The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II

by David Nasaw

From award-winning and bestselling author David Nasaw, a revelatory reexamination of post-World War II America and the nation's unhealed traumas, exposing the fault lines that characterized the country then and now

The veterans of World War II returned to America with great expectations. After all, the Great Depression was over, the Germans and the Japanese were defeated, and the home front was celebrating victory. After their heroic service overseas, Black service members believed their countrymen would look beyond racial divides, Jewish soldiers hoped antisemitism would be vanquished, and the wounded assumed that America would care for their injuries. More than 75 years later, the enduring image of postwar America is still informed by the hopes and dreams these veterans carried home with them, that their future – and with it, the nation’s – would be brighter than the past. However, as historian David Nasaw makes evident in this masterful recontextualization of these years, the stories of post-World War II America which persist across art, history, and literature, have failed to account for the realities of the veterans’ return as well as the traumas that characterized postwar America– the consequences of which we still live with today.

In The Wounded Generation, David Nasaw illustrates how veterans and civilians alike were confronted with the aftershocks of World War II, and how the media and the government failed to prepare America for what lay ahead. News outlets, which had censored the carnage of battle, now had to account for the grief and guilt felt by surviving soldiers; motion pictures and radio programs struggled to portray the true anxieties of homecoming, as husbands, wives, and children were reunited after not just time but trauma. Women who had been welcomed into the workforce lost their jobs to returning soldiers, and were pushed back into the home; doctors, who had no understanding of PTSD, were unprepared for the rise of neuropsychiatric disorders and unable to treat those afflicted. The nation faced enormous challenges transitioning to a peacetime economy; jobs, homes, and cars were in short supply; crime, alcoholism, unemployment, homelessness, and divorce were on the rise. The country took a major step in passing the GI Bill, which provided veterans with tuition, unemployment compensation, low-cost mortgages, and business loans, but Nasaw also reveals the political machinations behind the bill, and how states eager to preserve the status quo disproportionately blocked Black, gay, and female veterans from receiving benefits. The social issues which were laid bare in the immediate post war period – racism, gender biases, homophobia, lack of affordable housing, no national healthcare system, and severe income inequality– continue to ravage our nation and its people.

In this richly textured examination, David Nasaw presents a fascinating and complicating tableau of the postwar years. Drawing on a wealth of primary source material, including personal memoirs and oral histories from veterans themselves, he looks beyond the welcome crowds and victory parades, and illuminates a largely hidden story of a country in transition.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, American History, Psychology, Politics, Military Fiction

478 pages, Hardcover

Published October 14, 2025

About the author

David Nasaw is an American author, biographer and historian who specializes in the cultural, social and business history of early 20th Century America. Nasaw is on the faculty of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he is the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Professor of History.
In addition to writing numerous scholarly and popular books, he has written for publications such as the Columbia Journalism Review, American Historical Review, American Heritage, Dissent, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, The London Review of Books, and Condé Nast Traveler.
Nasaw has appeared in several documentaries, including The American Experience, 1996, and two episodes of the History Channel's April 2006 miniseries 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: "The Homestead Strike" and "The Assassination of President McKinley". He is cited extensively in the US and British media as an expert on the history of popular entertainment and the news media, and as a critic of American philanthropy.

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history provided by this book restores the often overlooked complexity and humanity of “the greatest generation” who fought in “the good war” by reminding the reader of the lingering pain endured by many of those who managed to survive the fighting.

I knew a number of WWII veterans while growing up in the 1950s, and they seemed no different from other people as far as I could tell. But when a cabinet maker who was working on our new house couldn’t return to work for a week after the 4th of July holiday, I heard the word “shell shock” mentioned. Over the following years I would learn about other behaviors and reactions attributed to war experiences. When I saw this book which focused on their experiences of returning to civilian life I decided to check it out to see if it could round out my knowledge of that generation.

This book describes how after returning to America following WWII many veterans struggled with alcohol addiction, marital problems, unemployment, crowded housing, and psychological issues that medical authorities didn’t fully understand. The term “shell shock” was leftover from WWI, but during and after WWII the terms “battle fatigue” and "psychoneurosis" was more widely used. Today it is called PTSD.

