A judicious but generally somewhat lackluster history of "the
People's War." Although O'Neill (History/Rutgers; American High,
1986, etc.) derives his material entirely from secondary sources,
he gives a nuanced and comprehensive account of the period - and
also a somewhat revisionist one, particularly in his approval of
FDR's policy toward the Soviet Union. O'Neill argues that no degree
of advance planning could have generated terms more favorable to
the West than Roosevelt managed to win, and that the President
adopted a "delicate balancing act" toward Stalin in refusing to
discuss postwar aid (with the intent of making that aid dependent
on Soviet cooperation) and in keeping the atomic bomb a secret (a
decision frustrated by Soviet spies). Moreover, regarding FDR's
strategy prior to the entry of the US in the war, O'Neill notes
"the odd dialectic between President and people, in which FDR gave
assurance he did not mean, and they pretended to believe him." The
author believes that, in not understanding the full threat of
Germany to American interests, it was "American democracy that
failed the test, not just, or even particularly, the American
President." On the other hand, O'Neill judges American policy
toward Japan harshly, contending that "bad as America's diplomacy
was, its defenses were even worse," and that Roosevelt's
preoccupation with keeping power and with creating overlapping and
confused bureaucracies caused the US to lose a year in preparing
for war. But even so, O'Neill argues that FDR's highhanded style of
government was crucial to his success, given the American system of
government and the intensity of its partisan politics. A worthwhile
history, particularly of political and military matters - but
flawed somewhat by O'Neill's 1990's sensibility regarding issues of
race, sex, etc., which isn't always fully sensitive to the very
different mores that prevailed 50 years ago. (Kirkus Reviews)
As America fought to defend democracy in Europe and Asia during
World War II, its own democratic politics both aided and impeded
the war effort at home and the military campaigns abroad. Now, in a
broad-ranging social, political, military, and diplomatic history,
William O'Neill reveals how the United States won its victory
despite its reluctance to enter the war, and despite proceeding by
costly half-measures even after committing to battle.
General
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