Synopses & Reviews
In this compelling book, G. Kurt Piehler and Sidney Pash bring together a collection of essays offering a fresh examination of American participation in the Second World War, including a long overdue reconsideration of such seminal topics as the forces leading the United States to enter World War II, the role of the American military in the Allied victory, and war-time planning for the postwar world, but also tackle new inquiries into life on the home front and America's commemoration of one of the most controversial and climatic events of the war-the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In this compelling book, G. Kurt Piehler and Sidney Pash bring together a collection of essays offering a fresh examination of American participation in the Second World War, including a long overdue reconsideration of such seminal topics as the forces leading the United States to enter World War II, the role of the American military in the Allied victory, and war-time planning for the postwar world, but also tackle new inquiries into life on the home front and America's commemoration of one of the most controversial and climatic events of the war-the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. These outstanding historians cover crucial moments such as:Franklin D. Roosevelt's pivotal, if at times indecisive, role in leading the United StatesThe miscalculation of Japanese intentions by American diplomats and the failure of deterrence in preventing war in the PacificThe experiences and contributions of conscientious objectors to American society in this time of total warThe decision of the United States to fight with an ineffective battle tank at the expense of American livesThe Coast Guard's contribution to the D-Day LandingHow elite foreign policy organizations prior to V-J Day sought to influence American occupation policies regarding Japan With these essays and much more, The United States in the Second World War is sure to prove a classic to World War II buffs.
Review
This volume of essays on the US in World War II provides a good balance between the coming of war, the waging of war, and the conflict's aftermath. Little-known sources and original vantage points ensure that anyone interested in this seismic conflict will find something new to ponder.-Peter Schrijvers
About the Author
G. KURT PIEHLER is Associate Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Piehler is author and editor of books on military history.
SIDNEY PASH is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and History, Fayetteville (North Carolina) State University and writes on American diplomatic history.