

with bandages and gauze rather than rifles. It reveals warfare at its

most elementary level.

Long after they returned from the trenches, Vietnam veterans had an

array of conflicts to endure. To tell their story, Gerald Nicosia spent a

decade interviewing more than 600 people who took part in the war, who

later became active in the antiwar movement or worked as veterans’

advocates. In “Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans’ Movement,”

he presents a chronicle of famous and unknown heroes who battled the

aftereffects of Agent Orange, post-traumatic stress disorder and the

Veterans’ Administration, and were ultimately successful in founding the

Vietnam Veterans against the War.

One of history’s most ironic holiday stories took place in December

1914, when thousands of cold, muddy soldiers defied their orders, put

down their arms and tacitly agreed to stop the killing during World War

I. Popular historian Weintraub catalogs the remarkable Christmas truce in

“Silent Night,” showing that there is, indeed, a human side to war that

is the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Claudia Peterman. All titles may be reserved from home or office

computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org.