From Publishers Weekly
Sams continues the adventures of naive but resilient Porter Osborne Jr. in this loosely autobiographical novel set during WW II. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Sams here continues the saga of Porter Osborne Jr., a likable Georgia farmboy. In the beginning of this long and somewhat sentimental novel, set during World War II, Porter is a medical student. He deliberately flunks out so that he can join the war effort and is sent to Normandy as a medical assistant. Porter and his friends deal with the same issues found in any coming-of-age novel--family, religion, personal identity, and relations with the opposite sex. Porter, however, has an edge. He has strong ties to his Baptist family and to the rich soil that is their livelihood and a head full of poetry that becomes his solace and inspiration. In the face of war's devastation, he manages to keep his sense of humor and direction, learning that to understand who he is becoming he must remember where he came from. Readers on the same journey will appreciate this novel, as will fans of the previous Porter Osborne novels, Run with the Horsemen (Peachtree Pubs., 1982) and The Whisper of the River (Peachtree Pubs., 1984) . -- Peggie Partello, Keene State Coll., N.H.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

ANNOTATION

The final novel in the trilogy that began with Run with the Horsemen and The Whisper of the River. The year is 1942 and Peter Osborne, Jr., is safely ensconced in medical school. He is physically safe, but he is taunted by the beckoning finger of Uncle Sam. A year later, the conflicts still unresolved, he is an enlisted man in the U.S. Army, wherea will ever prevail.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The year is 1942 and Porter Osborne, Jr., is safely ensconced in medical school. He is physically safe, although taunted by the beckoning finger of Uncle Sam. Haunted by the family motto, "Remember who you are," Porter wrestles with a flood of conflicting emotions. A year later, the conflicts still unresolved, he is an elisted man in the U.S. Army. In the face of incomprehensible delays and inefficiency, he wonders how America will ever prevail in the world war. Surgical Technician PFC Porter Osborne finally lands at Omaha Beach and joins the Allied fight against Germany.

The final novel in the trilogy that began with Run with the Horsemen and The Whisper of the River, When all the World Was Young continues the story of young Porter Osborne with the supreme wit and wisdom that readers have come to expect from the intimitable Ferrol Sams.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Sams, a Georgia physician and popular novelist ( The Whisper of the River ), continues the adventures of naive but resilient Porter Osborne Jr. in this loosely autobiographical novel set during WW II. A Baptist farmboy, Porter feels out of place amid the Methodist country-club set at Emory University Medical School. He deliberately flunks out so he can enlist in the Army, becoming a surgical technician with a mobile hospital unit that takes part in the invasion of Normandy. Quoting Kipling and Millay, obsessed with sex and dating, he and his Army buddies engage in boyish high jinks, but the grim realities of war inevitably intrude. Porter ultimately learns to heed his grandmother's dictum, ``Remember who you are.'' Long and somewhat self-indulgent, this spirited coming-of-age novel is also ruefully funny, tinged with the wisdom of hindsight and crowded with memorable characters. It will undoubtedly please readers of Sams's previous Porter Osborne novels. 75,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; author tour. ( Nov. )

Library Journal