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The Resource Chasing ghosts : a memoir of a father, gone to war, Louise DeSalvo

Chasing ghosts : a memoir of a father, gone to war, Louise DeSalvo

Creator
Author
Summary
"When literary biographer and memoirist Louise DeSalvo embarked upon a journey to learn why her father came home from World War II a changed man, she didn't realize her quest would take ten years, and that it would yield more revelations about the man--and herself--and the effect of his military service upon their family than she'd ever imagined. During his last years, as he told her about his life, DeSalvo began to understand that her obsession with war novels and military history wasn't merely academic but rooted in her desire to understand this complex father whom she both adored and reviled because of his mistreatment of her. Although she at first believes she wants to uncover his story, the story of a man who was no hero but who was nonetheless adversely affected by his military service, she learns that what she really wants is to recover the man that he was before he went away. As DeSalvo and her father uncover his past piece-by-piece, bit-by-bit, she learns about the dreams of a working-class man who entered the military in the late 1930s during peacetime to better himself, a man who wanted to become a pilot. She learns about what it was like for him to participate in war games in the Pacific prior to the war, and its devastating toll. She learns about what it was like for her parents to fall in love, set up house, marry, and have children during this cataclysmic time. And as the pieces of her father's life fall into place as works to piece together the puzzle of everything she's learned about this time, she finds herself finally able to understand him. Chasing Ghosts is an original contribution to the understanding of working-class World War II veterans who did not conventionally distinguish themselves through 'heroic' actions and whose lives were not until recently considered worthy of historical or cultural attention. It personalizes the history of those sailors who served in the Navy aboard aircraft carriers and on islands in the Pacific prior to, and during World War II and contributes to the current vital conversation about the often-unrecognized effects of war and its traumas upon those men and their families. It reveals the lifelong devastating consequences of military service on those men and women who fell in love, married, and set up house. And it reveals the complexity of what it is like to be the daughter of a father who has gone to war"--Provided by publisher
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
vii, 274 pages
Contents
  • Prologue: Flushing out the Enemy
  • ONE
  • War Stories
  • "Join the Navy, See the World"
  • The Sea, the Sea
  • On the Road to Nowhere, Moving Fast
  • Fly Boy
  • Man o' War's Man
  • Dead as a Doornail
  • A Very Smart Ship
  • A Flower, A Sunburst, A Star
  • The First Death
  • Into the Drink
  • Trouble Board
  • War Games
  • When Pigs Can Fly
  • TWO
  • "The Girl for Me"
  • "Of Couse I Will"
  • Courtship
  • Safe House
  • Lifeboat
  • THREE
  • So Much to Lose, So Much Already Lost
  • Magic Bullet
  • On the Day I Was Born
  • "Hide Your Tears"
  • House Hunting
  • FOUR
  • Secret Code
  • Command Center
  • The Sailor Who Flew Home on Wings of Air
  • A Knock at the Door
  • Just a Very, Very Few of the Many, Many Who Have Died
  • Rage
  • Chasing Ghosts
  • Ship's Model
  • Mopping Up
  • Cargo Cult
  • FIVE
  • Coming Home
  • The Evening News
  • The Last Time My Father Almost Died
  • Epilogue
  • Wearing My Father's Bones
Isbn
9780823268849
Instance
Label
Chasing ghosts : a memoir of a father, gone to war
Title
Chasing ghosts
Title remainder
a memoir of a father, gone to war
Statement of responsibility
Louise DeSalvo
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"When literary biographer and memoirist Louise DeSalvo embarked upon a journey to learn why her father came home from World War II a changed man, she didn't realize her quest would take ten years, and that it would yield more revelations about the man--and herself--and the effect of his military service upon their family than she'd ever imagined. During his last years, as he told her about his life, DeSalvo began to understand that her obsession with war novels and military history wasn't merely academic but rooted in her desire to understand this complex father whom she both adored and reviled because of his mistreatment of her. Although she at first believes she wants to uncover his story, the story of a man who was no hero but who was nonetheless adversely affected by his military service, she learns that what she really wants is to recover the man that he was before he went away. As DeSalvo and her father uncover his past piece-by-piece, bit-by-bit, she learns about the dreams