The veterans brought the war home with them. The physically wounded or afflicted by disease carried it on their bodies, millions more returned encumbered by invisible, undiagnosed, and untreated psychic wounds.
… … …
By the end of the war, more than 312,000 servicemen had been discharged for neuropsychiatric disorders. Many more should have been, but had disguised their symptoms, or stayed clear of military doctors. A psych discharge was a liability, and the servicemen knew it all too well.

The book references cases where, after many years of suffering nightmares and angry outbursts, veterans finally sought treatment from VA Health Care. Often this decision to finally seek help occurred at changes in their lives such as retirement or death of a spouse.

This book also describes the generous benefits provided by the government to ease their transition to civilian life. One of the reasons for the generous features of the bill was fear of recession and memories of the Bonus Army of 1932.

As its formal title made explicit, the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 was designed to put a broad constituency of middle class and upper-working class Americans back on the educational and career paths they were on before they were drafted or enlisted. It was not intended to provide the veterans with opportunities to advance beyond the social and class status they had enjoyed before the war. College stipends were of little use to veterans disproportionately poor and black who had not completed high school. Even under the bill's generous terms, home buying was out of reach for many poorer veterans, and the bill offered little to those who needed to rent.

The bill may have been revolutionary in its creation of a new social welfare state for veterans, but it was also quite conservative in its protection of the status quo. The funding came from the federal government, but the distribution of the money was locally controlled by the States. Thus, southern States were able to make sure that their tradition of segregation of the races wouldn’t be jeopardized.

Because the World War II veteran population was more than 90% white and 98% male, the benefits extended to veterans only would, in the decades to come, serve to preserve and extend racial and gender inequities that had begun to narrow during the war.

The home buying features of the bill came in the form of loan guarantees, and the decision on whether a veteran could obtain a mortgage loan was determined by local bankers and realtors who enforced redlining.

This book provides a well written rendering of the ambivalent legacy of a war that Americans have been taught to think of as the good one.

[Susan Scribner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serviceable (sorry) account of American WWII veterans after the end of the "good" war. Contrary to our national myth of stalwart soldiers who morphed seamlessly into suburban golf-playing husbands and fathers, the Greatest Generation experienced its fair share of alcoholism, mental illness, divorce, and other tough challenges. The GI Bill created a welfare state for white men, but most Blacks and women were ruled ineligible for its transformative benefits.

Nasaw sprinkles in first person accounts from regular GI Joes and famous folk like J.D. Salinger and Bob Dole. A good antidote to the cultural amnesia that predated our even more recent (and dangerous) revisionist history mania.

[Steven Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

During his presidential campaigns Donald Trump has described American veterans as “suckers and losers.” He “strongly” wonders why veterans went off to fight when it was clear there was nothing in it for them. President Trump’s attitude toward men like John McCain and millions of others is both despicable and ungrateful. These men and women are heroes who defended our country and in most cases selflessly. Those who have survived war zones returned home with numerous ailments from the physical to the psychological. Today, the mental issues have been labeled post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) with veterans suffering from recurring nightmares and flashbacks, uncontrollable rages, social isolation, fears of places and events that evoked memories of the war, resulting in behaviors that they did not have before they shipped out. The label has been mostly applied to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan war veterans, but symptoms were clearly evident for those who fought in and survived World War I and II.

In his latest book, award winning author David Nasaw, who has written such excellent works including; THE LAST MILLION which traces the plight of displaced persons after World War II, THE PATRIARCH a biography of Joseph P. Kennedy, THE CHIEF a biography of William Randolph Hearst, and ANDREW CARNEGIE, has just released a marvelous monograph entitled, THE WOUNDED GENERATION: COMING HOME AFTER WORLD WAR II. Nasaw’s focus in the book is not on the heroism of World War II veterans, but how they adapted to civilian life upon their return from the war, how their wartime experiences impacted familial and other personal relations, and how the country they returned to treated them. Nasaw’s most salient points revolve around the idea that these men and women were not the same people emotionally and physically as they were before the war, and the country which they returned to was quite different than the one they returned to. How they adjusted to their issues and their surroundings are the key to the narrative.

