Walt Dierks's New Book "Fragments- World War II: A Kid in Brooklyn" Is an Entertaining and Nostalgic Memoir of American Life in the Early Nineteen Forties
SOUTHBURY, Conn., April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Walt Dierks was a graduate of Roanoke College and its first All-American basketball player. He later earned A MBA degree from George Washington University. He and Sue, his wife of 64 years. are now great grandparents. Retiring in 2001 after 40-years in the pharmaceutical industry he was recruited to substitute teach at the local middle and high schools. Twelve-years of "subbing" kids the same age he was during World War Two triggered his writing of "Fragments, World War II: A Kid in Brooklyn.
Walt Dierks illuminates the everyday lives and adventures of young kids coming of age in Brooklyn during World War II. The main goal of most of them: get out of the house. The street was where the action was. It could be a stickball game featuring a pink Spaldeen and a broomstick or hooking a ride on a passing trolley car. There were other diversions, some perfectly legal, some bordering or stepping over into forbidden territory.
The war years offered an environment of added responsibility along with freedoms that came with them. Fathers and older brothers were, in many homes, off fighting the war. Older sisters and mothers were working in jobs previously filled by males. Kids, many of them preteens, were often required to perform household duties. The same group was asked to aid the war effort by voluntarily collecting scrap metal and other materials. Some government-sponsored activities were designed to keep them busy.
The streets of Brooklyn were diverse. Dierks focuses on geography that today includes upscale Park Slope and the area surrounding Barclays Center. Between 1941 and 1945, the area housed many first-generation children of European immigrants. Street gangs were common. Organized crime flourished. Kids learned, with required learning taking the form of street smarts: knowing when and what to do and say and where they were doing it.
Being a Brooklyn Dodger fan, no matter how poorly they played, was essential.
Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, Walt Dierks's book is a delightful autobiography of a boy growing up in 1940s Brooklyn and a vivid portrait of a tight-knit community during wartime.
Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase"Fragments- World War II: A Kid in Brooklyn" at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional New York-based, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors' books, including distribution in the world's largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not overwhelmed with logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and the like. Its roster of accomplished authors and publishing professionals allows writers to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
SOURCE Page Publishing, Inc.
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