The Darkest Year is acclaimed author William K. Klingaman’s narrative history of the American home front from December 7, 1941 through the end of 1942, a psychological study of the nation under the pressure of total war. For Americans on the home front, the twelve months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor comprised the darkest year of World War Two. Despite government attempts to … government attempts to disguise the magnitude of American losses, it was clear that the nation had suffered a nearly unbroken string of military setbacks in the Pacific; by the autumn of 1942, government officials were openly acknowledging the possibility that the United States might lose the war.
Appeals for unity and declarations of support for the war effort in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor made it appear as though the class hostilities and partisan animosities that had beset the United States for decades — and grown sharper during the Depression — suddenly disappeared. They did not, and a deeply divided American society splintered further during 1942 as numerous interest groups sought to turn the wartime emergency to their own advantage.
Blunders and repeated displays of incompetence by the Roosevelt administration added to the sense of anxiety and uncertainty that hung over the nation.
The Darkest Year focuses on Americans’ state of mind not only through what they said, but in the day-to-day details of their behavior. Klingaman blends these psychological effects with the changes the war wrought in American society and culture, including shifts in family roles, race relations, economic pursuits, popular entertainment, education, and the arts.
more
In this fast-paced narrative of the American homefront during the first year of the country’s participation in World War II, Will Klingaman demonstrates a marvelous knack for placing the reader in the middle of the chaotic mobilization of the economy and armed forces of a nation unprepared for war. Shortages, rationing, and confusion in the conversion of industry to war production gave only fitful promise in 1942 of America’s eventual emergence as the arsenal of democracy.
Hard to remember what the home front had to go thru to support the war. Worth the read.
This book will remind you of now as America grapples with the pandemic. The first year Of America at home in World War II involved daunting, disruptive change and most people hated it. Everyone did not pull together. From a blissful recovery from the depression to rationed food, supplies, with travel shut down, news censorship and the conversion of factories—without an internet—people were grouchy. Americans had to learn to pull together, to give our troops the logistical advantage no other country had. Surprising to me was the resistance to security measures and the cost for that. You’ll also learn why tens of thousands could not be drafted and get a glimpse of an America still very unhealthy after the depression. This author helped me see the world of my parents like no one else has.
Extremely thorough explanation.
I entered morning kindergarten in Brooklyn in January 1942. I remember living during much mentioned on the book. Much in the book still rings bells within me.
I was born in 1938 so don’t remember those days, but was surpriosed to hear how much resistance the book presents to citizen (and legislative) acceptance of the war and and its demands for action. Pictures of “Rosie the Riveter” have dominated over pictures of complaints against rationing.
The narrative of America’s response to WWII on the home front draws many parallels to the America of today. I found it heartening to discover that many of the controversies now are echoes of the ones of 70 years ago. The author’s depiction of the state of the economy and society at that time are excellent.
If you are a student of history I think you will enjoy this book. I am a fan and enjoy getting a deeper understanding of this period in our history
So many of us learned in high school that the misery of the Great Depression was defeated by the victory of World War II. Missing from that overview, however, was the moment when many Americans were afraid that we might lose to Hitler, and that our country would cease to exist. The Darkest Year reveals that soul-stirring moment in all its detail.
In stitch and scope, Klingaman’s vast tapestry depicts in a swift narrative, Americans’ struggles as they came to grips with the demands and terror of World War II. This is the book to start with to understand how total war transformed a once-reluctant home front into a launch pad for victory.