Product Description
Between 1929 and 1945, two great travails were visited upon the American people: the Great Depression and World War II. This book tells the story of how Americans endured, and eventually prevailed, in the face of those unprecedented calamities.
The Depression was both a disaster and an opportunity. As David Kennedy vividly demonstrates, the economic crisis of the 1930s was far more than a simple reaction to the alleged excesses of the 1920s. For more than a ce... More >>
Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945
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This ponderous, tedious, self-righteous, jingoist, militaristic trumpeting can only appeal to members of the Kiwanis club or subscribers to the Atlantic Monthly or unfortunates who think Tom Brokaw is a journalist. While Six Million Died: A Chronicle Of American Apathy. By, Arthur D. Morse, is a flat refutation of Kennedy’s loving portrayal of the banality of evil.
Rating: 1 / 5
I purchased this book because of the other glowing reviews and because it won a Pulitzer. I was terribly disappointed. Sections of the book are interesting and helpful to understanding history. However, there are glaring oversights in the section that deals with WWII, and Kennedy is constantly inserting his personal opinions. He doesn’t trust his readers to draw their own conclusions. For example, in the battle of Iwo Jima, Kennedy mentions that many of the poor Japanese soldiers were forced to commit suicide and a large number died from barbaric flame throwers. Yet, he doesn’t even mention the American Marines who were captured and brutally tortured in caves on the island. Other similiar omissions exist throughout. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a racist, but anyone who has studied the Pacific theater of the war knows the Japanese Empirial Army was notorious for committing war crimes against civilians and Allied soldiers/sailors. It seems Kennedy has the knowledge to write a factual account of US history during this time period, but he didn’t deliver. If you are looking for an objective account of the war, look elsewhere!
Rating: 2 / 5
I know it is chic to resite the non-accomplishments of past or current world leaders, but this is too much. For 362 pages we read that Roosevelt did nothing right, that he careened from crisis to crisis, never did anything than had any effect on the economic problems of the times, did nothing for Labor or Farming, attacked Business on every possible occation, destroyed the Military, lied to the American People to win re-election in 1936, tried to destroy the Supreme Court, etc. It is hard to find anything that the author thinks Roosevelt did right!
We then read 18 pages on how great and meaningful the results of the New Deal were and how they not only changed the country, but saved democracy as we know it!
I can’t wait to find out how Roosevelt lost the Second World War. I am sure he did it all by himself!
Rating: 2 / 5
Mr. Kennedy has fallen prey to the usual curse of academia: judging history by our standards and failing to see the context of the times. His self-righteousness shows as he condemns the U.S. for slowness in reacting to Hitler, while saying we were far too aggressive with those meek Japanese. I’m glad FDR and Harry Truman were making those decisions (even without benefit of hindsight) than Prof. Kennedy.
Rating: 2 / 5
I am half way through this book and it has been kind of hard to read since I am more interested in the experience of the American people than all of the policies (both economic and political) of the era. I am looking forward to reading Lorena Hickok’s account of the depression more than this book. If you are deeply interested in political and economic policies of the FDR presidency this is the book for you. If not, try something a little less wordy.
Rating: 3 / 5