The Good War: An Oral History of World War II | 
 enlarge | Author: Studs Terkel
Publisher: New Press
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 32346
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 608
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 1565843436
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.548
EAN: 9781565843431
ASIN: 1565843436
Publication Date: January 1997
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Condition: Fast shipping!! Good reading copy. Cover shows very, very, VERY heavy wear, scuffing, creases, cover lift, curling, moisture stains on outer page corners but text still very readable! No marks or writing.
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Amazon.com
Studs Terkel, the noted Chicago-based journalist, gathers the reminiscences of 121 participants in World War II (called "the good war" because, in the words of one soldier, "to see fascism defeated, nothing better could have happened to a human being"). These participants, men and women, famous and ordinary, tell stories that add immeasurably to our understanding of that cataclysmic time. One Soviet soldier recounts that, surrounded by the Germans, his comrades tapped the powder from their last cartridges and inserted notes to their families inside the casings; Russian children, he goes on, still turn these up every now and again and deliver the notes to the soldiers' families. Terkel touches on many themes along the way, including institutionalized racism in the United States military, the birth of the military-industrial complex, and the origins of the Cold War.
Book Description
A writer, reporter, and above all, a good listener, Studs Turkel has spent a career posing provocative questions and actively listening to the answers. In "The Good War", Terkel talks to Americans, both famous and obscure, about their contrasting, not always golden, memories of the war that shaped their lives, World War II. This first trade paperback edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book features a new Preface by the author.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 This is the best book on WWII June 21, 2008
"The Good War" - Studs Turkel's 5th oral history - was published in 1984. Like most of his other books, this too was a "best seller". Turkel has put together excerpts from some 124 interviews with people who lived during the war years - ex-military officers and enlisted men, defense industry workers, atomic bomb scientists, celebrities, politicians, Jews, Japanese, Germans, Russians, men, women, blacks, native Americans, rich, poor, younger, older. I've missed some, but you get the idea.
The war, notes Turkel, was good for most Americans, ergo - the title. After a long, lean depression throughout the country, there were again plenty of jobs, plenty of money, and plenty of hell-raising. Also, Americans were happy to work hard and to lend their support to the war effort - in whatever way they could - because they thought they knew why the country was at war. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. Most active participants in the war survived the experience: there were 129 million Americans at that time, 5 million served on active military duty, 1 million of those were killed, wounded, or injured in the war. Most Americans interviewed considered the war years generally happy ones. Many of those who served in the military considered their war-time experiences the most exciting times of their lives.
When people spoke to the tape recorder about their lives during the war years, they automatically came up with the most exciting, most memorable, most tragic, most funny, most whatever - because these are stories that they've been thinking about, telling and retelling for over 30 years. That's what makes this book so readable. It's definitely not boring and it's definitely informative. Many people recalled a specific moment in their lives, when they were unbelievably lucky, and because they were lucky, they survived with their life.
In my view, if you are going to read just one book about WWII, this should be the book!
 Fascinating Look at a Bygone Era May 17, 2008
Studs Terkel's The Good War is a very entertaining set of oral histories about World War II. By allowing people to tell their own stories in their own words, Terkel sweeps his readers along on a fascinating trip back in time. Even at roughly 600 pages, The Good War is difficult to put down.
The Good War definitely will encourage you to think. Terkel wants his readers to ponder whether war can ever be justified. Another poignant aspect of The Good War is the fact that the vast majority of the interview subjects must be deceased by now; in fact, several died before the book's original 1984 publication. The Good War is the sort of book that will force you to reflect, even long after you have finished reading it.
While I would recommend The Good War, it is possible to offer a few criticisms.
As several reviewers have noted, Terkel is devoted to debunking the notion that WWII was, in any way, good. If there was a problem in those years, Terkel doesn't just cover it, he covers it at length. The fact that Terkel wants to take away our rose-colored glasses does not bother me. But I have been lucky enough to meet many World War II veterans; most of them are much less critical of WWII than are Terkel's interviewees. So, I wonder whether we hear from a disproportionate number of malcontents.
Another criticism is that Terkel tries to take on too much - even for 600 pages. The book meanders onto a number of topics that (while interesting) stray a bit far from WWII. For instance, Terkel has strong interests in the Spanish Civil War and the Cold War. These sections may be too far from the "main" story for some readers' tastes.
On the whole, however, The Good War is a fascinating look at a lost era. You will be entertained and you will also be left with much to think about after you finish.
 Negative "cherry pickin'" April 3, 2007
5 out of 15 found this review helpful
I expected a history of the war through eyewitness accounts, but got a collection of cherry picked anecdotes selected to make an anti-war statement. Some of the stories are interesting and revealing of aspects of the time, but this is not a definitive history of WWII by any means.
Absolute, Must-Read Oral History of World War II August 7, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you have even the slightest interest in history in general, or just World War II specifically, you HAVE to read this book! The Good War is a national treasure containing a broad cross-cut of the generations of men and women who lived through a horrible and fascinating era. This is not a history as you've known history. This is history as a living, breathing entity. If you're skeptical of my enthusiasm, just try to get through the first chapter without wanting to read the rest of them.
These interviews are guaranteed to affect you. This is the perspective that history so often overlooks: the views of the everyday man, woman, and child at ground zero--those who experience history first-hand.
Definite must read for everyone July 18, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
No wonder he won the pullitzer for this book. WOW! This is an eye opening account of WWII and those who were around back then. The interviews tell 1st hand accounts of soldiers, wives, daughters, husbands sons who experienced life during this tumultuous time in history. Parts are disturbing but get down to the numbness of war and how in a time of crisis the grossness of war can seem normal. Also, very touching and poignant.
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