MWSA Book Review

For Thou Art With Me

Authors: Timothy J. Desmond

Publisher:  Publish America

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

A Wonderfully Told Tale About the People During WWII

Sometimes you pick up a book expecting nothing more than a rehash of old scripts of previously told stories about WWII and The Greatest Generation; but boy was I pleasantly surprised by “For Thou Art With Me” by Timothy J. Desmond. The author takes this to another level and makes it fresh and different in so many ways.

Desmond takes on the task of relating his story through his lead character, a woman named Darla. This presents all kinds of potential obstacles and pit falls for most male writers but he has brilliantly captured the quintessential elements of her female energy. He makes her a real person and not just some typical stereotype or cardboard characterization and breaths life into “her story.” This is a risky venture for any male writer; however, he has wonderfully succeeded. He also makes the whole storyline worth your emotional attachment to all those other characters involved with the unfolding of this tale. The writing is just that great!

The basic plot involves the people who lived in the Central Valley area of California; where in the 1940’s many Army airfields were built for training of WWII pilots and crews. I know that in my town of Elk Grove we still have a great set of long runways that were part of “Franklin Army Air Field” which were used to train bomber crews. It is used today for student pilots flying down from Sacramento to do “touch and go” landings. In this story, the author uses a fictional town but it could be any of the dozens of valley communities that ran along old Highway #99 through this great valley region. His writing brings that time and those places back to life.

The tale that is being told by Darla as she reminisces back and shares her stories is not only insightful but emotional. Desmond uses some great dialogue to bridge together the character of each person in the storyline. The book is great entertainment! It also provides as a side note, some historic data but the key element to this book is the people.

This book will appeal to both men and women. It is one of those books that you would love to take along on a vacation at the beach or on a cruise just so you could lay back and savor the story without interruption. I recommend this book for people who enjoy novels with “real people” in them.