a letter to the editor is a collection of letters written over a period of more than a half century. the first was in may 1954. it was the herald of the racial crisis called the civil rights movement. it got the author hanged - in effigy. many of the letters are about the wars in the middle east, but others are about the issues that have arisen while war raged, and involved people in unusual circumstances. the letters were written at the time the events were at the top of the news. they are sometimes indignant, bitingly critical, insightful, and even humorous at times, but always honest. the 'three hundred dollars' letter got the most attention. the 'jill carroll' letters reveal the deepest tragedy of our wars. letters to and from presidents reveal the author's concern for the nation and the presidents growing interest, in his correspondent. 'the only good woman in texas' stirred a hornet's nest among the female readers. overall, a letter to the editor is a history of this nation at war, and broke, and torn, and trying to heal itself, but not yet succeeding.