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Once a conflict has dragged on for a decade, most people are tired of war - and the troubles that flow from it.

People have a very political way of looking at war, and that's understandable.

In times of war, it is often best to look to our history to see how past generations of Americans dealt with the loss of their countrymen in just causes.

What ultimately happened is that my country had a war. I think it would be extraordinary, as a writer, not to want to write about that.

Every country has its own perspective on the Second World War. This is not surprising when experiences and memories are so different.

War today is such a more visible thing. We see it on television, on CNN. In 1914, war was a concept.

People were already beginning to forget, what horrible suffering the war had brought them. I did not want to cause fear and panic, but to let people know how dreadful war is and so to stimulate people's powers of resistance.

You could tell that America was gearing up for war.

There's so much focus and interest about what happens during war, but very little about what happens when people return to homes and communities that have been destroyed. There's a renewal that happens, but it's a very difficult one.

I think there's a tremendous split between people who've been through a war and people who haven't.