The following are reviews of Amy Johnson’s book Letters Lost Then Found.
It is very rare for me to start and finish a book like this on the same day
My daughter met you at an author signing, purchased your book LETTERS lost then found and sent it to me for Christmas. I opened it yesterday afternoon. It is very rare for me to start and finish a book like this on the same day, but I did finish it that night, setting aside the book I had been reading to do so. What a great book! Thank you for putting it together! It was heartwarming to be able to explore the relationship between Fred and William through their letters. The Day in History spots were helpful in pinpointing what was going on at the same time, putting a great perspective on the history behind the letters.Christian Sia
Readers’ Favorite
a work of great art, intimate and very revealing of what WWII was like
Letters Lost then Found by Amy L. Johnson is not just a book that explores the exchange of letters between two brothers during WWII, but is a revealing witness to what it was like to fly a supply and fighter aircraft. The book begins with the following words: “You are about to eavesdrop on conversations between two brothers, ages 19 and 30, during World War II. Prepare to journey within their family life and experience their frustration, happiness, and sadness. These two brothers have a story to tell.” Written in an epistolary style that is as arresting as it is interesting, the book is an unalloyed, unmitigated capturing of intimate conversations between brothers, sometimes punctuated with short notes and commentaries, poems and prayers, and images associated with the experience of war.The book features letters between the author’s grandfather, William (Willie) Raubinger, and his younger brother, Fred (Buzz Boy Pete) Raubinger from the time Fred left home as a WWII pilot for supply and fighter aircraft. These conversations took place between 1942 and 1945 and capture the atmosphere of the war and explore themes of family, love, and patriotism. Letters Lost then Found allows readers to read these letters as they were written, with the calligraphy intact. Readers who still know what it was like to cultivate penmanship will feel a strong nostalgia as they read through these letters — the beauty of words written out on paper by hand, an art that has been replaced by digital gadgets, is evident in these pages. You’ll read their prayers, their poems, and their fears and aspirations. It’s a work of great art, intimate and very revealing of what WWII was like, of what the China/Burma/India theatre of war was all about, of the sentiments of those who were at war, and also of the thoughts of those left behind. Letters Lost then Found is simply heartfelt and Amy L. Johnson has done a wonderful job in assembling these letters to bear witness to history and allow readers insights into the war.Gary Morris
David Black Literary Agency
personalities are both distinctive and pure ‘40s archetypes
Everything has been reproduced so beautifully, and the brothers’ personalities are both distinctive and pure ‘40s archetypes. I think my favorite line is from one of Fred’s letters: ‘That good old Stateside beer & whiskey sure beats this Chinese ‘Jing Bao’ juice all the hell.Alisa Duthler
owner of Lake is Good
…it took my breath away when I turned the page
Wow! I loved it. It was so interesting to read the letters back and forth. I was so interested in what was going on in the letters that it took my breath away when I turned the page . . .Joseph Murkette
Story Monsters Ink Magazine
A powerfully compelling work that richly deserves its place in modern American literature
Letters Lost Then Found offers us a glimpse through the window of another time, when communication was a physical act that required time, effort, and an investment in focused thought and emotion. Each letter written and received comprised a small, significant fraction of the writer’s thoughts, emotions, and persona. The book is author Amy L. Johnson’s compilation of letters written by her grandfather and great-uncle, William and Fred Raubinger, from November 1942 to February 1945. These two brothers tell us the story of life, death, and love as viewed through the lens of the tragedy of WWII. This book is a beautifully designed and powerful creation. We are offered the options of viewing it as an historical text, a powerful biographical work detailing the lives of two loving brothers, as well as a nostalgic, realistic view of communication in a computerless world. We learn about the brothers’ lives, their world, and their family. All of these factors are seamlessly woven together to create a powerfully compelling work that richly deserves its place in modern American literature.Helen
Midwest Book Review
Popular addition to both community and academic library
Compelling, unique, inherently fascinating, informative and thought-provoking, LETTERS lost then found is an extraordinary collection of correspondence that will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to both community and academic library 20th Century American History collections in general, and World War II History supplemental studies reading lists in particular.Fred Clous
Saginaw, MI
I read this book in one day – the first time ever.
