Mayhem Was Our Business; Memorias de Un Veterano Book

Memoir, bilingual edition. Renowned Chicano author Sabine Ulibarri, born in New Mexico in 1919, presents in his "veteran's memoir" of World War II the story of his experiences as a ball-turret gunner. Initially resistant to enlisting and determined to sit out the war while obtaining a law degree, Ulibarri's growing sense of duty compelled him to join the US Army Air Force. "What we were ready to fight for, suffer for, die for, was our Hispanic way of life". As a combat flier he was one of the elite, but a grueling tour of duty brought him face to face with hysteria, fear, and the seductive power of violence and destruction. Reentering civilian life he rose to prominence as a university professor, civic leader, fiction writer and critic, while continuing to suffer the stress-related effects of combat fatigue throughout his life.