Customer Reviews

Back Home

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the best book that i have read on the return of GI's to the cold war america. Bill covers every thing from segregation to gun control to house un american activities comittie stuff. with every cartoon he makes you think about the deep real issues in american society.

Recommend this one highly for any fan of Mauldin for here you get pure Mauldin, both his writing and his wonderfully insightful cartoons. This reader must understand that Mauldin wrote and drew from what he experienced. He drew from his times. I suppose that I am trying to say that not all will find his writings and observations "politically correct" by our standards of today. That is good though. To understand ourselves, as we are now, we must understand the thoughts and attitudes of those who came before us. In this work we get just that. Mauldin work is one of the best commentaries addressing the problems of post WWII American and the returning G.I. Recommend this one for anyone wanting a simple, good read, or anyone interested in the attitudes and thoughts of this era in our history.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

When Bill Mauldin went to War he was a very young man. Five years later, he had lived through the World's greatest conflict and had documented that experience in words and pictures for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, with his award-winning cartoons featuring the two GI dogfaces: Willie & Joe. His book: "Up Front" was a huge commercial and critical success on all levels and he was now a man on the top in the literary world.

"Back Home" is Bill's second book, and it begins where: "Up Front" leaves off. It is June 1945 and Bill is in Naples, Italy and now his new worry is not the German Army, it is how to get enough discharge points to get himself back to the USA and released from the Army and back into the civilian world. Lot's of the cartoons featured here again star Willie & Joe, but many others do not as they are more about the political state of affairs of the time {1945-1947). Bill's political insights are the key to the story of: "Back Home." Now, as an seasoned Veteran, Bill Mauldin was ready to tackle issues such as bigots, shysters, black-marketeers, evil landlords, and the new "Red Menace" of mother Russia.

This second book by Bill is not as well known as: "Up Front", but it is as great as that book and because of the author's growth and wisdom since the end of the War, this is a more mature work in every way. Bill, is just an: "Everyday Joe" and the folks of the 1940's responded to this and they were right there for him. This book is an American history lesson. "Back Home" is one of the finest books written about post-war problems, and the early days of the Cold War, that would bleed into the 1950's and 1960's.

This book is funny, but it is message of sadness. Now we are to witness the change that occurs as soon as World War II ends. The country is now living with new fears, and this book in it's honesty it tells just how our country began to change from the pre-War years into the post-War years. The inocence of America was fading in 1945, and Bill tells us the hows and whys of this change. This is essential reading by one of this America's greatest storytellers.
FIVE STARS !!!

To learn about any subject, it is best to go to the source. To learn about society and politics in the 1940's, an excellent source is the book Back Home, written in 1947 by Bill Mauldin. Mauldin drew cartoons about his experience in the war while he was a soldier and about life as a veteran and citizen after the war. Mauldin labels himself a progressive, a radical, and a liberal. From this viewpoint he writes in great detail about issues such as housing for veterans, the unethical behavior of veterans organizations, racism, the anti-communist government committee, world hunger, and censorship of free speech. The book is, for the most part, a long editorial about the current state of affairs in the world following World War II.

This book's greatest assets are in the multitude of examples and apt analogies that he uses to illustrate every point he makes. Examples are taken directly from the current world events and his own experiences in the war and in society. For instance, when discussing racism, he first introduces the problem of racism by illustrating that to a racist a "Negro", a Jew, or a "Jap" can never be good enough. A brave Jew is troublesome, while a timid one is cowardly. Meanwhile, a rich one is selfish and a poor one is worthless. Next he gives an example of the 34th division of Japanese-Americans that was admired by the entire army. Then they would return home and get kicked out of barbershops and restaurants as William Randolph Hearst continued referring to the Yellow Peril. Next he tells of a conversation in which an American, when hearing that only two Japanese-Americans in a certain company survived, says "Too goddam bad they didn't get the last two." Finally he exposes the hypocrisy of the businessmen who say that the cheap labor is a threat to the standard of living, while at the same time glorifying open markets, praising free competition, and espousing the dangers of labor unions. With this well-organized, substantial body of evidence, which has been abbreviated here, Mauldin is able to support his opinions and give the reader a broadened perspective of the issue of racism. Because he uses so much supporting evidence taken from news of that time period, the value of this book as a historical reference cannot be overlooked.

