UPDATE: You can now buy The Worse for It.
ARTK12’s next book, The Worse for It: The World War I Letters and Artifacts of Private First Class Robert E. Schalles, is ahead of schedule and should be out sometime in September or October. As with all our new books we will be running a contest for 10 free books through our newsletter.
The Worse for It is appropriate for grades 7 – 12 and is a great primary source for World War One or any wars that your students are currently studying. The book has 45 letters written home during the Great War, as it was and is still called. Schalles was a medic on the front lines in France. The explosion that wounded him, killed the man next to him.
Also included in the book are images of the letters and dozens of photographs and documents that Schalles (my grandfather) kept his entire life. The Worse for It is a front row seat during one of the greatest conflicts of the 20th century. The letters begin when Schalles is a new recruit, follow him across the Atlantic and into battle in France and finally into Germany with the American Army of Occupation.
Schalles writes simply and directly (though knowing censors are reading) about his experiences. The title of the book comes from a letter he wrote to his mother on Mother’s day in 1918:
I have learned a good deal more than I expected since crossing the great pond, but am more the worse for it.
Advance Praise for The Worse for It
From Brian Kitson, a middle school history teacher:
As a teacher of history for 32 years and a student of it for most of my life, primary sources are the most engaging and fascinating to read. A history book, regardless of how astute and scholarly the work may be, is typically an interpretation of events never experienced.
The Worse for It takes the reader to the source. Through the letters of Robert E. Schalles one can almost experience his fears and joys while he deals with the mundane and horrifying duties of a soldier who yearns to return home to his family’s farm.
After reading the The Worse for It you will want to shake Schalles’ hand and thank him for his service to our country. I highly recommend it for all history lovers!
The retail price for this black and white book will be priced around $15 or $16 dollars and is close to 300 pages long. It will be available to purchase on Amazon.com, theworseforit.com and right here on ARTK12.com. Bulk ordering will be available on ARTK12.com.
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