Millions of American soldiers, many of whom had never left their hometowns before, crossed the nation by rail during the years of World War II on their way to training camps and distant theaters of battle. In a little town in Nebraska, countless thousands of them met with extraordinary hospitality--the "miracle" of veteran journalist Bob Greene's title. "The best America there ever was. Or at least, whatever might be left of it." So Greene writes of North Platte, now a quiet town along the interstate, its main street all but dead. It was a quiet town then, too, at the outbreak of the war, but still a hive of activity as its citizens gathered to provide, at their own expense, coffee, sandwiches, books, playing cards, and time to the scared young men who rolled through by the trainload, "telling them that their country cared about them." Greene's pages are full of the voices of those who were there, soldiers and townspeople alike, who took part in what amounted to small acts of heroism, given the shortages and rationing of the time. Greene, generous in his praise if rather disheartened by the modern world, against which he contrasts the past, turns in a remarkable account of the home front. It deserves the widest audience. ---Gregory McNamee


From Publishers Weekly
Chicago Tribune columnist Greene (Duty) provides a moving, detailed remembrance of North Platte, Neb., and its residents' selfless contribution to the war effort during WWII. The town, located in the middle of the middle of the country, was situated on the rail line to western military bases. Ignited by a letter printed in a local newspaper, the town's residents organized a canteen for soldiers headed for the front lines, bringing food, cigarettes and magazines. Greene interviews locals, war veterans and former residents, offering a genuine but unsentimental glimpse of Americana. LaVon Fairley Kemper remembers one volunteer who learned that her son had been killed in combat, yet said, I can't help my son, but I can help someone else's son. For the soldiers, Greene writes, the canteen and the townspeople's welcome was indicative of the nation's sacrifice, a point driven home in several memorable anecdotes. The young soldiers saw the brief stop in North Platte as one last chance to be carefree, an opportunity to jitterbug and flirt with the fresh-faced teenaged girls for a safe, fleeting moment. Beyond the wartime recollections, Greene reflects on his travels in the region, skillfully chronicling its citizens, evolution and love for its past, using the intimate, engaging writing style familiar to readers of his syndicated column. Those intrigued with WWII lore will find this well-crafted book an entertaining snapshot of a simpler, kinder America. Greene's skill makes this homage not just a time capsule but a work that will strike a resonating chord in those seeking to remember the generosity and selflessness of many when faced with adversity and peril.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Greene, author of the best-selling Duty, here depicts the little North Dakota town that ran a canteen for troops passing through on their way to World War II. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Ten days after Pearl Harbor, residents of North Platte, Nebraska, heard that men would be coming through town on their way to war and gathered at the train station with Christmas presents and gifts of food. This started a tradition that would last as long as the war--the North Platte Canteen. The canteen was staffed by women and children from North Platte and nearby communities who met troop trains from 5 in the morning until 12 at night. In ONCE UPON A TOWN, Bob Greene interviews residents of North Platte and the soldiers they met and tries to understand how a small town could sustain such a major effort. Gradually, the author builds a three-dimensional and moving picture of what the canteen meant to soldiers and the people who ran it. With a voice reminiscent of a WWII newsreel, Fritz Weaver marches through the story with a steady pace. The story has enough human interest to survive the treatment. J.D.P. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Greene, who seemingly hasn't liked a single year since 1965, goes back to World War II to recount the story of a canteen in North Platte, Nebraska, where citizens offered food, companionship, and comfort to soldiers who passed through on troop trains. There's no doubt that this slice of home-front Americana is heartwarming. Calling on personal recollections of both the town's citizens and the soldiers who passed through, Greene recounts the sacrifices people made to provide food for the young men and the gratitude felt by the recipients, who have deep and fond memories of the brief time they spent in North Platte. But the story might have worked better as a magazine article; at book length, the memories, sweet as they are, tend to be repetitive, and Greene's prose, in which sweetness soon turns treacly, is best consumed in small doses. Greene believes that the North Platte canteen symbolizes "the best America there ever was," and he hammers the point home by beginning the book in the present, as he drives across Nebraska listening to news about local murders. Greene's implied theme that nothing like the "miracle of North Platte" could happen today is belied by the many stories of human kindness expressed after the tragedy of September 11. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Aaron Brown, from NewsNight with Aaron Brown, CNN
…the quintessential American story…


Ann Landers
Lovely...inspiring...uplifting...I was moved to tears, and you will be, too.


