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World War II: The Allied Counteroffensive, 1942-1945
World War II comes alive through the public records and private accounts of the day
We have long relied on historians to sift through the debris of the past and piece together narratives to shape our understanding of events. But it is in the letters, diaries, speeches, song lyrics, newspaper articles, and government papers that history truly comes alive.
Eminent historian Douglas Brinkley has carefully chosen the critical documents that bring to life the days of the war from the first Allied counteroffensive to V-J Day. His selections span the momentous, such as Eisenhower’s address to the troops in preparation for D-Day or Hirohito’s surrender on Japanese radio, to the intimate and the obscure. Readers will find one of Tokyo Rose’s broadcasts, letters from soldiers on the eve of battle, Ernie Pyle’s dispatches from Sicily, and Truman’s diary entries in which he wrestles with the decision to drop the A-bomb.
Each primary document is accompanied by a relevant piece of New York Times reporting from the period and original text explaining the historical significance of the event in the war’s progress. News photos and other images add a strong visual component to this vivid re-creation of history.
We have long relied on historians to sift through the debris of the past and piece together narratives to shape our understanding of events. But it is in the letters, diaries, speeches, song lyrics, newspaper articles, and government papers that history truly comes alive.
Eminent historian Douglas Brinkley has carefully chosen the critical documents that bring to life the days of the war from the first Allied counteroffensive to V-J Day. His selections span the momentous, such as Eisenhower’s address to the troops in preparation for D-Day or Hirohito’s surrender on Japanese radio, to the intimate and the obscure. Readers will find one of Tokyo Rose’s broadcasts, letters from soldiers on the eve of battle, Ernie Pyle’s dispatches from Sicily, and Truman’s diary entries in which he wrestles with the decision to drop the A-bomb.
Each primary document is accompanied by a relevant piece of New York Times reporting from the period and original text explaining the historical significance of the event in the war’s progress. News photos and other images add a strong visual component to this vivid re-creation of history.
- GenresHistory
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2004
49 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Brinkley
113 books411 followersDouglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s new past master.” His most recent books are The Quiet World, The Wilderness Warrior, and The Great Deluge. Six of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He lives in Texas with his wife and three children.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 23, 2014
Not your typical book on WW2 but this is a book on how WW2 was reported daily in the NY Times newspaper in articles and headlines. Also chapters contain written communications by military and political leaders on both sides. There are firsthand accounts by FDR and Churchill about how they believed the war was going.
More interesting to me were the firsthand memories of a Japanese shipman while being bombed and attacked by the US air force, a Jewish man forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto under the German occupation while the Allies ignored them as not a military necessity and a Germans remembrance of being in Dresden while it was being obliterated by the Allied forces. Tokyo, Pearl Harbor and London are also included. I don’t know how anyone can read these accounts of death and destruction and still want to go to war but we humans don’t seem to learn. The tens of thousands killed by the bombs may have been the lucky ones. It’s the stories of the ones who were burned to death or had limbs torn off or jumped in the nearest river only to be burned alive in the boiling waters that leave an impression. This is a common report from those in cities who were bombed everywhere. A recent article in Time states that pilots have a higher rate of PTSD than others in the military because they have a better view of what they have done to the human beings being bombed and killed. The firsthand reports by troops of entering Buchenwald aren’t any better. Both sides of the discussion to drop the atomic bomb on a large populated city are discussed and a detailed description of the atomic bomb test and its aftermath are given. The question of whether it was necessary to destroy a 2nd Japanese city and its civilian population only 3 days later is considered.
Also covered is the weak support given to Russia on the Eastern front and not informing them of the atomic bomb which may have led to the later strained relations with the U.S. and Britain. The Detroit tank assembly line riots and segregation of blacks in both military and civilian life is covered. Women’s working conditions don’t come off any better than the way blacks were treated and most lost or voluntarily left their jobs for the returning men looking for work. How China played a role in defeating Japan and Tokyo Rose are covered. How reporters and political cartoonists of the day covered the war is included and how the death of FDR and Truman’s leadership affected the nation is covered well. The establishment of the U.N. was discussed by the big 3 even before war’s end.
More interesting to me were the firsthand memories of a Japanese shipman while being bombed and attacked by the US air force, a Jewish man forced to live in the Warsaw ghetto under the German occupation while the Allies ignored them as not a military necessity and a Germans remembrance of being in Dresden while it was being obliterated by the Allied forces. Tokyo, Pearl Harbor and London are also included. I don’t know how anyone can read these accounts of death and destruction and still want to go to war but we humans don’t seem to learn. The tens of thousands killed by the bombs may have been the lucky ones. It’s the stories of the ones who were burned to death or had limbs torn off or jumped in the nearest river only to be burned alive in the boiling waters that leave an impression. This is a common report from those in cities who were bombed everywhere. A recent article in Time states that pilots have a higher rate of PTSD than others in the military because they have a better view of what they have done to the human beings being bombed and killed. The firsthand reports by troops of entering Buchenwald aren’t any better. Both sides of the discussion to drop the atomic bomb on a large populated city are discussed and a detailed description of the atomic bomb test and its aftermath are given. The question of whether it was necessary to destroy a 2nd Japanese city and its civilian population only 3 days later is considered.
Also covered is the weak support given to Russia on the Eastern front and not informing them of the atomic bomb which may have led to the later strained relations with the U.S. and Britain. The Detroit tank assembly line riots and segregation of blacks in both military and civilian life is covered. Women’s working conditions don’t come off any better than the way blacks were treated and most lost or voluntarily left their jobs for the returning men looking for work. How China played a role in defeating Japan and Tokyo Rose are covered. How reporters and political cartoonists of the day covered the war is included and how the death of FDR and Truman’s leadership affected the nation is covered well. The establishment of the U.N. was discussed by the big 3 even before war’s end.
June 21, 2014
Was reading this book and then it got waterlogged when my fish tank leaked and I couldn't finish it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews