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Book SynopsisIn
Northern Ireland, The United States and the Second World War, Simon Topping analyses the American military presence in Northern Ireland during the war, examining the role of the government at Stormont in managing this friendly invasion', the diplomatic and military rationales for the deployment, the attitude of Americans to their posting, and the effect of the US presence on local sectarian dynamics. He explores US military planning, the hospitality and entertainment provided for American troops, the renewal and reimagining of historic links between Ulster and the United States, the importation of Jim Crow' racism, Johnny Doughboys' marrying Irish Roses', and how all of this impacted upon internal, transatlantic and cross-border politics. This study also draws attention to influential and understudied individuals such as Northern Ireland's Prime Minister Sir Basil Brooke and offers a reassessment of David Gray, America's minister to Dublin. As a result, it provides a comprehe
Trade ReviewIt is a very good book about an interesting subject. It is well-researched and finely judged. There is no comparable text. There are many interesting and original angles. It contains a good combination of general analysis and narrative and particular stories and illustrative material. It will appeal to a wide range of readers. Among books on NI during the war this is easily one of the best. * Geoffrey Roberts, Emeritus Professor of History, Member of the Royal Irish Academy, University College Cork, Ireland *
I think this is the most important book on US forces in Northern Ireland during the war. This is the most extensively researched, fully explained, and well analyzed study of the subject yet produced. This is a brilliant book that tells the almost unknown story of US forces in Northern Ireland in World War II. I learned something new on almost every page. * Francis M. Carroll, Professor Emeritus, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba, Canada *
Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: ‘The Ties of Kinship’ 1. ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’: One Hundred Thousand Welcomes! 2. ‘Stepping Stone to Berlin’: The US military in Northern Ireland 3. ‘Absolute and Executive Jurisdiction’: Policing and Managing the Yanks 4. ‘If you can’t see the hills’: Occupying the Occupiers 5. ‘My own country overrun’: Irish Nationalism and the American presence 6. ‘To clear this territory of such forces’: The IRA and the Americans 7. ‘Developments in Northern Ireland’: The Belfast Consulate and the War 8. ‘Johnny Doughboy met a Rose in Ireland’: Women and the Americans 9. ‘Dusky Doughboys’: Jim Crow racism in Northern Ireland 10. ‘A Testy Old Gentleman’: David Gray, Hyphenated-Americans and Partition 11. ‘Ulster Had a Hand in the First Independence Day’: Ulster-American Revivalism and the Second World War 12. ‘Letters from Ulster’: Propaganda, Memory and the Americans Conclusion: ‘Without Northern Ireland’ Epilogue: David Gray’s ‘Great Illusion’ Primary Sources Bibliography Endnotes Index
