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

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...

2

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...

3

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...

4

The racers : how an outcast driver, an American heiress, and a legendary car challenged Hitler's best
Bascomb, Neal
Paper Book
The heart-pounding story of an unlikely band of ragtags who took on Hitler's Grand Prix driver.In the years before World War II, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove the greatness of the Third Reich in everything from track and field to motorsports. The Nazis poured money into the development of new...

5

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...

6

Half American : the epic story of African Americans fighting World War II at home and abroad
Delmont, Matthew F.
Paper Book
The definitive history of World War II from the African American perspective, written by civil rights expert and Dartmouth history professor Matthew Delmont. Over one million Black men and women served in World War II. Black troops were at Normandy, Iwo Jima, and the Battle of the Bulge, serving in...

7

The race of aces : WWII's elite airmen and the epic battle to become the masters of the sky
Bruning, John R.
Paper Book
The astonishing untold story of the WWII airmen who risked it all in the deadly race to become the greatest American fighter pilot. In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" -- the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker -- offered a...

8

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...

9

We hereby refuse : Japanese American resistance to wartime incarceration
Abe, Frank
Paper Book
"Deftly upends the compliant narrative with impeccably documented stories of resistance and rebellion ... Made urgent yet again, the trio's courageous refusals to accept the U.S.--their!--government's heinous miscarriage of justice should irrefutably embolden new generations ... Their collective...

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