Thanks for the Memories: Love, Sex, and World War II

by Jane Mersky Leder

The collective consciousness of World War II revolved around the virtues of bravery, sacrifice, and commitment. Members of the “Greatest Generation” toed political and social lines in hopes of winning the war. They fell into lockstep, not asking many questions and breaking few social and sexual mores. Or did they?In fact, World War II, like all wars, was an era of sexual experimentation and a general loosening of morals. During this time of conflicting emotions and messages, of great sacrifice, and of discovery, some groups, especially women, experienced a relaxing of bonds that had kept them in check. Thanks for the Love, Sex, and World War II is the true story of how that generation responded to the fervor of war and how those passions changed their lives―and the relationships between the sexes―forever.But this book is more than that. As Jane Mersky Leder writes, “ Thanks for the Memories opens the hearts and memories of a generation that is dying, by one estimate, at the rate of more than 1,000 a day.” It not only exposes the Greatest Generation’s sexual and romantic escapades, it underscores how those four war years revolutionized relationships (including those between gays) and helped set the stage for the second wave of the women’s liberation movement. “Many who never thought their stories mattered,” Leder writes, “now feel the pull of limited time, and the importance of leaving an accurate account for their children and grandchildren of what it was like to be a young man or young woman during World War II. This is their collective story.”

Genres: History, World War II

186 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2006

Reviews

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm iffy on this rating. When it was good, it was amazing. When it wasn't, it was seriously annoying. This is basically divided by: if sex meant intercourse, it was an interesting and new look at the war and wartime relations; if sex meant gender, it was a plodding, bland rehash by an angry feminist. I totally get it - women were screwed over (so to speak) in the 40s. It was a hard time to be a woman, wife, girlfriend, easy lay, I am well convinced. But when the author talked about gender, she would just go on and on telling us about the injustice. In all other parts, she let the women who experienced the war talk about their lives and the stories spoke for themselves. The books works well as an example of the bonuses of showing vs. telling.

Loved the good parts, though. I enjoyed seeing the different experiences and morals in action, as well as quite a bit more about soldiers overseas than I had learned about in other books. But the descent into gender bias is what made me take over 3 months to read the damn thing.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. The beginning was really interesting, but I was trudging through the middle and most of the end, when it just seemed to be "The History of VD". Not exactly what I was interested in when I picked this book up..