As the author writes in his introduction, “if we are to understand the pain and hardship veterans brought home with them we must acknowledge their experiences in the war and of war, their wounds, injuries, and illnesses, their realization that they were expendable, that chance alone would determine whether they lived or dies or returned home body and soul intact,” therefore we must begin, not with their home coming but their actual experiences in the war.

Nasaw spends almost half the book discussing what soldiers experienced in combat, and at the same time how carefully the government informed the public of their plight with an eye on the issues they perceived would emerge once they were discharged. From the outset Nasaw focuses on the issue of “neuropsychiatric disorders” as the term PTSD was not known. It is clear that about 40% or about one million soldiers who were discharged or disabled during the first two years of the war fell into the category of “neuropsychiatric disorders.” The problem for military authorities was that the army and naval medical corps were totally unprepared to deal with psychiatric disorders. They were trained to deal with physical injuries, not mental, which were 33% of all injuries. With the shortage of men, many of these individuals were returned to the front suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression. In treating these men, medical professionals were unsure if victims would ever recover.

As the narrative progresses the author makes many salient points, some obvious and others based on deeper analysis. The American public was fully aware of what their sons and daughters were experiencing despite military censorship. With an abundance of newspapers, magazines, books, and diaries the public was exposed to information on a delayed basis. However, radio reports made the experience more immediate. The government was in a bind, if it reported too many victories, particularly after the Battle of Midway authorities feared people would become complacent and the war might be close to an end. The government knowingly believed that in “total war” the fighting could drag on for years, particularly against Japan and wanted the public to be educated to that belief. By 1943, authorities in Washington wanted a more accurate representation of the fighting to be used as a tool against complacency in a war that had distinct racial elements to it.

John Dower’s book, WAR WITHOUT MERCY: RACE AND POWER IN THE PACIFIC WAR develops this racial thesis, especially in Asia as the reason for the horrible conditions that soldiers faced when dealing with the enemy. As Nasaw correctly points out, “American boys and men, once peaceful and non-violent souls, had to become merciless, pitiless killers in order to stay alive and defeat a merciless, pitiless enemy.” The American media would caricature the “Japanese as vicious, conniving, beastly hordes of ‘monkeys’ and ‘rats,’ unstoppable, demonic torturers and killers,” while Germans were said to be more law-abiding according to international convention ignoring the Holocaust.

An interesting point that Nasaw describes deals with how soldiers spent their spare time. We have all heard the saying “hurry up and wait” pertaining to the military and even in combat that was true. Soldiers did not fight constantly, and outlets had to be provided for men and women. The creation of paperback books was boosted during the war as “pocketbooks” were created for soldiers to read as free reading material by the thousands was provided. The most important ancillary product provided was cigarettes which was seen as a military tool that would calm nerves before and after battle, suppress hunger, and keep soldiers alert when they should have been sleeping. During D-Day they helped to ward off sickness, reduce fear and shaking and sustain men. They were given to soldiers at every opportunity – 63 tons worth of tobacco were delivered to the army, and tobacco farmers were deemed “essential workers during the war. Soldiers were also seen as different if they did not smoke. Cigarettes were provided with C rations and were available everywhere as they were a major resource for soldiers to trade. Other activities that were employed to keep soldiers “sane” were alcohol and condoms. As with nicotine addiction, drinking habits acquired during the war would carry over into peacetime. Drinking served a similar purpose to smoking to calm soldiers and allow them to cope with the atrocities of combat. In addition, during the war over 50 million condoms were distributed by authorities who could not control the sexual drive of soldiers especially after they arrived in Italy in 1943. Women were readily available as prostitutes as locals resorted to sex as a means to earn money, cigarettes to trade on the black market, and just to survive.

The racism that existed after the war, especially as Jim Crow was restored in the south, was a continuation of what went on in military theaters. At first negro soldiers were given menial jobs – cleaning, cooking, waiting tables, and general labor. Later as troop shortages continued experimentally, segregated units were created. These units did quite well, i.e., the Tuskegee Airman, and a few combat units. The fear on the part of southern senators was that if negroes got used to fair treatment and a better racial experience in the army it would carry over into civilian life and there would be certain expectations. They wanted Jim Crow in the army, so negroes did not get any ideas once they were discharged. The behavior of southern whites after the war reinforced Jim Crow as blocking voter registration, the return of brutal lynchings, and the refusal to hire negroes for other than menial jobs they had before the war, as opposed to employment which would allow them to use their military training and wartime experiences dominated race relations below the Mason-Dixon line.

