The Life of American Hero and Old Hollywood Icon Audie Murphy

Audie worked with writer David McClure to publish To Hell and Back in 1949. The memoir followed his path from an impoverished Texas childhood through some of the most dangerous battles of World War II.

The book received favorable reviews and went through several printings. Rather than presenting combat as exciting or glamorous, it described fear, exhaustion, death, and the soldiers Audie had lost. Its success would soon convince Hollywood that his life could become a major film.