of a working-class man who entered the military in the late 1930s during peacetime to better himself, a man who wanted to become a pilot. She learns about what it was like for him to participate in war games in the Pacific prior to the war, and its devastating toll. She learns about what it was like for her parents to fall in love, set up house, marry, and have children during this cataclysmic time. And as the pieces of her father's life fall into place as works to piece together the puzzle of everything she's learned about this time, she finds herself finally able to understand him. Chasing Ghosts is an original contribution to the understanding of working-class World War II veterans who did not conventionally distinguish themselves through 'heroic' actions and whose lives were not until recently considered worthy of historical or cultural attention. It personalizes the history of those sailors who served in the Navy aboard aircraft carriers and on islands in the Pacific prior to, and during World War II and contributes to the current vital conversation about the often-unrecognized effects of war and its traumas upon those men and their families. It reveals the lifelong devastating consequences of military service on those men and women who fell in love, married, and set up house. And it reveals the complexity of what it is like to be the daughter of a father who has gone to war"--Provided by publisher
Member of
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1942-2018
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
DeSalvo, Louise A.
Dewey number
940.54/5973092
Index
no index present
LC call number
D811
LC item number
.D419 2016
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
Series statement
World War II : the global, human, and ethical dimension
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • DeSalvo, Louise A
  • DeSalvo, Louise A
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • Sailors
  • Working class men
  • Fathers and daughters
  • Veterans
  • World War, 1939-1945
  • War and society
  • BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
  • BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical
  • HISTORY / Military / World War II
Label
Chasing ghosts : a memoir of a father, gone to war, Louise DeSalvo
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Contents
Prologue: Flushing out the Enemy -- ONE -- War Stories -- "Join the Navy, See the World" -- The Sea, the Sea -- On the Road to Nowhere, Moving Fast -- Fly Boy -- Man o' War's Man -- Dead as a Doornail -- A Very Smart Ship -- A Flower, A Sunburst, A Star -- The First Death -- Into the Drink -- Trouble Board -- War Games -- When Pigs Can Fly -- TWO -- "The Girl for Me" -- "Of Couse I Will" -- Courtship -- Safe House -- Lifeboat -- THREE -- So Much to Lose, So Much Already Lost -- Magic Bullet -- On the Day I Was Born -- "Hide Your Tears" -- House Hunting -- FOUR -- Secret Code -- Command Center -- The Sailor Who Flew Home on Wings of Air -- A Knock at the Door -- Just a Very, Very Few of the Many, Many Who Have Died -- Rage -- Chasing Ghosts -- Ship's Model -- Mopping Up -- Cargo Cult -- FIVE -- Coming Home -- The Evening News -- The Last Time My Father Almost Died -- Epilogue -- Wearing My Father's Bones
Control code
915135705
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
vii, 274 pages
Isbn
9780823268849
Lccn
2015006043
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • n
System control number
(OCoLC)915135705
Label
Chasing ghosts : a memoir of a father, gone to war, Louise DeSalvo
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Contents
Prologue: Flushing out the Enemy -- ONE -- War Stories -- "Join the Navy, See the World" -- The Sea, the Sea -- On the Road to Nowhere, Moving Fast -- Fly Boy -- Man o' War's Man -- Dead as a Doornail -- A Very Smart Ship -- A Flower, A Sunburst, A Star -- The First Death -- Into the Drink -- Trouble Board -- War Games -- When Pigs Can Fly -- TWO -- "The Girl for Me" -- "Of Couse I Will" -- Courtship -- Safe House -- Lifeboat -- THREE -- So Much to Lose, So Much Already Lost -- Magic Bullet -- On the Day I Was Born -- "Hide Your Tears" -- House Hunting -- FOUR -- Secret Code -- Command Center -- The Sailor Who Flew Home on Wings of Air -- A Knock at the Door -- Just a Very, Very Few of the Many, Many Who Have Died -- Rage -- Chasing Ghosts -- Ship's Model -- Mopping Up -- Cargo Cult -- FIVE -- Coming Home -- The Evening News -- The Last Time My Father Almost Died -- Epilogue -- Wearing My Father's Bones
Control code
915135705
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
vii, 274 pages
Isbn
9780823268849
Lccn
2015006043
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • n
System control number
(OCoLC)915135705

Subject

Genre

Member of

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      38.944491 -92.326012

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