Nasaw does an excellent job discussing problems that developed once the allies proved victorious. The issue was demobilization. With the end of the war in Europe soldiers wanted to be discharged, not sent to the Pacific as the Japanese were seen as fighting to the death and after Okinawa, Saipan and the rest of the island hopping strategy was implemented they knew fighting could be brutal. European theater veterans were given 30 days leave and were then to be sent to the Pacific. The dropping of the atomic bomb ended the war for good and domestic politics called for a rapid demobilization, however the United States needed troops for occupation duty. Demobilization would be slow and about 1.5 million would be needed for occupation.

The author spends the remaining 60% of the book on how the war affected American society once fighting ended. Nasaw recounts the repatriation process and once again the racial issue arose as negroes were the last to be discharged. By stressing the racial component to the post war period, the author relies on excellent source material, diaries, interviews of families, and other primary materials.

Politicians in Washington did not want to deal with racial equality as the Democrats needed the support of southern senators to try and create a program which would reintegrate men and women back into civil society. Memories of the Bonus Army of 1931 during the depression and the use of the military to crush it were still fresh in people’s minds. The solution would evolve into the GI Bill whose rationale was not totally one of empathy but one to avoid unemployment, inflation , and retrofitting industry back to peacetime. By providing educational funding for tuition and books it would allow veterans to attend college and not enter the labor force which was undergoing a dramatic change as women began to lose their jobs as the men returned and wanted to reclaim their place in society. Whatever the motivation was for the GI Bill the government implemented a “veteran’s welfare state” throughout the 1940s.

What is clear is that the federal government spent a great deal on white returning veterans. Though Nasaw cannot settle on a figure as to how much the government spent; at times he states it is $17.3 billion, later it is $24 billion, and even later it is closer to $30 billion for the GI, bill the amount dwarfs what was spent on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war. Whatever the final figure was between 1945 and 1950 it was in the billions and went along way to implement the veterans’ welfare state of education, job training, medical care, and housing relief. Many in Congress called for expanding this approach to all civilians, but that was not in the cards for decades, and even then it did not match what was spend on white veterans.

Nasaw is clear that the major issue was that veterans brought the war home with them – many were psychologically wounded and many carried diseases within their bodies. Millions returned with undiagnosed untreated psychic wounds that would haunt them for years to come. Men had to live with what they saw and experienced no matter how emotionally devastating it was. For many, these experiences remained with them for the remainder of their lives. Men came home with the characteristics of PTSD, though it was called “combat fatigue” or something similar. When they returned they exhibited what psychiatrist, Robert Jay Lifton describes in his seminal work on survivors of the atomic bombings, DEATH AS IN LIFE as flashback, nightmares, violent tempers, survival guilt, psychic numbing, all indicative of PTSD. To make it even worse for women, children and the family unit, the military and society in general put the onus of helping their spouses recover on them. They had to grant veterans the leeway to recover which the military stated would eventually occur over time. Most veterans did not commit suicide and learned to live with nightmares and flashbacks they could not erase. In addition to PTSD, many individuals suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) from concussive explosions during the war from which they had not recovered. All this made the recreation of the family unit as it was known before the war, impossible to recapture.

Nasaw spends a great deal of time on the impact of the war on the family unit discussing the role of women who had lived independently during the war and now were faced with giving that up and allowing the husband to recapture his place as the breadwinner. Many could not and the divorce rate would almost double. The increase was also due to the fact that many men and women could not accept the infidelity of their spouses, women lonely at home, and men lonely overseas seeking comfort.

Nasaw seems to cover every aspect of how service in World War II impacted a myriad of issues following the fighting. His coverage is comprehensive, but he also provides a wonderful touch illustrating his monograph with Bill Mauldin cartoons which were rather provocative for the time period. Tom Brokaw has labeled those who were victorious in World War II as the “greatest generation.” After reading Nasaw’s excellent book I would change that label to the “long suffering generation.”

