“The 22nd is very much a part of my life and had it not been for your journal I would have had no idea of its destiny and its ending. I am very grateful to you for this experience.”—John Cheever Scores of combat incidents and fascinating insights are to be found in “A Soldier’s Journal.” Rothbart provides unusual details of the 4th Division’s, and especially the 22nd Regiment’s, achievements and obstacles in the Allied advance from Normandy to Germany; D-Day Normandy, the breakthrough at St. Lo, the liberation of Paris, the German counterattack in the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge, and the bloody Hurtgen Forest battle.—The Trenton Times (NJ) “Rothbart’s meticulously- kept journal is an ‘I was there’ record of World War II. It is a valuable piece of American history.”—The Huntsville Times (AL) “From the day he was drafted in 1942...Rothbart did what many people plan but rarely follow up. He kept a journal, tightly pencilled entries in little notebooks that somehow caught history roaring by, and in remarkably readable style.”—Pittsburgh Tribune Review (PA) “Compelling reading . . . made more so by the many ‘slice of life’ portraits. . . of his time in the U.S. Army.”—John Gresham, bestselling co-author (with Tom Clancy) of Submarine and Special Forces.

Twenty-five years ago, I began keeping a daily Journal. Recovering from a divorce that left me in total consternation, I realized I needed to make some changes in my life. I was determined to help myself overcome the sadness and fears that had accompanied the divorce, and with some help, realized I needed to make significant changes in my priorities and behaviors. To monitor the progress of these changes, my daily journal was a contemplation of each day's activities. I paid attention to what I was doing each day, and why I was doing it (some of the time). These 25 years of journals are full of less than earth-shattering details, but they helped me become a less reactive and a more reflective man. Keeping the journal has been beneficial, but has often made me wish I had started the effort earlier, particularly during the most formative period of my life, my time as a soldier. Accordingly, this book began to take shape; A Soldier's Journal.

It is also the story of a 20-year-old private in the military whose engaging writing belies his age. He tells of the battles he fought; the games he played; of his friends, fellow soldiers, and officers; and of the regiment's activities in Missouri and Arkansas, at Vicksburg, in Louisiana, and on the Texas Gulf Coast. It is not a complete story of the 33rd Illinois Infantry Regiment, known as the 'Normal Regiment', nor is it a complete roster of regiment members, of those killed, or wounded.

Twenty-five years ago, I began keeping a daily Journal. Recovering from a divorce that left me in total consternation, I realized I needed to make some changes in my life. I was determined to help myself overcome the sadness and fears that had accompanied the divorce, and with some help, realized I needed to make significant changes in my priorities and behaviors. To monitor the progress of these changes, my daily journal was a contemplation of each day’s activities. I paid attention to what I was doing each day, and why I was doing it (some of the time). These 25 years of journals are full of less than earth-shattering details, but they helped me become a less reactive and a more reflective man. Keeping the journal has been beneficial, but has often made me wish I had started the effort earlier, particularly during the most formative period of my life, my time as a soldier. Accordingly, this book began to take shape; A Soldier’s Journal.

Readers interested in military history and the Civil War will enjoy the inside perspective of Among the Enemy.