Dear Amy,It seems somewhat ‘corny’ to compose and send this, but it’s just too cool not to do so. My daughter purchased a copy of ‘Letters Lost Then Found’ as a gift for me. You signed it “Merry Christmas, Fred”. She has no idea how much it has entertained me, nor the connection I feel to it!I’ve lived in Saginaw my entire life. I was born in St. Mary’s Hospital, one city block from St. Mary’s School. My mother (long ago deceased) graduated from St. Mary’s in ’44. Since the class sizes were 60 to 75 students each, she may have known who Fred Raubinger was! He would have been a Senior when she was a Freshman. My family lived on that one block between St. Mary’s Parish and St. Mary’s Hospital. I graduated from St. Mary’s High in ’66. For about 3 yrs. I ‘worked’ for the Saginaw News by having the single largest paper route in town, 4 blocks of Jefferson Ave. plus the individual patients’ rooms in the hospital.To be honest, I read this book in one day-the first time ever. I couldn’t put it down! The intrigue of closeness to the subject matter got to me; William Raubinger’s home at 123 Trier Street still stands and is inhabited. Muriel’s home at 2216 State Street had been removed and an apartment building has been erected. In recent years the location of the Chic Chic Beauty Shop at 1003 West Genesee has been leveled in a citywide effort to combat local blight.In any event, please be aware that this book has informed, educated, and entertained more than most. Thanks for a good read, and keep up the good work!Fred Bivens
Grand Rapids, MI
A must-read for anyone who has any interest in history or family dynamics
My Veteran’s Day tribute, even though it's a day late, is to Amy L. Johnson, the grand-daughter and great-niece of brothers who corresponded during World War II. Amy published the book titled, “Letters Lost then Found” which is the collection of letters between brothers while one goes though basic training and all the training it took to make him into a pilot. Ages 19 and 30 at the start, the older brother gives us a glimpse of life in Saginaw, Michigan, on the home front, while the younger takes us eventually into the China-Burma-India theater where he flew both transports and fighters.Amy L. Johnson is a graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design (now KCAD) who resides in Grand Rapids. She did a marvelous job of putting the letters into book form. If you happen to know her please tell her I was captivated by the correspondence and it was truly remarkable that she found the collection of letters and was motivated to let the rest of the world in on the story.This book goes well beyond the audience for WWII history and is a must-read for anyone who has any interest in history or family dynamics. It is well done graphically and Amy deserves accolades for that as well.Tom Rademacher
long-time newspaper columnist for The Grand Rapids Press in Michigan
Stands as a Tribute to Anyone Who Fought or Endured a Battle
Treasure Amy Johnson for wading through bushels of yellowed documents, and sculpting something wondrous and elegiac from what others might have relegated to the trash. It stands as a tribute not only to her ancestors, but to anyone who fought or endured a battle, and perhaps most significantly, the arguably fading importance of storytelling. Her book will invite trembling hands to do nothing less than trace the penned letters with their own fingertips, and in the process, be transported to a bittersweet time and space where words competed with war to inhabit the deepest chambers of the heart.Barbara Rylko-Bauer
Author of A Polish Doctor in the Nazi Camps: My Mother’s Memories of Imprisonment, Immigration, and a Life Remade
Amy Johnson has given us a treasure
This engaging collection of letters, “a conversation between two brothers,” forms a unique record and memoir of World War II. It covers the period from November 1942 to February 1945 and provides us a window into life both on the Home front and the less well known China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of the war. Writer and graphic designer, Amy L. Johnson, granddaughter and great-niece of the letters’ authors, has created a beautiful volume by interweaving personal photographs and bits of history, with the actual correspondence between William (Willie) Raubinger, circulation manager of the Saginaw News, and his younger brother, Fred Raubinger, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces, who flew over 120 combat missions in the CBI Theater. The letters largely speak to the ordinary and mundane of daily life—whether as a civilian or as a combat pilot. And this is their strength, for the drama of battle forms only a part of every war. Daily life goes on: checks are cashed, employees are hired, dinners are shared and eaten, gloves and other items of clothing are bought, and so on. These letters also give us a glimpse of the skill, bravado, and risks that defined those who flew combat missions. The ending to the correspondence brings home, in a powerful way, the tragic irony that was a part of not just World War II, but every war, before and since. Amy Johnson has given us a treasure, Letters, Lost Then Found, that enriches our understanding of the war years and of the importance of family connections.Dr. David M. Rosen
President, O’More College of Design
the letters increasingly enmesh the reader
The letters provide a satisfying voyeuristic experience. A growing intimacy with Fred and Willie and the folks back home emerges from what at first seems like mundane exchanges. Quiet and with cumulative power, the letters increasingly enmesh the reader in the small dramas of waiting for the magazine or a deck of good playing cards and we begin to understand the life of a boy-warrior away from home and begin to root for these average people facing an extraordinary moment in history with care and fortitude.Angela Dow
Professor of Graphic Design at Kendall College of Art & Design
A Visually Authentic Journey
The intuitive and intentional design of Letters: Lost Then Found took me on a visually authentic journey in which I felt truly immersed in the time, place, and emotions of Fred and Willie, two brothers with very different lives and responsibilities trying their best to keep the family ties intact while separated by war.
Through the ability to see, on each page, Fred’s optimistic, honest, and free-spirited handwriting contrasted by Willie’s controlled and careful typewritten words, the true nature of their younger and older brother relationship is revealed, all the while surrounded by the moments and monuments of each one’s life at the time.
The ticker-tape delivery of the more historical account of the war that runs along the bottom of each page adds a third important contrast, one that disconnects from the personal voices we hear in the letters and gives us the facts with the cold, detached voice of the radio news.
These aesthetic contrasts added a richness and layering to the story that drew me in deeply to the experience that Fred, Willie, and every person endured during that time in our history. Without the thoughtfulness of the design, this book could have easily been just another World War II account, but because of its beautiful and heartbreakingly real approach, it comes to life in a way no other book has.
David Wojdyla
The Luckiest Man in Advertising
I couldn’t put this Bromance down.
Does the world really need another book about the “greatest generation?” When it’s this one, “Yes, absolutely.” Two reasons why: 1) Letters Lost Then Found – more than any Hollywood film, TV show or book this Baby Boomer has ever seen – provides an accurate and realistic picture of what life was really like back in the day when America’s citizens did something more than slap a yellow ribbon-shaped magnet on the back of the car to “Support our Troops.” 2) These wartime letters were written by two brothers who clearly loved each other. Yes, I’m a sucker for a good love story. I couldn’t put this Bromance down. Thank you, Amy L. Johnson, for salvaging this half-century-old conversation and using your considerable graphic design talent to make it engaging and relevant.