"As I Remember: A 1940s Childhood" is a delightful vignette of a home front during and just after World War II. Gordon Chism has captured the texture of American pride and optimism of this time through the eyes of a young boy growing up in Reno, Nevada. The war had united all in a common cause with a sense of duty and a love of country. The triumph over evil created a righteous sense of entitlement -- an idealistic American self-portrait. From the anxiety brought on by the depression through the surging prosperity of the late 1940s, this autobiographical narrative reflects the feelings of confidence, trust, and security experienced in the author's hometown.