Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Archives of the Associated Press

by Associated Press, Walter Cronkite

Memories of World War II is a presentation of the most significant and influential photographs relating to World War II from the archives of The Associated Press. To create the book, 167 images were culled from tens of thousands of pictures in the AP Archives, including material from AP photo files in Europe and Asia that had not been seen since the war. These are actual images that informed American newspaper readers at home about the progress of the war.
Taken together, these photographs form a portrait of war in both the European and Pacific theaters - a panorama of events from the rise of Hitler and the invasion of Poland to the dropping of the atomic bombs and the surrender of Japan. Arranged chronologically, with detailed captions and prefaced with essays by Bob Dole and Walter Cronkite, they give form to the dark passions and high ideals that shaped the course of the war.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

176 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, paying a fee to use AP material without being contributing members of the cooperative.

As of 2005, the news collected by the AP is published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television and radio broadcasters. The photograph library of the AP consists of over 10 million images. The Associated Press operates 243 news bureaus, and it serves at least 120 countries, with an international staff located all over the world.

Associated Press also operates The Associated Press Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. The AP Radio also offers news and public affairs features, feeds of news sound bites, and long form coverage of major events.

As part of their cooperative agreement with The Associated Press, most member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local news reports. For example, on page two of every edition of The Washington Post, the newspaper's masthead includes the statement, "The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to use for re-publication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and all local news of spontaneous origin published herein."

The AP employs the "inverted pyramid formula" for writing that enables the news outlets to edit a story to fit its available publication area without losing the story's essential meaning and news information.

Cutbacks at longtime U.S. rival United Press International, most significantly in 1993, left the AP as the primary nationally oriented news service based in the United States, although United Press International still produces and distributes news stories daily. Other English-language news services, such as Reuters and the English-language service of Agence France-Presse, are based outside the United States. More recently launched internet news services, such as All Headline News (AHN) are becoming competitive to the traditional wire services like the AP.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look at it. Don't forget it.

This collection of images from the Associated Press taken during WW II is an excellent resource and reference for anyone who wants to see the humanity of any conflict.
Mainly from an American perspective, but not exclusively, this book was published to coincide with the opening of the WW II Monument on the National Mall in DC. The photos document all theaters of the war. They are captioned, but the text contains no commentary, other than the Forwards, written by Bob Dole and Walter Cronkite.
These photographs-many of which are grim and horrific-serve as a reminder of both the depravity and the gallantry of mankind.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the time I finished reading this book, and studying all the photographs, I felt drained inside. Every page elicits a response, and not necessarily the "happy" kind.
The Foreword was written by Bob Dole, who was a 21 year old second lieutenant that was hit by a German shell while fighting in Italy. He underwent 3 years of treatments, rehabilitation and learning to live with a useless right arm and a complication from a spine injury that cost him a kidney, and the limited function of his left arm and hand. He later became a U.S. Senator, and the Chairman of the National World War II Memorial.
The Introduction was written by non-other than Walter Cronkite, who I grew up listening to in school news reels/films, and the evening news. He wanted to be a war correspondent."Risking out lives or our health was the price we paid for being journalists, for doing a job no others could do." They were volunteers, but side-by-side with the soldiers every step of the way.
The photography is stunning. It was from all angles. Like the one, taken from a plane, above Hiroshima, and what it looked like after the bomb was dropped on it. A photo of boxer Joe Lewis, an Army Private at Camp Dix, running with the rest of his fellow soldiers. Photos of the deportation of Japanese-Americans being taken to one of ten of the War Relocation Centers. A photo of Actor Jimmy Stewart being fingerprinted in Los Angeles at his induction into the Army Air Corps, where he became a combat pilot and eventually a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve. There were many photos of Winston Churchill, the prime minister of England, who organized the air defense for the Battle of Britain in 1940. Photos of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Photos of the members of the New York Stock Exchange with wooden guns in a 6 week course in the basics of military drill, Normandy, D-Day, and Jack Benny performing entertainment for the troops, as many celebrities did. All voluntarily.
I could go on and on about this book because it taught me so much; things I never learned in textbooks.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history of World War in photographs by the Associated Press. There are informative captions, a foreword by Bob Dole, and an introduction by Walter Cronkite. Various theaters of the war are portrayed as well as life on the Homefront. Highly recommended.

[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent visual overview of many facets of WWII. The captions do a great job giving insight without going overboard and I loved the chronological ordering. This book is ideal to quickly and easily learn many major facts about the war.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly a little bit US-centric but otherwise a thoughtful look at WW2. I loved the fact that it was organized by date.