Name: Dana Kraft's review of The Year of Peril by Tracy Campbell
Item: The Year of Peril
Rating: 3
Author: Dana Kraft

Tracy Campbell

This fascinating chronicle of how the character of American society revealed itself under the duress of World War II "place(s) today's myriad social traumas and dislocations in perspective." -- George Will, Washington Post The Second World War exists in the American historical imagination as a time of unity and optimism. In 1942, however, after a series of defeats in the Pacific and the struggle to establish a beachhead on the European front, America seemed to be on the brink of defeat and was beginning to splinter from within. Exploring this precarious moment, Tracy Campbell paints a portrait of the deep social, economic, and political fault lines that pitted factions of citizens against each other in the post-Pearl Harbor era, even as the nation mobilized, government-aided industrial infrastructure blossomed, and parents sent their sons off to war. This captivating look at how American society responded to the greatest stress experienced since the Civil War reveals the various ways, both good and bad, that the trauma of 1942 forced Americans to redefine their relationship with democracy in ways that continue to affect us today.

America in 1942

The Year of Peril

Dana Kraft

An interesting and enlightening perspective and definitely more focused on the political and leadership challenges of this critical year. I was hoping for a little more of an Everyman perspective. That’s not absent but I would have preferred more of it. Certainly the political battles are to an extent reflective of what people care about but 2020 provided a good example of how disconnected political issues can be from what regular people care about.

Dana Kraft &
The Year of Peril by Tracy Campbell

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Dana Kraft &The Year of Peril by Tracy Campbell

Reviews

Join the club

Dana Kraft &
The Year of Peril by Tracy Campbell