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''Nothing is more unwise, on general principles, than to attempt to write about a war before that war is finished and before history has given it the justice of perspective. The campaign which began with the flight of the Belgian Government from Brussels and which culminated in the fall of Antwerp formed, however, a separate and distinct phase of the Greatest of Wars, and I feel that I should write of that campaign while its events are still sharp and clear in my memory and before the impressions it produced have begun to fade.''This book is part of the World War One Centenary series; creating, collating and reprinting new and old works of poetry, fiction, autobiography and analysis. The series forms a commemorative tribute to mark the passing of one of the world's bloodiest wars, offering new perspectives on this tragic yet fascinating period of human history. Each publication also includes brand new introductory essays and a timeline to help the reader place the work in its historical context.

Thomas E. Alexander was among 20,000 military service personnel ordered into the Strategic Air Command, formed in 1946 as US military and political leaders began to understand the growing nuclear threat posed by Stalin's USSR. Alexander served for a number of years in this elite force, designed as a primary deterrent to Soviet military ambitions.In this gripping memoir, Alexander describes what it was like to occupy a “mole hole” beside a SAC runway, ready to go from full sleep to taxiing for takeoff within seven minutes of the sounding of the klaxon. He shares the experience of sitting on the couch with his family and watching President Kennedy's announcement of the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba, realizing that within hours he would be airborne. He tells what it was like to be at a New Year's Eve party on the base, only to hear the announcement that his unit had just been activated. Less than twenty-four hours later, he was in Greenland.In SAC Time: Navigating the Strategic Air Command, Alexander presents “an honest and reflective account of the impact the Cold War had on individuals who were then on the front lines of defense—like it or not.” Coauthor Dan Utley says of Alexander's narrative, “The story of an ordinary individual in extraordinary times has value.... These are stories Tom Alexander has waited much of his life to share with others, but they are as rich as the day they occurred.”