Customer Reviews

The World within War: America's Combat Experience in World War II

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Linderman has written an extremely informative look at the dynamics of combat, and he leaves nothing out. The reason this author is so successful is he expertly weaves his scholarly approach with an equal amount of first-hand accounts, and the result is a book both deeply personal and unbiased.

Judging from the extensive list of references in the Bibliography (which I refered to often, as many of these books I plan on purchasing) Linderman did extensive research, especially reading those books written by the soldiers themselves. The areas this author explores are often overlooked or deliberately avoided by others, and that is what makes this book so refreshing to read. Questions such as "Why him, and not me?", the reactions of ones buddies when someone on the line cracks up from battle fatigue, how soldiers dealt with inept officers, (and the brutally honest assessments of some of these green officers themselves),how the art of war in North Africa was a chivalrous display of honor and prisoner exchanges, and how this was radically different from the no-quarter violence of the Pacific, how the breakdown in discipline at war's end in Europe, and the rumor that those soldiers would be sent to the Pacific, almost caused near riots, and how soldiers reacted to those on the homefront, whether it be the shared pain of a Dear John letter passed among the squad, or the total contempt for the 4-F's that were often healthier than those in combat, or the rounds that didn't fire or grenades that didn't explode because some factory worker decided to stay out too late the night before spending that huge paycheck, this book is startling in it's clarity, and profound in the feelings it can generate, stripping away layers of patriotisim, and exposing this war for what it really was, a violent and thankless job, fought by the young, who fought for their buddies and the sake of getting it over with, and back home to loved ones.

My hat is off to all the brave veterans of this war. Well Done.

The author of this book succeeds where others far more famous or currently popular fail: he slowly and deliberately peels away the layers of fantasy and denial about the American WW2 combat experience to show the hellish world of the US frontline soldier. Linderman approaches combat as a dark mysterious area undescribable to anyone who hasn't experienced it. He shows its corrosive effect on all who experience it for prolonged periods by using the words and descriptions of veterans. WW2 was especially hard on the American combat soldier(partly because he was American and thus individualistic)- treated like a dog by his officers and the military- unrelieved (unlike even the Germans or other combatants) for any length of time by anything but a wound or death and finally subjected to the heroic fantasies of that "Greatest Generation" of Americans back home or in the rear. I gained new respect for WW2 combat vets by reading this work so refreshingly free of the current rah-rah BS about WW2. Taking a second look at "Saving Private Ryan" after finishing "The World Within War" I realise what was so weird about the movie- it gave us a glimpse at how combat looks but the soldiers as characters were all wrong with their "aw shucks" kind of quiet heroism. Never in a million years in a million parallel universes would actual soldiers have attacked that radar tower with its machine gun emplacement under the circumstances set by the movie. And if they had- no way they would have let that German go.

Linderman masterfully sorts out the complex, human dimension of war. He provides those who have not experienced battle with a taste of its grim realities and the toll it takes on the human mind. Linderman reminds us that there is a cost to war that goes beyond the casualty figures: combat effects those who survive it for the rest of their lives. More importantly, World Within War helps combat veterans understand the thoughts, attitudes and feelings they experienced in battle. They realize that the complex range of emotions they thought so unusual and strictly their own were in fact common given the nature of the environment. The light World Within War sheds on the human aspects of combat makes the book critical to achieving an understanding of men in battle.

While many authors (Ambrose and Ryan of note) spend a great deal of energy conveying the story of individual soldiers' experiences, Linderman presents the story of GI's life in combat. What are the rules of war when captive and victor meet face-to-face under the uncertainty of live combat conditions? How does one make sense of the Japanese military's disregard for life, whether it be friend or foe? What is the enlisted man's view of his officers? What is the average workday for a GI (if any day in WWII could be refered to as average)? These questions and many other sociological issues are addressed in detail, leaving no doubt that the experience of WWII was a disturbing one whose weight was successfully carried on the shoulders of the Citizen Soldiers of America at a heavy price both in mortal lives and psyches damaged, some permanently. Of particular note is the discussion of the differences of the conduct of war towards the Wehrmacht and the Imperial Japanese forces, the former one of rules and the latter widely accepted as one of no quarter given.

A few weeks ago I complete Linderman's The World Within War. I really appreciate the selection. It meets me arcane my taste in war books. I must prepare you however for this one. Mr L seems to spend as much time in his thesaurus as he does in the reference material. Despite my insatiable interest in the subject matter, many times I felt as if I were back in college struggling through an interpretation of Russian literature. No conclusion, no matter how obvious or simple, seems beyond Mr L's ability to meander into a camouflage of multi syllable words that only William F Buckley uses easily. I meant to catalog a few of my favorite passages but can now only find one - my favorite. Paragraph 2, page 154, skipping past the used of the noun `ken' [!?!] in the first sentence, onto the second sentence. (Most of Mr L's sentences were of such duration that only two could fit in a single paragraph). One could say, "The American soldier had difficulty finding adequate ways to describe how much they hated the Japanese". Compare that to the monument of vocabulary he constructed.... I think the author really wants us to truly understand the experience of slogging through thigh deep mud along the Volturno River or the maze of clinging jungle in Buna. After plodding though his prose I think I get the drift! Despite the criticism, the book was full of new detail not only on WWII but on combat in general. War is something you and I have been blessed to avoid. I hope the same for our sons. Even though I am fascinated by the stories of military history, I have no illusion about the experience being anything but a true living nightmare.. This fact was certainly brought out clearly in the book.

