The Crash of Ruin: American Combat Soldiers in Europe during World War II

by Peter Schrijvers

Overview

This book offers a compelling account of how America's combat soldiers experienced Europe during World War II. It paints a vivid picture of the GIs' struggles with its natural surroundings, their confrontations with its soldiers, their encounters with its civilians, and their reactions to uncovering the holocaust. The book shows how these harrowing experiences convinced the American soldiers that Europe's collapse was not just the result of the war, but also of the Old World's deep-seated political cynicism, economic stagnation, and cultural decadence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349145249
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/01/1998
Edition description:	1st ed. 1998
Pages:	325
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Peter Schrijvers is Professor in American and International History at The University of New South Wales in Sydney. He is the author of The Crash of Ruin: American Combat Soldiers in Europe during World War II, also available from NYU Press.

Table of Contents

Dedication - Abbreviations - Preface - Acknowledgements - PART 1: NATURE - Earth - Vegetation - Light and Darkness - The Seasons - Notes - PART 2: THE SOLDIERS - The Allies - The Enemies - PART 3: THE CIVILIANS - The Labyrinth of Nations - The Limits of Communication - The Totality of War - The Old World - PART 4: THE APOCALYPSE - The Strange - The Genocide - The Horsemen of the Apocalypse - Notes - Epilogue - Bibliography - Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This terrifying, remarkable work examines the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of U.S. fighting men in the Pacific theater during World War II. Imaginatively drawing on letters, diaries, memoirs, military reports, and contemporary psychological assessments, Schrijvers reveals the social, historical, and emotional roots of the peculiarly frenzied and merciless war...this temperate study of murderous fury is among the most unsettling books I've read in years."

-The Atlantic Monthly,

"One of the most remarkable books I have ever come across. A significant and fascinating contribution to the field. The Crash of Ruin should appeal to a large audience of readers interested in World War II history."

-Edward M. Coffman,author of The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I

"The Crash of Ruin offers the reader both intellectual and emotional rewards. . . . Its narrative power makes it a wonderful read."

-Susan M. Hartmann,The Ohio State University

"A brilliant contribution to intercultural studies. It imaginatively combines the 'new' military history with an older American Studies research and writing technique. Not only will the book attract a wide range of readers, it should also stimulate scholars to adopt this approach to many other topics in cultural studies."

-William R. Childs,author of Trucking and the Public Interest

Editorial Reviews

This terrifying, remarkable work examines the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of U.S. fighting men in the Pacific theater during World War II. Imaginatively drawing on letters, diaries, memoirs, military reports, and contemporary psychological assessments, Schrijvers reveals the social, historical, and emotional roots of the peculiarly frenzied and merciless war….this temperate study of murderous fury is among the most unsettling books I’ve read in years

Atlantic Monthly

Draws on WWII soldiers' diaries, letters, poems, and songs to show how the brutality of battle profoundly darkened the soldiers' perceptions of the Old World. Harrowing experiences of the GIs convinced them that Europe's collapse was not only the result of war, but also the Old World's deep-seated political cynicism, economic stagnation, and cultural decadence. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"The Crash of Ruin offers the reader both intellectual and emotional rewards. . . . Its narrative power makes it a wonderful read."

Susan M. Hartmann

"A brilliant contribution to intercultural studies. It imaginatively combines the ‘new' military history with an older American Studies research and writing technique. Not only will the book attract a wide range of readers, it should also stimulate scholars to adopt this approach to many other topics in cultural studies."

William R. Childs

"This terrifying, remarkable work examines the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of U.S. fighting men in the Pacific theater during World War II. Imaginatively drawing on letters, diaries, memoirs, military reports, and contemporary psychological assessments, Schrijvers reveals the social, historical, and emotional roots of the peculiarly frenzied and merciless war...this temperate study of murderous fury is among the most unsettling books I've read in years."

The Atlantic Monthly

"One of the most remarkable books I have ever come across. A significant and fascinating contribution to the field. The Crash of Ruin should appeal to a large audience of readers interested in World War II history."

Edward M. Coffman

"This terrifying, remarkable work examines the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of U.S. fighting men in the Pacific theater during World War II. Imaginatively drawing on letters, diaries, memoirs, military reports, and contemporary psychological assessments, Schrijvers reveals the social, historical, and emotional roots of the peculiarly frenzied and merciless war...this temperate study of murderous fury is among the most unsettling books I've read in years."

-The Atlantic Monthly

"A brilliant contribution to intercultural studies. It imaginatively combines the ‘new' military history with an older American Studies research and writing technique. Not only will the book attract a wide range of readers, it should also stimulate scholars to adopt this approach to many other topics in cultural studies."

-William R. Childs,author of Trucking and the Public Interest

"One of the most remarkable books I have ever come across. A significant and fascinating contribution to the field. The Crash of Ruin should appeal to a large audience of readers interested in World War II history."

-Edward M. Coffman,author of The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I

"The Crash of Ruin offers the reader both intellectual and emotional rewards. . . . Its narrative power makes it a wonderful read."

-Susan M. Hartmann,The Ohio State University

From the Publisher

"This terrifying, remarkable work examines the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of U.S. fighting men in the Pacific theater during World War II. Imaginatively drawing on letters, diaries, memoirs, military reports, and contemporary psychological assessments, Schrijvers reveals the social, historical, and emotional roots of the peculiarly frenzied and merciless war...this temperate study of murderous fury is among the most unsettling books I've read in years."

The Atlantic Monthly