[Lisa of Hopewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I’ve said on this blog before, my paternal Grandfather, above with me in his Ike jacket, famously came home to Indianapolis to the wife he lived with for about 1.5 years before being drafted, and the stepson he had lived with only for a few weeks, slept for a day then got up, walked to the truck lot and got his driving job back. Other than being a clean freak from the years of not being able to bathe daily, and struggling with the ulcers and false teeth he got in the Army, he didn’t talk about the war except to tell funny stories that had nothing to do with combat. He was drafted early in ’42 and got home in ’46–even though he was 36 at the time. My Dad didn’t count as a dependent because, at the time, he was back on the farm with his grandparents. He could have been discharged earlier had he put in for his medals [a dirty little secret about medals–you have to do paperwork to request them] but since that was just part of his job he didn’t bother.

I also have a Great-Uncle in my mom’s family who ended up a Colonel in the USAF who flew umpteen missions in World War II and flew in the Berlin Airlift and Korea. I never met him but my mom has a copy of his hand-typed memoir for the family. His two brothers did not serve. The elder, my maternal grandfather, was an electrical engineer for a steel company who had nearly lost his leg in an accident in a steel mill–two strikes and he was out. Protected profession and disabled for military service. The younger, was an artist with a wife and two small kids. He had civilian work at Wright-Paterson Field near Dayton (now an Air Force base with the USAF Museum) helping with the camouflage for some of the fake D-Day equipment that was sent to England to fool the Germans. His skills were used by the USAAF on the home front.

All of that said, there was a lot to interest me in this book.

The Book
The vets of World War II were given angel’s wings by reporter Tom Browkaw in the 80’s who christened them “The Greatest Generation.” I agree and disagree with that label. The first half of this book helps explain why. In its survey of the war–no not battle by battle, it looks at the actual men and women who served and what they did in the service. STDs [as we now call them] were off the chart. No, our men weren’t the Russians, but there were rapes and crimes and generally horrible behavior on our side, too. And always the racism. My Grandfather, no saint, said when he saw Black troops fighting to die for our country–after how they were treated at home, he lost a lot of his typical small town Hoosier racial attitudes. Others did not. He also said he fought the war to “keep paying taxes,” explaining to me the concept of the “Common Good,” which we have apparently lost.

This first part of the book sets the stage for what would go into the war with each soldier, sailor, Marine or Air Corps soldier [the US Air Force wasn’t separate from the Army until after the war]. This look at the combatants was surprisingly very interesting. I knew a lot–but still earned from it.

The rest of the book was devoted to what the U.S. offered the vets when they came home–the G.I. Bill of Rights, much of which are still accorded veterans today. But, of course, it was the straight, white, male vets how got nearly everything from this bill. [Until this year the U.S. the military was the most integrated segment of society–I do not know if that has continued with the changes and attitudes of the current administration].

The G.I. Bill as it is still known, gave those white men (and on a very few occasions, other veterans) a college education–the result of which was an extremely robust middle class by producing teacher, engineers, doctors, dentists, accountants, as well as artists, actors, and plenty of blue collar workers who did apprenticeships or attended vocational schools. Sadly, the scammer-schools STILL prey on those with G.I. Bill benefits. I worked for an Adult Education Program, and I forget what HUGE percentage of our students were vets. At least our program took the time to flunk people out. It wasn’t a diploma mill. Too many, go to those or to fly-by-night “career” colleges that take their money and deliver nothing–just like in the 1940s.

The men who went to college, and many who just went to work, eventually bought homes in new suburbs using the VA mortgage guarantees further enhancing the middle class. Finally, their wounds and disabilities and general health were treated by the custom-built VA medical system. That FDR and Truman wanted this extended to ALL Americans was a surprise to me. Imagine how different our nation would be today if we’d had health care available all this time?

