Martha Bolton & Linda Hope 
Dear Bob 
Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War II

Winner of the 2021 Golden Scroll Awards for Memoir of the Year and Christian Market Book of the Year awarded by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association



FIRST PLACE WINNER IN THE MEMOIR CATEGORY OF THE 2022 SELAH AWARDS


For five decades, comedian, actor, singer, dancer, and entertainer Bob Hope (1903–2003) traveled the world performing before American and Allied troops and putting on morale-boosting USO shows.
Dear Bob . . . : Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War II tells the story of Hope’s remarkable service to the fighting men and women of World War II, collecting personal letters, postcards, packages, and more sent back and forth among Hope and the troops and their loved ones back home.


Soldiers, nurses, wives, and parents shared their innermost thoughts, swapped jokes, and commiserated with the “G.I.s’ best friend” about war, sacrifice, lonely days, and worrisome, silent nights. The Entertainer of the Century performed for millions of soldiers in person, in films, and over the radio. He visited them in the hospitals and became not just a pal but their link to home. This unforgettable collection of letters and images, many of which remained in Hope’s personal files throughout his life and now reside at the Library of Congress, capture a personal side of both writer and recipient in a very special and often-emotional way. This volume heralds the voices of those servicemen and women whom Hope entertained and who, it is clear, delighted and inspired him.

About the author

Linda Hope is the eldest daughter of Bob and Dolores Hope. She is the producer of the Emmy Award–winning TV special Bob Hope: The First 90 Years. She also wrote My Life in Jokes, a collection of jokes honoring her father’s one hundredth birthday. Linda produced his TV shows for over twenty years, ran Hope Enterprises, and has spent the last two decades perpetuating her father’s legacy.