Looking Back: New Studies in the Literature of Twentieth-Century War

Janis P. Stout's Coming out of War and Margot Norris' Writing War in the Twentieth Century shift their examination of war rhetoric from the standard "Great War" and "World War II" foci to one that considers the continuity and interdependency of violence and culture in the twentieth century. Stout's book is a persuasive portrait of Anglo American cultural responses to the experience of war and the grieving process that connects the two wars as part of one tragic conflict. Margot Norris' approach also successfully spans twentieth-century warfare, selecting works from a variety of mediums including literature, film, memoirs and government documents to elucidate the nature of rhetoric and the craft of representation. Both works illuminate compelling and insightful narratives addressing how accounts of twentieth-century conflicts are culturally disseminated.