My Thoughts
The author did an excellent job of bringing in the experiences of the women, the non-white and LGBT vets–something that often gets left out of accounts of the War. Black vets were not excluded in the text of the G.I. Bill but were excluded by the means with which it was carried out. The states and localities had the say. Naturally, that meant just about everywhere they were excluded. I knew, but had a new awareness from today’s politics, that Native Americans and Mexican Americans were counted as “white” in the military even at that time. The author did not offer much insight into how these two groups faired with colleges and mortgage lenders though.

I found the chapters on the vets’ mental health provided me with the most new-to-me information. I had no idea some vets had been lobotomized, for example. The development of care for PTSD was another. My mom’s cousin spent his career after Vietnam helping his fellow Vietnam vets [as well as those from previous and future conflicts] work through their PTSD and learn to live with its reality. It was especially interesting to hear of the man who, at about age 80 after his wife’s death, finally got help for his PTSD.

This is a very readable book, of a good depth and length for the layman.

Readers from the UK, please see the bottom of this post.

My Verdict
4.0
The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II by David Nasaw

P.S. What My Grandpa Did With the G.I. Bill

Sadly, my grandfather used almost none of the benefits he earned. He and my grandmother bought one house and sold it after about five years. My grandmother was terrified of owning–she needed the reassurance that the landlord was there to pay for repairs. He did not go to college, though he was a high school graduate, and did not apprentice or go to trade school. The Army gave him his false teeth and, after his boots were cut off his feet, fixed his foot-rot. Unlike some vets, he did not hoard food, but never again ate pineapple and rarely ate cheese after binging on rations with those two items on the ship going to North Africa. After my grandmother died very young, he stayed on at his job–by then he worked for his brother-in-law in Chicago.

He retired at 65, moved home to his small West Central Indiana hometown, married someone he’d known all his life, and finally caved and joined either the Legion or the VFW [I forget which] because there was absolutely nowhere else to go in that town. [He refused to join before that for a variety of reasons one of which was segregation. He wasn’t a liberal but didn’t see that as right]. He died in a civilian hospital of a brain tumor in the summer of 1980–Medicare, which he earned, paid for that. The Legion/VFW post arranged for the flag on his coffin. That was it. He and a buddy blew up a German fuel or ammunition dump, he was cited in dispatches for it, but as I said above, would not do the paperwork to request his medals. He was just that kind of man.

UK Readers
No matter how readable this book is, readers from the UK may prefer to read about their own vets. In which case I recommend this book:

Demobbed: Coming Home After World War Two by Alan Allport. I’ve been reading it as the mood strkes–it is very good. I will review it when I finally sit down and read it cover-to-cover. The USA is so rich it could give vets the G.I. Bill. I realize the UK could not–they “stood alone” for so long and were drained. The rebuilding of Britain was as heroic as the wartime defense. It would have been interesting to compare the G.I. Bill results in two countries.

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[Susanna Blount · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive amount of Mississippi references for a book not about Mississippi.

[Matt- History on the Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are countless books that delve into every aspect of the Second World War, but in The Wounded Generation, David Nasaw explores a unique and compelling angle: how American G.I.s returned home, forever changed by their service. Nasaw delivers what I like to call a "big history book," packed with facts and statistics that vividly illustrate the realities of post-war life. He examines critical aspects of the homecoming journey, such as the post-war housing crisis, the GI Bill and its educational benefits, and the struggles veterans and their families faced with PTSD long before it was even recognized by name. Nasaw's detailed yet highly readable prose makes the nearly 400 pages fly by. This title, releasing this week, is a must-read for World War II enthusiasts and anyone interested in understanding veterans' experiences and the challenges they endured. Highly recommended!

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Greatest Generation deserves even more respect for all they experienced and endured during WWII and afterwards.

[Book Club of One · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historian David Nasaw continues to explore the aftermaths of World War II, instead of focusing on those left stateless or displaced as the borders and dispositions of Europe change as in The Last Million, the new book, The Wounded Generation: Coming Home after World War II considers the return of American soldiers to the country they left.

And what Nasaw finds, is like most deeply studied topics, is that there were a range of responses to returning to civilian life, but overall there was an emphasis on putting the war behind and building a new life, at least for those able to escape the memories of what they had done or seen.

