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I promise you will remember your war years, if you were alive then, with extraordinary vividness as you go through Studs Terkel's book. Or, if you are too young to remember, this is the best place to get a sense of what people were feeling. -- Garry Wills, Chicago Tribune Book World
Incontestably one of the great human documents of all time. It has the essence and cumulative force of a hundred powerful war novels, without drawing on a single word of fiction. Among major historians Terkel is now in orbit all by himself, world class. -- Norman Corwin
Read this important book. -- Philadelphia Inquirer
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5.0 out of 5 stars
"There's no such thing as a good war or a bad peace",
By Blair Colquhoun (Saco, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: (the Good War÷: An Oral History Of World War Ii (Paperback)
The above quotation was on the quote page of Studs Terkel's 1984 book "The Good War." "The Good War" is an oral history of World War II. That's something Mr. Terkel excels at. His other oral histories include Hard Times andWorking. This is a must for anyone's World War II bookshelf. Don't give it away no matter what. Keep it under lock and key because it's so precious. If you read only one book on World War II, make it this one. Unlike Band of Brothers, which is about a company in a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, this book wasn't made into an HBO miniseries. Buy it now. There are fewer World War II veterans now than there were twenty years ago. Once they're all dead, it's a lost resource.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A special book, an important message,
By
This review is from: (the Good War÷: An Oral History Of World War Ii (Paperback)
"The Good War" has had a profound on my perspective of history. I have always been a fascinated student of World War II, but Terkel's masterpiece led me to completely re-evaluate how I viewed the Second World War. The book is somewhat deceiving because while it seems light, it is the exact opposite. Many of the accounts given by the men and women affected by the war are extremely powerful, and it is difficult to read through many of them in a row without having to stop and ponder their implications. There is no doubt Terkel wrote this book to push his support of pacifism. While he probably edited the accounts to make his message more pointed, it does not really matter. Yes, World War II was "good" in that it was necessary to stop the Nazi war machine. But it was not "good" because no war can be good. World War II is often portrayed as this great event, but Terkel reveals the War for what it really was: vital for the future of the world, but devastating to millions whose lives were transformed by it. "The Good War" is a lot of like "Flags of Our Fathers" by James Bradley. It is shows the amazing heroism displayed by people during the War, but at the same time vividly illustrates the horrors sometimes forgotten when people think about World War II. Make no mistake: I agree that the heroism of our vets during the war is unparalleled in history. I just think the book gives an important perspective that should not be ignored. If you want to gain a new perspective of what many call the "good war" I highly recommend Studs Terkels' powerful book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
World War II History From the Living Voices,
By
This review is from: (the Good War÷: An Oral History Of World War Ii (Paperback)
Studs Terkel's "The Good War" presented World War II as told by those who lived it. It appears that Terkel rounded up all the living legends that helped popularize the war effort, and have become somewhat iconiclastic heroes to American society. You've got the "gung ho" E.B. (Slegdehammer)Sledge who led the men of company K through the jungles of the Pacific, and of course, the Rosie the riveters who epitomized the working woman with their dungerees and working man boots. And ironically, Terkel also included the voices of dissent who had no sense of humanity and sided with the "other" side, that is, fascism, as a result of fear. The personal account by Erich Luth presents how war and the effects of war can have a major impact on an individual. Things can change in the process, and unfortunately, it was only through devastation that a person realized how wrong they had been to support a tyrranical form of government and leader, which existed with the Hitler regime. As Luth states: "You see, I belong to nation which has always been rich in military heroes, but is underdeveloped in civil courage...The young are beginning to understand" (433).If history teaches anything, it teaches us to understand how people experienced hardships and also successes. These individuals survived and they had the courage to tell their stories. From scientists to the boy or girl next door, these people are Americans who participated in a society that combated the enemy from the Pacific and the Atlantic. Terkel presented a variety of voices in "The Good War", and many great anecdotes and memoirs as told by these voices. It also asks the question if World War II had been romanticized as the "good war" or was it something more? All I can say is that this book is definitely worth reading in spite of the fact that much of the stories and eye-witness accounts bear much significance to yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This is a book about humanity and learning from what has been learned before.
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