Exploring the sociocultural landscape of World War II, this book challenges the notion of a unified American perspective on the conflict. John Bodnar delves into the extensive public debates surrounding the war's significance, uncovering the contested narratives that shaped the idea of the "good war." Through this analysis, it becomes clear that the understanding of the war was far from unanimous, highlighting the complexities of American memory and identity during this pivotal period.
The author encourages readers to explore the intricate methods through which films convey ideas and attitudes. By prompting imaginative thinking, the book delves into the nuanced relationship between cinema and cultural communication, inviting a deeper understanding of the messages embedded in movies.
Offering a compelling inquiry into public events ranging from the building of
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial through ethnic community fairs to pioneer
celebrations, this title explores the stories, ideas, and symbols behind
American commemorations over the last century.
" . . . an excellent broad overview . . . " ―Journal of Social History" . . . powerfully argued . . . " ―Moses Rischin" . . . imaginative and soundly based . . . " ―Choice"Highly recommended . . . " ―Library Journal" . . . an outstanding major contribution to the literature on immigration history." ―History" . . . a very important new synthesis of American immigration history . . . " ―Journal of American Ethnic History" . . . a state of the art discussion, impressively encyclopaedic . . . The Transplanted is a tour de force, and a fitting summation to Bodnar's own prolific, creative, and insightful writings on immigrants." ―Journal of Interdisciplinary HistoryA major survey of the immigrant experience between 1830 and 1930, this book has implications for all students and scholars of American social history.
John Bodnar has woven a compelling and passionate tale of true love, infidelity, racism, professional jealousy, lesbianism, lust, and unrequited love against the background of a fictional college set in idyllic Carmel Valley, California. Dean Rex Borden learned, at the age of thirteen, the qualities which have carried him through most of the delicate personal aspects of his life. This one year, however, in his professional academic life tests his resilience to put to use the hard-earned traits of obedience, patience, understanding, forgiveness, and tolerance among his diverse faculty. Told with poignant feeling and lucid writing, Bodnar has depicted the plights of his brilliantly drawn characters with sympathetic and often deservedly scathing insight. Lizbeth glides elegantly and sophisticatedly through these pages; Gillian is caught between two worlds and almost destroyed; Traci and Rutland witness personal and professional bias in their forthcoming miscegenation; Sheila, Michael, Edward, and Sarah must work out tragic relationships; Marion and Gerald live a life of love and devotion; Jesse must look within himself for a justifiable answer to his questionable behavior. And Dean Rex Borden must continue to uphold his innate qualities with complacency throughout the almost untenable situations with which he is faced.
The book explores the contrasting expressions of patriotism in America following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It highlights the rise of a war-based patriotism that rallied support for military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, alongside a call for empathic patriotism that acknowledged the suffering caused by these events. Two decades later, these divergent forms of patriotism continue to influence the nation's historical narrative and political landscape regarding the legacy of 9/11.
In an effort to mitigate historians' flattening of workers into the two-
dimensional plane of politics and protest, Bodnar revives workers and the
world in which they lived by conducting oral interviews with textile workers,
coal miners, steelworkers, and others in Pennsylvania.
