The New Yorker Book of War Pieces: London, 1939 to Hiroshima, 1945

by The New Yorker

Presents distinguished journalistic accounts of the Second World War, from the bombing of English cities, to the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, to a profile of the young Lt. John Kennedy, and many other classic reports

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Military History, History, World War II, War

562 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 1988

About the author

The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published forty-seven times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans.

Reviews

[Rolf Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of original reporting during WW 2 by New Yorker writers. The pieces appeared in The New Yorker during the war. As a long time history buff, in particular about WW 2, I found this absolutely fascinating. The accounts range from well known, like JFK and PT 109, and D Day, to fronts little written about like the Persian Gulf where US troops moved war material from ships to trains to deliver it to the Soviets. That account includes a description of a young train engineer with nerves of steel. The book starts with an description of an American woman who marries into Polish nobility fleeing the fighting with her children. It ends with a long account of the destruction of Hiroshima, from the perspective of residents, especially doctors. Highly recommended.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains all the WWII writings published in the New Yorker magazine—1939 through Hiroshima. All the stories are written by Allies (mostly American and English). Although the book was engaging, it often lacked the flavor of true war. "Hiroshima" by John Hersey is one of the exceptions as were some of the stories written by journalists living in the combat areas.

[Thomas Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wonder of this book is that it was written in "real time" - the stories as the war was unfolding - participants sharing what they thought as it was happening. Reading an early article about the reaction in London as the war started on the continent, one gets the sense of a watch party going on - it couldn't last, France had them outnumbered, or so the publishing went that day. And of course as one would expect from the New Yorker, they were the interesting and touching stories.

[Charlotte Tressler · Rating 5 out of 5]

These New Yorker articles from WWII contain some of the most eloquent writings I have ever read. I checked it out from our local library while doing research for a writing project and found the firsthand accounts and language of the period invaluable.