The book is divided into four sections (the Long Road Home, Home at Last, Readjusting to Civilian Life and Legacies) beginning with those physically and often permanently changed from combat. Nasaw uses them as an entry point to talk about what life in the US armed forces was like, what habits were typical, including segregation and racial issues, to then shift to the home front versus war front disconnect and the lengthy time and process involved in demobilization. He drew from extensive oral history projects, contemporary media such as newspapers or popular films and government and institutional records.

There were boons to service, beyond social pressures, white veterans had the promise of using skills learned in the army to further their professional lives or receive training or education at the expense of the government. There was even support to buy or mortgage homes. Quite the difference from how First World War veterans seeking early payouts or additional support from the government were treated in the 1930s. But what there wasn't was an emphasis on mental health support or equality in the benefits. Soldiers could be demonized as being violent or using their experiences to turn to crime, when PTSD or as it was known then, battle fatigue, was a specter hanging over many lives, sometimes just as nightmares, others times with addictions to alcohol to numb feelings or the inability to reconnect or connect at all with children who had no memories of them.

There was often a distance between veterans and their families, or a distance between the men as they were when they left and who they were when they returned. The armed forces were not integrated until 1948, and African Americans who returned home in uniform were not met with welcome, but instead were beaten, permanently blinded, or killed just for their appearance. Wars cause social change and upset, and their is frequently a reactionary pulse to return things to 'normality' of prewar. But those who have seen a better way or learned their worth are much more willing to fight for what they feel is their due.

The experience of WWII veterans has cast a long shade over the second half of the twentieth century, with the veterans now dying out there has been much more consideration of their experiences and legacies. Much like with World War I, these reappraisals have questioned some of the popular understandings of the conflict.

Recommended to readers or researchers of World War II, demobilizing, or post WWIIsocial issues.

I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

[Doug Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II is a fabulous read that pulls back the curtain on the postwar years in a way few books ever have. David Nasaw takes a careful look at the homecoming of millions of Americans after the Second World War and shows that their transition was far from the tidy “happily ever after” we like to imagine. His research is thorough and his storytelling is engaging, making this both an enlightening and very readable history.

Nasaw challenges the familiar idea of the “Greatest Generation.” Instead of focusing on glory and victory parades, he reveals the quieter, more painful struggles of returning veterans and their families. Jobs were scarce, marriages were strained, and the emotional wounds of war were often ignored. The book paints a fuller picture of an era that was as uncertain as it was proud.

One of the most memorable lines in the book captures that sense of shared sacrifice and connection: “Rare was the person at home, man, woman or child, who did not know and care for someone in uniform.” That simple truth runs through every chapter, reminding readers how deeply the war touched all corners of American life.

The coverage of the years 1946 through 1949 is especially compelling. Nasaw explores the social and psychological rebuilding that followed the war and brings attention to the overlooked personal costs of national recovery. For anyone interested in World War II or the home front experience, this book is a must-read.

I’m giving The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II a solid five out of five stars. It’s an excellent choice for readers who enjoy detailed, human-centered history. Thank you to Megan at Penguin Press and to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. It was a privilege to read and reflect on this remarkable contribution to our understanding of America’s postwar years.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nasaw documents the conditions of the Home Front and all that was done and not done for the returning service members. Chapters including, getting home, education, housing, employment, PTSD and much more.

Why I started this book: Eye catching title and perfect to have my Libby hold arrive so close to Veteran's Day.

Why I finished it: Fascinating, frustrating and a little repetative... this book was such a good reminder to something that I first read in An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, namely that the war we remember is not the one that our soldiers experienced at the time. At the time, it was a rush to get home, a delay in services, housing and employement. Programs stretched thin, that ignored or excluded large parts of the veterans... but we remember the GI Bill for all it's wins, and the years after the war for its prosperity. Congress didn't authorize these benifits because they thought the veterans deserved them. They passed them to delay the entry into the economy of millions of returning soldiers, sailors and marines. They were worried that it would tank the economy that was just recovering from the Great Depression.
I was impressed that we got socialism for the military because so many Republicans fought to block these programs for the whole country and specifically for the blacks, women and other minorities. Small decisions have large effects after 80 years. And that even if something isn't perfect, we should still move forward and do all the good that we can.

