A knife, a diary, a recipe book, a stringed instrument, and a cotton pouch: Each belonged to an individual who was in their twenties during World War, including a prairie boy, a melancholic youth, a cook, and a musician wounded at the front. Joseph Pearson talked to elderly family members, friends, and acquaintances and asked them the same question: Is there a possession that tells your wartime story? Here Parson illuminates the history of the 20th century by bringing to life the stories of everyday objects in the hands of everyday people.