The Wounded Generation

Coming Home After World War II

De: David Nasaw

Narrado por: Malcolm Hillgartner

From award-winning and bestselling author David Nasaw, a brilliant re-examination of post-World War II America that looks beyond the victory parades and into the veterans’—and nation’s—unhealed traumas

In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home. As historian David Nasaw makes evident in his masterful recontextualization of these years, the veterans who came home to America were not the same people as those who had left for war, and the nation to which they returned was not the one they had left behind. Contrary to the prevailing narratives of triumph, here are the largely unacknowledged realities the veterans—and the nation—faced that radically reshaped our understanding of this era as a bridge to today.

The Wounded Generation tells the indelible stories of the veterans and their loved ones as they confronted the aftershocks of World War II. Veterans suffering from recurring nightmares, uncontrollable rages, and social isolation were treated by doctors who had little understanding of PTSD. They were told that they were suffering from nothing more than battle fatigue and that time would cure it. When their symptoms persisted, they were given electro-shock treatments and lobotomies, while the true cause of their distress would remain undiagnosed for decades to come. Women who had begun working outside the home were pressured to revert to their prewar status as housewives dependent on their husbands. Returning veterans and their families were forced to double up with their parents or squeeze into overcrowded, substandard shelters as the country wrestled with a housing crisis. Divorce rates doubled. Alcoholism was rampant. Racial tensions heightened as White southerners resorted to violence to sustain the racial status quo. To ease the veterans’ readjustment to civilian life, Congress passed the GI Bill, but Black veterans were disproportionately denied their benefits, and the consequences of this discrimination would endure long after the war was won.

In this richly textured examination, Nasaw presents a complicated portrait of those who brought the war home with them, among whom were the period’s most influential political and cultural leaders, including John F. Kennedy, Robert Dole, and Henry Kissinger; J. D. Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut; Harry Belafonte and Jimmy Stewart. Drawing from veterans’ memoirs, oral histories, and government documents, Nasaw illuminates a hidden chapter of American history—one of trauma, resilience, and a country in transition.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Nasaw challenges us to rethink World War II’s domestic impact in The Wounded Generation. Bestowing a new name on the 'greatest generation,' he excavates the war’s consequences for 'the bodies, hearts and minds of those who fought, those who awaited their return and the nation that had won the war but had now to readjust to peace.' Nasaw deftly explores the ambivalent legacy of a war that Americans have been taught to think of as the good one . . . [He] eloquently humanizes the story of an entire generation." —New York Times Book Review

"While it was a war that had to be fought, and one with a successful outcome, World War II wasn’t as good as all that, according to David Nasaw’s The Wounded Generation. Tom Brokaw called the men and women who fought in World War II 'the greatest generation.' Turns out this same generation may also have been the most put upon and longest suffering . . . PTSD is only one among an Iliad of woes suffered by those who served in combat in World War II and their families who remained stateside. Mr. Nasaw chronicles them all in great detail . . . As David Nasaw’s The Wounded Generation makes emphatically clear, a good war is an oxymoron. Just wars there are and necessary wars, but there are no good wars." —The Wall Street Journal

“Best-selling historian [David] Nasaw deepens the usual approach to WWII's Greatest Generation by examining the real-world costs and sacrifices made by veterans, their families, and society at large . . . Richly informative and compelling, The Wounded Generation is an important history of the tragedies of war and the triumphs of a democratic society that fully supports veterans' well-being.” —Booklist

“An eye-opening view of a war whose devastating consequences reverberate." —Kirkus

“Historian Nasaw provides a lucid investigation into the cultural impact WWII had on the U.S., primarily via returned veterans, who came home as deeply changed men . . . PTSD was little understood, and Nasaw extensively examines the impact experiences of violence, deprivation, and horror had on returned soldiers, but he also digs far beyond the untreated trauma. Most fascinatingly—and contrary to the more popular images of the Greatest Generation’s stoicism—he surfaces a liberatory strain of thought and feeling that permeated the veterans’ worldview . . . [The Wounded Generation is] an expansive redefining of a generation.” —Publishers Weekly

“Historian [David] Nasaw skillfully examines the effects the horrors of war had on veterans’ attempts to rejoin society . . . Based on oral histories, correspondence, service newspapers, and governmental reports, this well-written account highlights one of the little-known and forgotten stories of postwar America.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Superb Portrait of WW II Veterans

An excellent and detailed study of the return of WW II veterans with an in-depth portrait of those wounded in body and mind.

Best explanation of the effects of WW2 I've ever read.

This was a great book that helped me understand the cost of World War 2. A must read!

Unlocking generational trauma

This explains so much about American culture and it's impact on individual lives.

The generation of WWII accomplished an unparalleled feat. The cost to themselves and to their families and generations after is still being calculated.

Fascinating topic.

Some points made by the author were redundant, while others were enlightening. Great read overall.

Valid history, several insights, excess examples

I'm a fan of reader Hillgartner and of author Nasaw, having enjoyed the latter's books about Hearst and Jos. P Kennedy. Nasaw does a great job addressing an important and under-heralded aspect of WWII and the postwar years. I admit that I found listening got tedious as he'd recite example after example of ill-treated non-white veterans or the selective benefits of the G.I. Bill for white males. Perhaps I was too impatient.

Nasaw superbly well made the point that the military encouraged enlisted men and officers to smoke and drink alcohol by among other things, supplying free cigarettes in rations. What a toll that took for decades. Another insight is that many veterans' dogged dedication to their jobs was a way to avoid thinking back to traumatic experiences. I greatly value his history of the understanding of PTSD, which didn't appear in the DSM until the 1980 edition, and then partly through the efforts of Vietnam veteran activist.

Overall a worthwhile book, but I can't overlook that editing out some of the many examples would have allowed me to take less than 2 months to listen to all 12 hours.