V was for Victory

The subtitle is Politics and American Culture during World War II. The emphasis in the book is really on the politics of the time.

The Office of Facts and Figures was established in October of 1941 '...to disseminate...factual information on the defense effort and to facilitate a widespread understanding of the status and process of that effort.' The Office of War Information was established in June of 1942 'to coordinate the dissemination of war information by all federal agencies and to formulate and carry out, by means of the press, radio and motion pictures, programs designed to facilitate an understanding in the United States and abroad of the progress of the war effort and of the policies, activities, and aims of the government.'

There was a lot of disagreement about what should be shown and what shouldn't, and how tings should be shown. There is even a part of the book that goes in the discussion about the role of the comic books published in those days.

The anti-Japanese hostility is discussed, and how this was reinforced by reports of Japanese cruelty. The Japanese stereotype was widely used by the mass media of the time.

The role of a fountain pen company, Parker Pens, is discussed.

The effect of the war on Italian-Americans is discussed, as well as the effect on Japanese-Americans. The incarceration of the Japanese Americans is discussed, as well as the segregation of the 'disloyals' at the Tule Lake camp.

The book also discusses Jews in England, Black America, and the economy of the war and the post-war times.

The book is a good one if you are primarily interested in the politics of what happened during that time. As I noted, though, it is heavy on politics and lighter on culture.

Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page