Description
Book SynopsisThis work explores how war veterans reintegrated into society. It analyzes the effort that was required to avoid the potential social decay that is often associated with veteran reintegration and also explores topical issues of educational, health, housing, and personal readjustment they faced.
Trade ReviewAt last we have a book that deals systematically with the experiences of WWII veterans as they returned home from war! Mark Van Ells's well-researched and clearly written To Hear Only Thunder Again is an impressive and long-overdue book on a subject of enormous importance. After surviving years of danger overseas, readjusting to civilian life was for these men and their families the last battle of the Second World War, and in Mark Van Ells's book that often traumatic experience has at last been addressed in masterful fashion. An important addition to the vast literature on the Second World War. -- Thomas Childers, University of Pennsylvania
This is an excellent book that surveys a number of topics concerning the integration of returning World War II veterans into American society. * History Teacher *
Mark Van Ells's well-written and equally well-researched book is among the best on veterans in American history. No other book I know of looks so carefully at all three relevant levels: veterans' benefits as a national legislative and administrative issue; the actual implementation of programs at the state and local level (using Wisconsin as a case study); and the personal experiences of veterans (relying on both personal interviews and memoirs). It sets the standard for what one can only hope will be equally thorough and imaginative treatments of the veterans in more recent American wars. -- William Pencak, Pennsylvania State University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: The "Veteran Problem" in History Chapter 2 "The Art We Must Perfect": Government Planning for World War II Veterans Chapter 3 "I Think I Was a Little Futsed Up": Personal Readjustments Chapter 4 "Everyone Will Come Out of Here Wounded or Sick": Medical Readjustments Chapter 5 "My Mind Was Like Virgin Soil": Educational Readjustments Chapter 6 "I Still Had a Little of the Depression in Me": Economic Readjustments Chapter 7 "A Safe, Quiet, and Peaceful Place": Housing Readjustments Chapter 8 Conclusion
