Our Finest Hour: The Triumphant Spirit of America's World War II Generation [Hardcover]

Killian Jordan (Editor), Barbara Baker Burrows (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

LIFE magazine salutes the bravery and courage of America's World War II veterans with OUR FINEST HOUR, a special deluxe collector's edition celebrating the heroic spirit of "the greatest generation." Who better to retell the vibrant and diverse stories of World War II than LIFE, the magazine that brought news of the war to the home front, and news of home to soldiers around the world?

OUR FINEST HOUR offers stunning photography from LIFE's vast archival library--the largest collection of World War II photographs in the world. This unique book also recounts the moving and personal stories of the Americans who fought in the foxholes, on the high seas and at home. It documents how soldiers, wives, journalists and entertainers were changed by the war experience, and it describes how World War II affected life in America in every possible way--economically, politically, culturally and socially.

LIFE was an eyewitness to the heroism, unity and tragedy of the war years; LIFE remembers every private triumph and rending loss; only LIFE can bring the victory home to you.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Life magazine was only one of many American publications that fielded battlefront correspondents during World War II, but it boasted an uncommonly talented roster of writers and photographers, among them Theodore White, Robert Capa, and Margaret Bourke-White. Their images and reports brought home to American readers the horrors of that distant war, from George Strock's extraordinary photograph of dead American marines on a New Guinea beach to shocking views of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. Life's editors also took pains to document the war at home, publishing stories about the contributions of women industrial workers to the war effort (in 1943, the magazine reported, 65 percent of American aircraft-production workers were women) and on the morale-building efforts of Hollywood stalwarts such as Carole Lombard and Bob Hope.

This selection of photographs and extended captions from the pages of Life and other contemporary publications gathers images that have become part of American iconography (such as the Associated Press's famed photograph of the Fighting Sullivans). More usefully, it also includes lesser-known work documenting injustices done to Japanese Americans and African Americans, the sufferings of the wounded, and the loneliness of separation, material overlooked by many other photographic histories of the war. --Gregory McNamee

From the Inside Flap

World War II presented the United States with an impossible challenge--one that could cost countless lives in any single harrowing instant. Yet we plunged in, body and soul, and somehow found moments of tenderness and warmth.

Here are the stories of those who fought "the good war." Their voices reveal an indomitable spirit, a peculiarly American optimism, even a weary recognition of the war's unstoppable horrors. Throughout it all, U.S. citizens bucked up and carried on--at home and oversees.

The editors of LIFE are proud to bring you this moment of glory in the American experience--in the words of the participants, and in extraordinary photographs that will stay with you forever.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Time Inc; First Edition edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883013984
• ISBN-13: 978-1883013981
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,466,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUR FINEST HOUR, October 12, 2000

By 

Tom Heitzman (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Finest Hour: The Triumphant Spirit of America's World War II Generation (Hardcover)

Over 300 photos, illustrations and letters from the archives of LIFE Magazine, holder of the largest collection of WWII photos in the U.S. Many rarely seen. This collection was carefully chosen by the editors of LIFE. You see the faces and hear the voices of those who fought in the war and of their loved ones who sustained extraordinary efforts on the home front. It's a photographic essay of the greatest generation, shot by some of the best photojournalists of the time.

Forward by Bob Greene

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Images with Impact, January 4, 2001

By 

Kenneth Blum (Orrville, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Finest Hour: The Triumphant Spirit of America's World War II Generation (Hardcover)

There's something about a black and white photograph that has a timeless, ethereal quality. It's almost as if it's a vehicle to take you back into a better time, a grander time.

Such is the case with "Our Finest Hour", a collection of black and white photographs from the pages of Life Magazine. All the photos were taken during what was likely America's grandest, most noble, time of all, World War Two.

Some of the master photographers are represented in this book, including Alfred Eisenstaedt and W. Eugene Smith. The images are extraordinary. Examples include a photo by Eisenstaedt of a sailor on furlough, chatting with two grizzled elderly men - all three sitting on a cannon in a city park; and classic pictures of the hell of combat on the barren, smoldering landscape of Iwo Jima taken by W. Eugene Smith.

The quality is no surprise. If it's from Life Magazine, you expect the best, and the tradition continues. The book is well organized with helpful text and narrative, beginning with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and ending with soldiers coming home to their families, friends, lovers and a grateful country in 1945. The reproduction of the photos is superb.

"Our Finest Hour" represents photojournalism at its finest. It's art. It's history. It's fabulous.

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Time Life, January 26, 2011

By 

MomTo2 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Our Finest Hour: The Triumphant Spirit of America's World War II Generation (Hardcover)

My grandfather is the man who's photo is first in this book. He's pointing to the bullet hole in his P-38. It was such a shock to pick up a copy of this book, open it, and see my beloved grandfather on the first page. The rest of the book is just as wonderful! A great piece of history.