[Ramiro Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veterans of WWII have been hailed as heroes, part of the “Greatest Generation”. USA has been given the “W”, praised as a savior and game-changer in the bloodiest most destructive conflict in the history of human civilization. While many can argue that all that is true, a lot of the story is left out in these narratives. This book takes a step back away from the typical myth-building and pulls back the curtain to explore the serious societal issues that influenced the experience of the G.I.’s both during AND after the war.

We learn howJim Crow affected Black soldiers at home and abroad: soldiers fought for “freedom” abroad only to be harassed and lynched whilst in uniform in the states

We hear how PTSD was woefully handled on the battlefield, and how that led to generational trauma years after surviving soldiers returned home, affecting all aspects of their lives…and the lives of their loved ones.

We also learn at how debauchery was allowed to fester, leading to issues such as addiction and domestic violence.

Not all was lost, and we also hear about numerous success stories; how soldiers overcame them struggles with racism, addition and other ills of society by utilizing government programs (reluctantly passed by lawmakers, one could argue) to rebuild their lives and assist at improving their worlds.

By the end, my Anti-War and Anti-“USA-Is-A-Shining-City-On-A-Hill” sensibilities remain resolute. I don’t look at the main characters of these stories as “heroes” in the classical sense, or rather, how US propaganda wants me to view a “hero”. I view them as victims. They were grossly taken advantage of. For many, promises were broken, and any success should be attributed to them, rather than a government that bamboozled them, and then dragged its feet at repaying their sacrifices.

Well written and researched, this is an amazing book for any history buff.

[Craig Holway · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book was the best. It got less interesting as it went on. The remaining parts were informative, yes, but I wouldn’t say captivating. Mass seeks obsessed with the racial discrimination systemic to the implementation and execution of the G.I. Bill. The author should have been more honest about what seems to be this major thread of the book. I, personally, was expecting more of the psychological fallout on the PTSD that affected many of the soldiers. In actuality, this topic gets delayed and little treatment at the very end.

So, I learned a lot but was expecting more especially in terms of the psychological impact.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book that reads superbly well. Without giving too much away, Nasaw did a great job in his research and it shows amid his consistent structure and articulation of the facts and complexities surrounding the macro and micro effects of WWII in post-war America. The several years following WWII appeared not to be very celebratory, but fraught with much difficulty for the government, society at large, and the individual service men and women who participated, and Nasaw highlights aspects of this great difficulty amid the post-WWII boom that are too often overlooked. Highly recommend to read!

[Patrick Macke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone had a grandpa that was in the War and they always seemed to be normal ... The decades after World War II were the boom times ... The facade of normalcy and the robust economy brainwashes a lot of us ... Well, this book serves an effective counterbalance to the the myths of the "greatest generation", the "good war" and the "righteous fight" ... The book is visciously researched, with handfuls of stats on handfuls of topics; much of the content surprised me, and it is a bit humbling that I now have a more complete, balanced view of a topic I thought I understood so well

[Ace · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read a lot of history books, and it is deeply rare for historians to write truthfully and honestly about the realities of how america has affected minorities unless inclusion is a specific focus. not so this book. wonderfully written, clear, concise, and INCLUSIVE. i will absolutely be reading the back catalogue

[J.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give it 5 stars but it's a bit sad how long these veterans held it all inside. From the horrors they saw, to the ways they coped, including the home front women often left behind, this book examines the realities of coming back to the US after the fighting had ended.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and researched book on the lives of all those involved in WWII, not just the veterans. I learned a decent amount, probably most surprising to me was the deep-seated segregation during and after the war. Highly recommended read to all.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book that refers the triumphant mythology of the conquering hero that surrounds WWII vets with a more even handed view of the struggles that they faced readjusting to the world. It focuses both on their mental health and economic issues.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely repetitive. I found myself skimming it to finish it

[Heather G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

It's well written and held my attention but definitely not what they summary !are it sound like. Still a good read though.

[Cecília Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book about war survivors. A must read

[Beth Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book was spectacular with information that I never knew about. Like many books these days, it was repetitive at times.

[Jane Dugger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so very interesting - I couldn't stop talking about it.