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The Crash of Ruin
 
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The Crash of Ruin [Hardcover]

Peter Schrijvers (Author), Peter Stearns (Author)

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: New York University Press (February 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 081478089X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0814780893
  • Product Dimensions: 2.3 x 1.5 x 0.3 cm
  • Shipping Weight: 599 g

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Product Description

Book Description

This book offers a compelling account of how America's combat soldiers experienced Europe during World War II. It paints a vivid picture of the GIs' struggles with its natural surroundings, their confrontations with its soldiers, their encounters with its civilians, and their reactions to uncovering the holocaust. The book shows how these harrowing experiences convinced the American soldiers that Europe's collapse was not just the result of the war, but also of the Old World's deep-seated political cynicism, economic stagnation, and cultural decadence.

About the Author

Currently Lecturer in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, Peter Schrijvers received his Ph.D. in U.S. diplomatic and military history from The Ohio State University. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Amazon.com: 4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Europe seen by American Soldiers, Sep 30 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Crash of Ruin (Hardcover)
Peter Schrijvers' book is a wonderful one when as a reader or a scholar you are interested in intercultural studies or more generally in perception that one has of the other(s). Using an extensive aray of primary sources (diaries, letters, poems, songs, jokes, cartoons and memoirs) Peter Schrijvers allows any readers to enter the G.I.'s state of mind. Either intellectually or emotionally one has the possibility to see how Europe (its nature, weather, landscape, cities, town) and Europeans (whether Allies or Foes) were perceived by the G.I.'s during this period. But this book also is about another actor of this dark period, namely: War. Peter Schrijvers' book is a reminder on how powerfully War can shape someone's perception and how it surprisingly can blur G.I.s' vision of their surroundings. It is striking to see that American soldiers weren't really able to distinguish between a normal and an exceptional period of time in European life. War years seemed to be the reflection of a normal image of Europe and by reading Peter Schrijvers' book one might understand why it was perceived so.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a "shoot 'em up"..., Sep 24 2007
By one_wilson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Crash of Ruin: American Combat Soldiers in Europe During World War II (Paperback)
...more of a sociology-type study. Provides very interesting insights into American GI experiences in WW2 Europe. Not always the conventional-wisdom approach, very nuanced and sometimes suprising in its treatment. Highly researched, has an academic feel to it, with many interesting "factoids" and statistics. Among many interesting analyses, one good example is the evolution of American attitudes about the German soldier and the German war machine in general from the North Africa phase to the Conquest phase of WW2. Solid book - not a page-turner in the usual battle sense, but interesting and highly informative.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic!, Nov 25 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Crash of Ruin (Hardcover)
One of the most remarkable books on World War II I have ever come across. Belongs up there with Ambrose and Linderman. Up there even with Bell Irvin Wiley's classics on Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, America's Civil War soldiers.
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars 

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