In this Book
- Worshipping the Myths of World War II: Reflections on America's Dedication to War
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: University of Nebraska Press
summary
Is any war a “good war”? In Worshipping the Myths of World War II, the author takes a critical look at what he sees is America’s dedication to war as panacea and as Washington’s primary method for leading the world. Articulating why he believes the lessons of World War II are profoundly relevant to today’s events, Edward W. Wood, Jr., reflects on such topics as the killing of innocents, which became increasingly accepted during the war; on how actual killing is usually ignored in war discussions and reporting; on the lifetime impact of frontline duty, which he knew firsthand; on the widely accepted concept of “the Greatest Generation”; on present criteria for judging war memoirs and novels; on the fallacy that the United States won the war largely on its own; and on the effect that the Holocaust had on our national concepts of evil and purity. His final chapter centers on how the “war on terror” is different from World War II—and why the myths created about the latter hide that reality.
Table of Contents
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- Part I: The First Myth: “The Good War”
- 1. The Killing of Innocents
- pp. 19-38
- Part II: The Second Myth: “The Greatest Generation”
- 5. The World War II Memoir
- pp. 87-104
- 6. The World War II Novel
- pp. 105-112
- 7. An Opportunity Lost
- pp. 113-128
- Part III: The Third Myth: “We Won World War II Largely on Our Own”
- 8. America Triumphant
- pp. 131-142
- Part IV: The Fourth Myth: “When Evil Lies in Others, War Is the Means to Justice”
- 9. The Holocaust and the “Evil” Other
- pp. 145-166
- Part V: Beyond The Myths of World War II
- 10. New Ways of Thinking and Acting
- pp. 169-194
- Selected Bibliography
- pp. 213-232
- About the Author
- pp. 243-244
Additional Information
ISBN
9781597973335
Related ISBN(s)
9781597970167
MARC Record
OCLC
755583459
Pages
260
Launched on MUSE
2016-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No