This section of the site is comprised of interviews written in narrative form. These stories are chosen based on their value to aid in the understanding of a nation's culture or a historic event. Too often events are summarized and resummarized and we are left with some byproduct completely devoid of the human character. These stories are anecdotal in nature and are not offered here to replace more careful reading of a culture or a historical event, but to give a more personal understanding that is often lost in a scholar's effort to extract meaning from the milieu of an event. Although these stories are based on interviews, quotes are rarely used so that the stories can take on a more stream-of-consciousness quality. In all cases, the final stories were thoroughly reviewed for accuracy by the respective interviees prior to publication.