World War II: A History in Documents

World War II: A History in Documents illustrates the major themes and issues of the Second World War, including its causes, course, and consequences. Paying attention to both the European and Pacific Theaters--as well as to homefront and battle front issues--author James H. Madison blends discussions of diplomacy and strategy with insights into the lives of ordinary people around the world, including factory workers, soldiers, mothers, propagandists, political leaders, and survivors.

Set in thoughtful contexts, these powerful and telling documents encourage students to compare different nations and cultures at war and to think critically about twentieth century history. The documents include such diverse items as American political cartoons, combat memoirs of American GIs, a call for Canadian women war workers, popular American songs, an interview with a Tuskegee Airman, Eisenhower's D-Day message, Russian propaganda posters, the diary of a German teenager, a memoir of Japanese-American internment, a painting of an Australian bomber crew, newspaperman Ernie Pyle's reports to the home front, the last letter from a Japanese kamikaze pilot, and testimonies of Holocaust survivors.

World War II: A History in Documents includes a picture essay on propaganda posters and numerous graphics (posters, photographs, maps, etc.) throughout, which also serve as documents. Offering a global and multifaceted perspective of World War II, this diverse collection of textual and visual documents is ideal for undergraduate courses in World War II and military history.

James H. Madison is Thomas and Kathryn Miller Professor of History at Indiana University. He is the author of A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America (2001) and Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys: An American Woman in World War II (2007) and coauthor of The Americans: A Brief History, Fourth Edition (1985).