Book Review: A Nation Forged in War by Thomas Bruscino, Jr.

 In the book A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get Along takes the reader into what Thomas Bruscino perceived what World War II did for America in seven chapters. Thomas Bruscino highlights the aspects of how the people from all walks of life were brought together during World War II. The title of the book describes what the it centers around, because during World War II these soldiers were forced because of draft lottery to withstand rigors training and having to witness grizzly events right in front of them. Thomas Bruscino sets the tone for reader by highlighting the acceptance on religious and national background in the United States and all the events that took place during this time period, including the Great Depression and how World War I veterans were advocating for benefits for the veterans of World War II.

 In the beginning of the book Thomas Bruscino captures the reader by telling of the sinking of the Dorchester and how four men died during this event. In the book gives details on how the ship sank by “a German submarine spotted the ship and fired a torpedo”[1] . These four men were courageous because the Dorchester had nine hundred Americans aboard and they went out to help those who were wounded. They also gave up their own life jackets to those who did not have one. Thomas Bruscino concludes that the four men never made it off the Dorchester and were honored for their bravery.[2]

 In the next couple of chapters Thomas Bruscino will highlight the diversity and acceptance of those from different background in the United States. Bruscino writes heavily about the Roman Catholic religion in the 1920s dominated the nations and other statistics on “ethnic and religious minorities”[3] to better push how divided the nation was pre-World War II. The author talks about the founding the Ku Klux Klan and immigration laws to better support his discussion on the division of the United States. Furthermore, the book goes into detail about the draft lottery and how it was configured and how diversity was handled in World War II. Bruscino emphasizes that the army enacted policies to make sure that the soldiers did not engage in any prejudices towards each other thus leading to soldiers bonding despite coming from vastly different backgrounds.

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 In Franklin D. Roosevelts “The Four Freedom” speech to announce the increasing possibility of U.S. invention, stating “For all our domestice problems are now a part of the great emergency”[4], because of Adolf Hitler’s campaigns. Thomas Bruscino describes the induction process in great detail, especially how “training that sought to strip recruits of their individual identities”[5], this was for the purpose to better unite the soldiers. The book states that there were a few African Americans, but they were segregated because of the Jim Crow law. Despite the efforts to bring together soldiers from different backgrounds, skin color still made its way into the Army and they were still segregated[6].

 In the last two chapters the author talks about how the United States prepare for the homecoming the soldiers, now veterans. The book goes into detail how World War II changed the men for reasons that are incomprehensible unless you went through it. Though many who were draft did come face to face with combat these men were still trained rigorously and lived in poor environments away from their families. The author also starts discussing the Great Depression where veterans was asking the government about the monetary promises, they made back in 1924[7]. Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to make sure that the veteran returned how to a good economy because he knew that World War II had halted their career paths. Veteran were also of concern because of post-traumatic stress disorder that war may have caused to those who were susceptible. Veterans from World War I were lobbying for World War II veterans to have benefits when they returned, the was widespread support[8].

 When comparing A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get Along by Thomas Bruscino, with other sources of information, this book gave a great deal of information and background as to how World War II shaped the United States. I already had some background knowledge about World War II from having family who fought in combat during D-Day. However, this book told a variety of different aspects and political events that led to the war and homecoming of the veterans. The articles provided in the course, for example, the Franklin D. Roosevely, “The Four Freedoms” (1941), article undeniably went hand in hand with the book and read both concurrently to get a better understanding.

A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get Along by Thomas Bruscino, is an excellent book for students, educators, and those who want to learn more about World War II. This book went into detail about how World War II brought together many people from different backgrounds to fight. When reading the book, I found that if you do not already have knowledge on World War II, this book may be confusing. However, I had background knowledge and articles supplied to me from the course, I was able to interpret and understand the book easily. This book can be suitable for those who have family members who fought in World War II because they would get a glimpse as too went on during some of the events, as someone whose grandfather fought in World War II, I found myself quickly immersed. Thomas Bruscino wrote this book well given he is a History professor and sequenced it to capture the readers. The author used collected data to support his writing along with primary resources. This book can appeal to many people because of how fascinating World War II is, and this book only makes it more intriguing.

[1] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2014.

[2] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along.

[3] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along.

[4] “The Four Freedoms”. Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1941

[5] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along.

[6] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along.

[7] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along

[8] Bruscino, Thomas A. A Nation Forged in War: How World War II Taught Americans to Get along