Orlando Sentinel
Greene [is] one of the great contemporary chroniclers of American life.


Rocky Mountain News
This is a great story of love, country and uncalled-for service in a time of national crisis.


Herbert Mitgang, Chicago Tribune
… I salute the author for preserving this story of another time in another America.


Omaha World-Herald
A tale of small-town generosity in a time of war.


Tampa Tribune
Once again, Bob Greene has shown us why he is one of the best storytellers of contemporary times.


Journal Star, Lincoln, NB
Poignant and heartfelt.


Joe Duggan, Lincoln Journal Star
... a glimpse into rural Nebraska culture, norms and practices long since vanished.


Kirkus Reviews
A lively, affectionate look at small town America …this…meaningful account of life on the homefront deserves the widest audience.


Book Description

In search of "the best America there ever was," bestselling author and award-winning journalist Bob Greene finds it in a small Nebraska town few people pass through today -- a town where Greene discovers the echoes of the most touching love story imaginable: a love story between a country and its sons.

During World War II, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte, Nebraska, on troop trains en route to their ultimate destinations in Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town, wanting to offer the servicemen warmth and support, transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen.

Every day of the year, every day of the war, the Canteen -- staffed and funded entirely by local volunteers -- was open from five a.m. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight. Astonishingly, this remote plains community of only 12,000 people provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more than six million GIs by the time the war ended.

In this poignant and heartwarming eyewitness history, based on interviews with North Platte residents and the soldiers who once passed through, Bob Greene tells a classic, lost-in-the-mists-of-time American story of a grateful country honoring its brave and dedicated sons.


About the Author
Bob Greene is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune. As a magazine writer, he has been lead columnist for Life and Esquire; as a broadcast journalist, he has served as contributing correspondent for ABC News Nightline. His news commentaries can be seen on television superstation WGN. His bestselling books include Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War; Be True to Your School;Hang Time: Days and Dreams with Michael Jordan; Good Morning Merry Sunshine; and, with his sister, D.G. Fulford, To Our Children's Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come. His first novel, All Summer Long, has been published in a paperback edition.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Bestselling author Bob Greene has given us another moving and inspirational look at WWII history with this account of the selfless volunteers who gave their all -- at a time when sacrifice was the order of the day -- to greet, thank, entertain, and feed millions of American servicemen as their troop train rolled though the small town of North Platte, Nebraska. Every day, for the entire duration of the war, this community of only 12,000 people kept the Canteen open from 5 A.M. until the very last troop train pulled away. Each train only stopped for ten minutes or so, but the memory of the helping hand given them by the North Platte volunteers would last a lifetime.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"North Platte, Nebraska, is as isolated as a small town can be, a solitary outpost in the vast midwestern plains, hours from the state's urban centers of Omaha and Lincoln. But from Christmas Day 1941 to the end of World War II, a miracle happened there." "During the war, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte on troop trains, en route to their ultimate destinations in Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town, wanting to offer the servicemen warmth and support, transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen - a place where soldiers could enjoy coffee, music, home-cooked food, magazines, and convivial, friendly conversation during a stopover that lasted only a few minutes. It was a haven for a never-ending stream of weary, homesick military personnel that provided them with the encouragement they needed to help them through the difficult times ahead." "Every day of the year, every day of the war, the Canteen - staffed and funded entirely by local volunteers - was open from 5 A.M. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight. Astonishingly, this remote plains community of only twelve thousand people provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more than six million GIs by the time the war ended." In this history, based on interviews with North Platte residents and the GIs who once passed through, Bob Greene unearths and reveals a classic, lost-in-the-mists-of-time American story of a grateful country honoring its brave and dedicated sons.

FROM THE CRITICS

Ann Landers

This is an inspiring and uplifting tale . . . I was moved to tears, and you will be, too.

Rocky Mountain News

More than 6 million soldiers passed through then, nearly 8, 000 a day toward the end of the war.

Chicago Tribune

I salute the author for preserving this story of another time in another America.

Deirdre Donahue - USA Today

Greene locates some of the women who greeted the trains with homemade food and a dance or two. . .

Lincoln Journal Star