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Soldier from the War Returning: The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming from World War II
One of our most enduring national myths surrounds the men and women who fought in the so-called "Good War." The Greatest Generation, we're told by Tom Brokaw and others, fought heroically, then returned to America happy, healthy and well-adjusted. They quickly and cheerfully went on with the business of rebuilding their lives.In this shocking and hauntingly beaut...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
May 13th 2009
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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This might just be the best book on the "Greatest Generation" that I have ever read. So many historical accounts view the immediate postwar period with rose-colored glasses that it is easy to assume that all WW2 veterans had a joyous homecoming and an easy transition back to civilian life. This book shows that all was not as it may seem, and that even veterans who showed every outward sign of being well-adjusted and successful could be haunted by post-traumatic stress. Ultimately, m...more
Just witnessed the loss of the last surviving combat veteran of WWI, the so called Great War, which so closely followed the "Splendid Little War" in the 1894. It is important to remember that our WWII vets are leaving us and our Viet Nam vets are reaching retirement age. Anyone I've ever talked to who's been in a shooting war has been generally reticent about their experience. That we were compelled to participate in the war of 1939-1945 was of little comfort to the veterans who witnes...more
I thought this was an interesting book. So much has been written about the war and so much of it has been romanticized, but this was a very frank look about the aftermath of war, something not written about often.
You can not talk about Vietnam and not hear about bad things when the soldiers came home, but for some reason WWII doesn't have that stigma. Those soldiers had the same problems but it seems like this is the dirty little secret of WWII. It makes a person wonder if these s...more
You can not talk about Vietnam and not hear about bad things when the soldiers came home, but for some reason WWII doesn't have that stigma. Those soldiers had the same problems but it seems like this is the dirty little secret of WWII. It makes a person wonder if these s...more
If you're a student of WW2 history, reading this book is absolutely a must. I started it on a Friday morning and finished it in the early, wee hours of Saturday. That's rare for me, but it shows just how good this book really was.
We often tend to think the Greatest Generation didn't have many problems when they came back from the war, but the effects of the war continued to ripple in these mens lives years afterward.
It almost reads like a novel, and tells the story of th...more
We often tend to think the Greatest Generation didn't have many problems when they came back from the war, but the effects of the war continued to ripple in these mens lives years afterward.
It almost reads like a novel, and tells the story of th...more
Soldier from the War Returning: The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming from World War II
Thomas Childers
296 pages
978-0-618-77368-8
Soldier from the War Returning: The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming from World War II is about the lives of a couple soldiers from World War II during the war, and after the war ends. The author briefly describes the soldiers' experiences in war which range from being a prisoner of war to a person who is shot in the leg. A...more
Thomas Childers
296 pages
978-0-618-77368-8
Soldier from the War Returning: The Greatest Generation's Troubled Homecoming from World War II is about the lives of a couple soldiers from World War II during the war, and after the war ends. The author briefly describes the soldiers' experiences in war which range from being a prisoner of war to a person who is shot in the leg. A...more
For those of you who read Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation" this book will tell you what it was really like for vets coming home from WWII. These guys struggled with PTSD and missing out on the best years of their life and it is rarely talked about. A great book for anybody who had a dad/grandfather in WWII.
Excellent, excellent book. My father was in WWII, and that generation really never spoke about PTSD, although many suffered from it (as I am sure my own father did, having survived the Normandy Campaign and the Battle of the Bulge)... it read like a novel but the stories were true. I finished it in two days!!!!!
I was intrigued by this book mainly because all you ever hear is how soldiers from WWII came home and had great lives, but there were so many that dealt with effects of the war the rest of thier lives and it tore apart families. I was always told that my grandfather had a hard time when he came back from the war and as I read the book I wondered if he could have identified with these soldiers. Maybe someone could have helped him.
wonderful read by a Penn history professor and WWII scholar...he examines the myth that has developed that all WWII veterans adjusted easily back to civilian life after their service. as he describes the psychological damage, one is reminded there is no such thing as a good war or bad war when it comes to the impact on those who serve.
An honest, powerful, provocative and good book.
a WONDERFUL book
Excellent, very moving history.
Interesting read-a glimpse into what my grandparents might have experienced. Specifically-my grandfathers.
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It was somehow reassuring that the American psyche has not changed. War can be devestating no matter the generation.
Excellent.
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Soldier from the war returning | 1 | 6 | Aug 11, 2009 07:29pm |
