The Medal of Honor series covers the events that won real people the Medal of Honor. Like Ryan Pitts Afghanistan and Jack Montgomery: World War II, and the upcoming (January 14, 2020) John Basilone: World War II: Bravery at Guadalcanal, Leo Thorsness is a well-researched, short read (144 pages) that students who enjoy books about wars gulp down! These are nonfiction, but in the vein of the Landmark Books. If you have a middle school or high school library, you MUST take a look at these biographies!

Leo Thorsness was young when World War II was being fought. He grew up on a farm, and times were tough. When he graduated, he followed in his brother's footsteps and joined the Air Force. He had a career well underway and a lot of training under his belt when he was sent to Vietnam to fly missions that destroyed Vietnam strongholds. Pilots had to fly 100 missions before being sent home, and Leo was well into the 90s when an air fight went badly wrong and he went down over enemy territory, along with several pilots from his unit. He was held prisoner in the Hanoi Hilton and endured six years or torture and deprivation before being set free. He won the medal of honor for this mission, although he didn't think he deserved it. Glad to be home after being set free, he threw himself into a life public service and wrote his own book about his experiences, Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey.

These books are brilliantly plotted. I'm usually a fan of linear narrative-- tell me about the main characters childhood, then follow a timeline through the war. However, that leads to dull stretches that young readers don't appreciate. Instead, Spradlin intersperses Thorsness' back history with the more interesting scenes of him in air battles. While I have read a lot about WWII, I must admit that it doesn't really interest me. When there are enough details about particular types of planes, weaponry and battle strategies that I get a little lost, I know that this is just the right amount of details for my readers who can't get enough about WWII.

Tying these "adventures" during war times to real individuals who were recognized for their bravery is a great way to put a face on history. Spradlin shares just enough biographical details to make us want to root for Thorsness without dragging the story down. The short length is fantastic for nonfiction, and I've had lots of students who will polish one of these off in a day! I hope that this series continues for quite some time!