There's No Front Like Home

by Robert M. Yoder

From the jacket flap:

This is the 'My Day' of Mr. and Mrs. America- a merry commentary on the civilian in wartime. Yoder, the prophet of peacetime pleasure, the wag of the city room, and the satirist of the drawing room, writes for the Chicago Daily News a column which he describes as 'venerable though corny.' Yoder is neither. 'I am,' he laughs modestly, 'only what any other Ideal American Boy could be if he, too, had curly hair and a C card.'

115 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1944

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is comprised of newspaper columns written during WWII. As such, the writing is dated, but still is an interesting look at home life during that time. His straying into the casual misogyny of that era, gets on my nerves, but the chapter about taxes could have been ripped off the internet today. The chapter about lack rubber for the waist of underwear and having to deal with buttons was amusing.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

No way for this collection of newspaper columns from WWII to avoid being dated, of course. But what a wonderful slice of civilian life. Yoder's arch tone occasionally grates when he descends into the casual misogyny of the era, but overall it's quite interesting. Some of the articles, like the one bitching about taxes and the impenetrability of the tax code, could be from yesterday's paper. My favorite was near the end, when Yoder told about how his underwear maker had switched from rubber waistbands to buttons. That essay was hilarious, indeed.

2.5, recommended for WWII buffs.