Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of The Avid Reader. Today our guest is Maurice Isserman author of the book The Winter Army: The World War II Odyssey Of The 10th Mountain Division, America’s Elite Alpine Warriors. publish earlier this month by Houghton (Howton) Mifflin.

Dr. Isserman is a prolific author, penning about two scholarly works a year since the early eighties.

They all concern fascinating aspects of American History with regard to some of the nooks and crannies of our past about which we many have never otherwise known

His work regularly appears in the NYT, The Nation and other renowned periodicals.

The Winter Army is a fascinating tale of pioneering, convincing and fighting, all related to how the US and the work of just a few men, primarily one led to the story of the 10th. The first and only American Ski Regiment. This led to a military force that scaled peaks, literally and figuratively, which before then no fighting force has every done
In addition to helping in the culmination of our victory over the Axis powers, the Regiment went on to fight for us in the 80s and 90s!

Parenthetically, it also helped to create the organization of one of America’s favorite past-times.

Welcome Maurice and thanks so much for joining us today.