Myth and the greatest generation : a social history of Americans in World War II

Myth and the Greatest Generation calls into question the glowing paradigm of the World War II generation set up by such books as The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw. Including analysis of news reports, memoirs, novels, films and other cultural artefacts Ken Rose shows the war was much more disruptive to the lives of Americans in the military and on the home front during World War II than is generally acknowledged. Issues of racial, labor unrest, juvenile delinquency, and marital infidelity were rampant, and the black market flourished. This book delves into both personal and national issues, calling into questions the dominant view of World War II as ‘The Good War’. Kenneth D. Rose is Lecturer of twentieth-century American and social history at California State University, Chico. He is the author of One Nation Underground: The Fallout Shelter in American Culture and American Women and the Repeal of Prohibition. Myth and the Greatest Generation calls into question the popularly held view that the World War II era was a more honorable and patriotic time in American culture than any that has existed since. Analyzing news reports, memoirs, novels, films, and other cultural artifacts of the era, author Kenneth Rose takes a close look at the extreme stresses that occurred on both the home and battle fronts during the war to show that underneath all of the nostalgia heaped upon them by history, the people of the "greatest generation" were only human. From race riots to juvenile delinquency; from social unrest to absenteeism from wartime employment; from rampant infidelity to a blossoming American black market, Myth and the Greatest Generation shows us that the picturesque revision of the World War II era that Americans have become comfortable with is far from historical fact, and that the best way to honor survivors of the "Good War" is to see them clearly Contents Acknowledgments World War II Timeline Introduction Americans Abroad Chapter One: Fairness, Savagery, Delight, Trauma and Vice Chapter Two: Combat Remembered Chapter Three: Why We Fight Americans At Home Chapter Four: Gearing Up For War Chapter Five: The Home Front and Its Discontents Chapter Six: Life at the Margins Americans and the Culture of World War II Chapter Seven: Popular Culture Chapter Eight: The Literature of War Americans and the End of the War Chapter Nine: Haunted Forests, Death Camps and Atomic Bombs Chapter Ten: Going Home Conclusion Notes Kenneth D. Rose. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 257-342) And Index.