Exceptionally moving' Independent

For many of those who lived through it, the Second World War was the most exciting, dynamic and frightening time of their lives. This wonderful collection of contemporaneous letters tells their stories – from the battlefields of Europe to the bombed out back streets of London, from the conflict in the skies to the hardships of the home front.

Last Letters Home doesn't show just one side of the war. By concentrating on different themes – lovers, siblings, separation and reunification – Tamasin Day-Lewis paints an unparalleled picture of the daily lives of men and women at war. Through letters and interviews, we learn the true story of the war, the story of lives transformed by loss, bombing, internment and the horror of battle. These are letters of hope and defiance; of love, loneliness and courage. They are an extraordinary testament to an extraordinary generation of men and women.

It is difficult to think of a book which more completely describes the way people deal with – and in some cases thrive on – such adversity. Last Letters Home is an important and fascinating part of any understanding of the Second World War.