From a member of the “greatest generation,” Joseph Farris, comes a firsthand story of his life as a young soldier and artist during World War II, told through letters home and sketches of daily life serving with the Army’s 100th Division on the French-German border in 1944 and 1945. A SOLDIER’S SKETCHBOOK (National Geographic Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-0817-1; on sale Nov. 1, 2011; $35 hardcover) is a powerful tale of the vicissitudes and costs of combat as seen through the eyes of a young, raw recruit.