The particularly interesting portion of this book deals with the differences between the fighting in the Pacific and in Europe during WWII. Linderman examines how the differences in terrain, enemy actions, and racial prejudices developed to affect the intensity of the fighting. This is an excellent book for those seeking to look beyond the catch-phrases such as "the good war" and "race hate" in order to understand the mind of the American fighting man in World War II.

In The World Within War, Gerald Linderman discusses how American combat troops were transformed by their experiences in World War II. In his sampling of 500 participants, Linderman "suggests how combat registered in their minds and memories; how so profound an experience impressed itself on their relationships with the enemies, their comrades, their commanders, and even their families; and how battle exacted its costs of them" (1). Linderman seeks to tell history from the perspective of the nameless masses that suffered the majority of casualties but received the least amount of praise and individual recognition

The World Within War is designed to appeal to the general reader who wants to better understand the thoughts, desires, frustrations, and fears of the unheralded World War II soldier. Linderman's claims are not groundbreaking, he does not make any bold claims, but his work does compliment the many other books of the subject that focus almost entirely on the larger implications of events in war and the senior commanders who made the decisions. Through reading this book, one is able to better understand the thoughts and actions of those front line soldiers who executed, sometimes under creative protest, these decisions.

Linderman structures his work in a logical manner, beginning with the expectations of the new soldier, how the first combat experience changed the soldier, how the different enemies were viewed, and the soldier's relationship to his peers, his superiors, and those on the home front. One of Linderman's strengths is in defining different stages that soldiers went through during their wartime experience, including how soldiers accepted their roles in the armed forces (11), how their war mentality evolved (122), how they viewed their enemies (161), how they coped with danger (236), and how they related their war experiences to those on the home front (319).

Instead of a common strategic military history that focuses on high command and broad objectives, Linderman has created a study that concentrates on the psychological aspect of war, discussing the emotions, superstitions, civility, manliness, and desires of soldiers. Although redundant at times, Linderman makes clear the transitions of the soldiers, both individually and collectively, and how they adjusted to the new world and circumstances that they found themselves in. This is accomplished through the liberal use of quotes from a sample of 500 former front line soldiers.

Clearly, this is not a comprehensive study, but one that is generally representative of those involved. Linderman's limitation to 500 soldiers is understandable, as this number provides a wide range of information that is still easily distilled to find common themes. There are, however, two criticisms of Linderman's sample group and his usage of it: the group is almost entirely Euro-American, with only the slightest mention of minority participation; and that the author relies too heavily on a handful of sources.

In examining the Bibliography, one is surprised to find the author's reliance on secondary sources and the omission of interviews of the subjects. While Linderman does utilize a number of autobiographies of former soldiers, his source selection must be addressed. Linderman has managed to compile a work that uses a number of quotes from participants, but as most of these were gleaned from secondary sources, one must consider the source and context from which the quote was originally used. The credibility of the study would have been enhanced with a more balanced source selection.

While not without flaw, The World Within War is an important work that seeks to broaden the understanding of both academics studying World War II, and the casual reader who has an interest in the subject. By addressing the psychological aspect of war and the thoughts of the combat soldiers, Linderman has made a valuable contribution to the study of World War II.

Linderman writes in a difficult style. He tends to use vocabulary that is not common, nor even stretches the bounds, of most American's understanding of the English language. Other than that only criticism, I think the book is nearly a maasterpiece. I found myself reflecting on the contents of the book long after reading areas. I found the book as compelling, if not more, a picture of the second World War as Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan". This book is THAT gripping. Really makes you appreciate the men who fought for our freedom!

Incredible amount of research focuses on the many aspects of war. An excellent document of a war that will not be fought in that way again. The dogfaces are well presented, warts and all. Too much time spent on the soldier's reflection of his mortality. Had they not thought that death would touch the others only and not them, they would have been out of there in a hurry and the combat crackup rate would have been higher than 26%. Time and again, the author mentions the Geneva Convention, but leaves out important aspects. E.g. the Convention says that any combatant caught out of identifying uniform can be considered a spy and can be executed. This applies not only to many partisans, but also to the Russian commissars who were in the frontlines, but not uniformed (as a matter of interest: not a single Commissar was ever caught)...