The 2025 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (LATFOB), held on April 26–27 at the University of Southern California (USC), was a significant cultural event that brought together a diverse array of participants and marked its 30th anniversary with a vibrant celebration of literature, culture, and community. The festival is known for attracting a large crowd each year. For instance, the 2024 festival drew over 150,000 attendees, and the 2025 event featured more than 550 writers, experts, and storytellers, along with hundreds of exhibitors.
The festival featured over 100 ticketed author events, children’s storytelling sessions, poetry readings, book signings, and more than 400 exhibitor booths. Notable participants in the 2025 festival included authors such as Stacey Abrams, Jon M. Chu, Amanda Gorman, Chelsea Handler, Ibram X. Kendi, and Rebecca Yarros, among many others. The festival’s success was also attributed to the generous involvement of volunteers who assisted with various aspects of the event, including welcoming attendees, staffing author events, and supervising book signings.
LATFOB 2025 emphasized accessibility and community involvement. General admission was free, with select programming requiring tickets. The festival’s partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs ensured that a wide range of activities were available to attendees of all ages and backgrounds, fostering a welcoming environment for literary enthusiasts and families alike.
As LATFOB celebrates three decades of literary celebration, the 2025 festival underscores the importance of storytelling in shaping culture and community. With its diverse programming and commitment to accessibility, the festival continues to be a premier event for book lovers and cultural aficionados. The success of this year’s event sets a promising precedent for future festivals, ensuring that the tradition of literary celebration will continue to thrive in Los Angeles.
LATFOB 2025 provides a unique opportunity to explore new voices, groundbreaking ideas, and thought-provoking works of art. This year, one of the most anticipated entries is “A Time of War” by Dennis L. Copenhaver, which is being showcased in the Book Gallery. A raw, honest, and deeply personal account of one soldier’s experiences in Vietnam. Dennis Copenhaver takes readers straight into the heart of the war, not just through battlefield action but through the daily struggles, emotional weight, and the moments that never make it into history books. This isn’t a glorified war story. It’s real, unfiltered, and unforgettable.
Copenhaver tells his story with the kind of detail that puts you right in his boots. You feel the exhaustion, the adrenaline, and the ever-present danger. The book covers his journey from his early days in Pennsylvania, growing up with a father who had fought in World War II, to his unexpected journey into war. His reflections on the draft, military training, and the mental toll of combat give a clear picture of what it was like to be a soldier in one of America’s most controversial wars.
One of the biggest lessons in A Time of War is how war never really leaves you. There’s a moment in the book where Copenhaver and his wife are walking under a bridge years after the war. A loud explosion goes off, and without thinking, his body reacts; he grabs his wife and throws her to the ground, shielding her with his body. It wasn’t an attack, just kids playing with a metal fuel tank, but his reflexes were still wired for survival. That kind of instinct doesn’t just fade. It’s proof that war changes you in ways that last a lifetime.
Another powerful part of the book is how it deals with the return home. Vietnam veterans didn’t come back to parades and celebrations. They came back to silence, judgment, and a country divided over the war. Copenhaver talks about how hard it was to even admit he was a veteran. The stigma around Vietnam soldiers was heavy, and many felt abandoned by the very people they had fought to protect. He reflects on the lack of support, the struggles with PTSD, and how it took him years to talk openly about his experiences.
But “A Time of War” isn’t just about the struggles, it’s about resilience, brotherhood, and the moments of humanity in the middle of chaos. There are stories of soldiers praying together before missions, friendships that formed in the trenches, and small acts of kindness that made all the difference. Copenhaver doesn’t just tell war stories; he tells stories of survival, loss, and finding meaning in the aftermath.
This book is for history buffs, veterans, and anyone who wants to understand what war does to a person. It’s gripping, emotional, and one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it.
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