He doesn't turn a blind eye to "Negroes" that are murderers or scoundrels, but counters by saying there are rats in all races; people act in accordance with how they were raised and their moral character, neither of which is dependent on race. When writing about "Negroes", Reds, and the government, Mauldin takes all evidence into account, and then makes an informed decision. He may have called himself a radical, but back then that meant that he didn't hate non-Aryan races. He is a very logical thinker.

If one is looking for a purely historical book, one will be disappointed. On occasion Mauldin will digress into lengthy diatribes about rich people's dogs, car garage scams and other gripes. Unless one regards the type of dog a rich person usually owns as important historical fact, one may find oneself skimming through certain sections of this book. If one is interested, it's a purebred, shaggy dog that lies at one's feet and gazes at one "adoringly from loyal brown eyes". Most of these things will not be found in any textbook on the post World War II era, but they are meant to illustrate different aspects of society. One may even find comfort in the fact that car garages were dishonest back then, too.

Whether this book is read for entertainment or education, one is sure to receive plenty of both. Mauldin's writing style makes this book interesting, even when the subject at hand may not be interesting to the reader. However, many of the issues discussed are still in the forefront in 2005. It has been said that the intelligent think in concepts, while the dim-witted think in terms of events. Mauldin's ability to think in concepts and express himself with astounding clarity gives his writing a property of timelessness which allows it to apply to society today, 60 years after being published. The reader gains an understanding of the issues that faced the world in the 1940's and a better understanding of the issues that face the world today.

Bill could see through a stuffed shirt at a distance of 100 yards. The book has many cartoons, but also very intelligent commentary. The main thrust of his writing is: This is what they told us; This is what they did to us. If you want to learn about war and the politicians who send kids to perform it, or you want to suggest to a young person that the recruiters might not be telling the whole truth about the joys of war and the glorious treatment of veterans, this is a great choice.

Bill Mauldin along with his GI creations, Willie and Joe, was a classic. I don't think there is anyone around today like Bill Mauldin. That is too bad for us. Bill's cartoons are really something even today. Bill is now history but if you want to see and hear what "the Greatest Generation" was all about, this book is a good place to start. Reading this book also makes me wonder what happened to the newspaper business. I question if Bill would be allowed to work in today's newspaper world. Bill was a sincere 100% American. Today we get anger and hate in place of caring and compassion. We get vicious cynicism with no point other than vindictiveness. We are really in a propaganda age and this book and others by Bill Mauldin paint that picture clearly. His work is too honest. It is too biting. He hit you in the gut - and the heart. If you can find a copy of this book get it. It is now American History up close and personal. Bill Mauldin is gone and I don't see anyone out on the horizon to fill his boots - or any newspaper that would print it. It's sad.

Richard Edward Noble - The Hobo Philosopher - Author of:

"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column.

Bill Mauldin shows a remarkable clarity and insight not only in his cartoons but also in his written commentary on them. He shows high regard for the soldiers' well being and compassion for what they (and he) endured. He highlights their readjustment problems, especially in regard to the lack of appreciation from apparently quite a few civilians as to the sacrifices the soldiers made in the war.

I'm admittedly anapolitical, so there was a lot about this book that I didn't appreciate. Is there any political satirist that isn't inherently angry about something? (Would he have anything to say if he wasn't?) Does all that ax-grinding make any difference to peoples' lives? Does anyone become kinder, gentler through cartoons and ranting?

Read in small doses, this was an entirely fascinating look at post-war (WWII) America. The social psychologist in me ate it up! Every chapter covered a different aspect of a nation in the throes of adolescence: the returning GI and his place in society, reemploying and refitting a nation, Top Brass and bad attitudes, Hollywood and the war image, immigration and Displaced Persons, racism and reconstruction, the motor industry with it's shortages and highway robbery, the early days of the Cold War....

These are pre-internet blogs! One could learn a lot from an expert!

This was in the shape it was presented for the original 1947 copyright.