WAR COMES AGAIN: COMPARATIVE VISTAS ON THE CIVIL WAR AND WORLD WAR II
The Civil War and World War II stand as two of the most critical events in American history. In War Comes Again: Comparative Vistas on the Civil War and World War II, noted editor Gabor Boritt has assembled a stellar collection of essays from 11 eminent historians–all veterans of World War II–to offer an illuminating comparison of these two epic events. Stephen Ambrose, the best-selling author of D-Day, June 6th, 1944, offers an intriguing comparison of two great military leaders–Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Pulitzer Prize?winning historian Robert V. Bruce takes a revealing look at the events that foreshadowed the two wars; while Gerald Linderman, author of Embattled Courage, examines the two wars from the point of view of the humble foot soldier. There are, in addition, fascinating discussions of spying during the two wars, of the wartime diplomacy of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, and of the wars’ long-range impact on women and blacks. In perhaps the most gripping piece in the book, Michael Adams offers an unflinching look at the wars’ destructiveness, arguing that the evils associated with “bad” wars are equally true of “good” wars. Military historian Russell Weigley maps the evolution of American attitudes toward war, from the self-sacrificial attitudes of earlier eras to present-day beliefs that the only acceptable wars are short, inexpensive and certain of victory. Another Pulitzer Prize winner and World War II veteran, Don E. Fehrenbacher, takes a personal look at two common soldiers who have no monuments and have never been mentioned in previous histories, but who nevertheless demonstrated a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice that is “embedded in the very structure of the enduring nation and the world we live in.”
Cowan Brew
