- Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary (1928)
- by Alvin Cullum York, edited by Tom Skeyhill
A back country religious pacifist from Tennessee, Alvin York initially tried to be drafted into the U.S. Army during World War I as a conscientious objector. He was turned down and drafted anyway. York suffered a philosophical conversion and was sent to the front in northern France. Once there, his actions under heavy fire made him one of the most decorated of U.S. soldiers.
Not one to profit from fame, York only agreed that a movie be made about his exploits when he needed to raise funds to build a bible school in his native Tennessee.