940.53-940.54: World War II Experience in America (2023)

The following list contains books, published in the last 5 years, that discuss American life leading up to World War II. Books in this list will spotlight Americans who participated in the war effort and include works that discuss the various experiences of Americans between the years of 1939 and 1945.

Updated June 22, 2023
H
Huntington Beach Public Library
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1

Agent Jack : the true story of MI5's secret Nazi hunter
Hutton, Robert (Journalist)
Paper Book

2

The apocalypse factory : plutonium and the making of the atomic age
Olson, Steve
Paper Book
It began with plutonium, the first element ever manufactured in quantity by humans. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to weaponize the atom, the United States marshaled brilliant minds and seemingly inexhaustible bodies to find a way to create a nuclear chain reaction of inconceivable...

3

The bastard brigade : the true story of the renegade scientists and spies who sabotaged the Nazi atomic bomb
Kean, Sam
Paper Book
From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb.   Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have...

4

Countdown 1945 : the extraordinary story of the atomic bomb and the 116 days that changed the world
Wallace, Chris
Paper Book
The #1 national bestselling "riveting" (The New York Times), "propulsive" (Time) behind-the-scenes account "that reads like a tense thriller" (The Washington Post) of the 116 days leading up to the American attack on Hiroshima, by Chris Wallace, veteran journalist and...

5

The darkest year : the American home front 1941-1942
Klingaman, William K.
Paper Book
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...

6

Fallout : the Hiroshima cover-up and the reporter who revealed it to the world
Blume, Lesley M. M.
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020 New York Times bestselling author Lesley M.M. Blume reveals how one courageous American reporter uncovered one of the deadliest cover-ups of the 20th century--the true effects of the atom bomb--potentially saving millions of...

7

The great secret : the classified World War II disaster that launched the war on cancer
Conant, Jennet
Paper Book
On the night of December 2, 1943, the Luftwaffe bombed a critical Allied port in Bari, Italy, sinking seventeen ships and killing over a thousand servicemen and hundreds of civilians. Caught in the surprise air raid was the John Harvey, an American Liberty ship carrying a top-secret cargo of 2...

8

Half American : the epic story of African Americans fighting World War II at home and abroad
Delmont, Matthew F.
Paper Book
. Winner of the 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in Nonfiction . A New York Times Notable Book . A Best Book of the Year from TIME, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Washington Independent Review of Books, and more! The definitive history of...

9

Invisible heroes of World War II : extraordinary wartime stories of ordinary people
Borrowman, Jerry
Paper Book
Invisible Heroes of World War II documents ten fascinating true stories of a diverse group of soldiers and noncombatants from all over the world, including African Americans, women, and Native Americans, who fought with the Allies during World War II. These heroes made significant...

10

The train to Crystal City : FDR's secret prisoner exchange program and America's only family internment camp during World War II
Russell, Jan Jarboe
Paper Book
The dramatic and never-before-told story of a secret FDR-approved American internment camp in Texas during World War II, where thousands of families--many US citizens--were incarcerated. From 1942 to 1948, trains delivered thousands of civilians from the United States and Latin...

11

The Washington war : FDR's inner circle and the politics of power that won World War II
Lacey, Jim
Paper Book
A Team of Rivals for World War II--the inside story of how FDR and the towering personalities around him waged war in the corridors of Washington, D.C., to secure ultimate victory on the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific.   The Washington War is the...

12

Winter war : Hoover, Roosevelt, and the first clash over the New Deal
Rauchway, Eric
Paper Book
The history of the most acrimonious presidential handoff in American history -- and of the origins of twentieth-century liberalism and conservatism

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