Hugh Ambrose
Author Hugh Ambrose at The Palm Springs Air Museum
When: 6 p.m. today: Meet- and-greet book signing reception
Cost: $15 for museum members, $20 for nonmembers paid in advance, or $25 at the door and includes wine and other refreshments
When: 1 p.m. Saturday: Book signing included with regular museum admission, which ranges from $8 to $15. Children under age 6 and all active military and their families with ID are free. Seniors and AAA discounts are available.
Where: The Palm Springs Air Museum, 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs
Information: (760) 778-6262
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Palm Springs — Hugh Ambrose, author of “The Pacific,” a non-fiction account of World War II that inspired the HBO mini-series, will appear today and Saturday at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Ambrose, 45, was also historical consultant for the HBO mini-series, produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman.
A meet-and-greet book signing reception is scheduled for 6 p.m. today; another book signing is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday.
“The air museum is very excited and thrilled to have Hugh Ambrose,” said Greg Kenny, program and education director “His involvement is a natural. We both share the same mission to keep alive the history and the stories of World War II.”
Ambrose's late father, Stephen Ambrose, was a world renowned historian and biographer whose long list of award winning and best selling books include “D-Day,” and “Band of Brothers,” which aired as an HBO mini-series.
Working with his dad
Hugh Ambrose was finishing up graduate school when, “He called me one day and said, ‘I'm starting a new book and I don't have a graduate teaching assistant,” to run assorted errands.
“I just helped him with stuff, but what was cool, it was the start of our working relationship.”
Writing “The Pacific”
Whereas the elder Ambrose wrote about soldiers' experiences on the battlegrounds of Europe, Hugh Ambrose captured stories of the men fighting an entirely different battle on remote islands in the Pacific.
His approach to writing differed from his father's distinct style.
“He weaves together hundreds and hundreds of oral histories into one narrative. I decided I wanted to do it differently I focused on five individuals whose lives encompassed the war and how they responded differently to their challenges.”
