In YANKS BEHIND THE LINES, Jeffrey B. Miller narrates a WWI-era story that reader’s probably didn’t come across in history books: the Commission for Relief in Belgium, a neutral aid organization led by Americans, which became one of the largest food relief operations in history. To address the increasingly dire needs of about 10 million civilians trapped behind German lines, Americans – led by future president Herbert Hoover, in a career-making job – organized a large-scale relief effort, navigating deadly waters and delicate politics to try to get actual aid to citizens in need. It’s a made-for-TV type of story that’s all the more impressive for being true, and every word of Miller’s text expresses that admiration.

The upside to Miller’s painstakingly detailed accounts of the CRB’s efforts means that readers get an in-depth, in-the-moment story of the organization’s efforts, along with historic context that strikes just the right balance between avoiding rehashing well-known history and assuming readers already know too much. At several points, there are colorful and amusing anecdotes that truly bring the history to life; an episode in which the Belgians (under German occupation) find the pettiest ways possible to use malicious compliance as a means of stubborn resistance is particularly humanizing and particularly delightful. That being said, the author does sometimes veer into a dry, textbook tone and the storytelling often gets lost in a sea of facts and dry narration. Oddly, there are also a few segments that read like fan-boying over Hoover but fortunately there are also quite a few sections of the book – particularly the ones that focus on the international aspects and the Belgian “characters” – that remain engaging from start to finish. In the end the appeal is less about “plot” tension and more about the sheer interest factor of discovering a behind-the-lines story and Miller does a solid job of walking readers through every step of the way. Does he veer into history lecture territory a bit too often? Yes, but the underlying story makes it worth the read anyway.

For the most part, YANKS BEHIND THE LINES is an intriguing story of a piece of history not often talked about, although author Jeffrey B. Miller does lapse into dry history lectures on occasion.

~Amanda Prahl for IndieReader