William L. O’Neill was Professor of History, Rutgers University.

A grand and sensitive synthesis of what the war meant to an entire generation and of how unity, valor, and victory came only after a period of profound unpreparedness, confusion, and reluctance. O’Neill writes with vivid clarity.

• Introduction Acknowledgments 1. Day of Infamy 2. America in 1941 3. The Lion and the Albatross: FDR and Lindy 4. The Force of Events 5. The Government Cannot Mobilize 6. Rout and Recovery 7. The People Are Willing 8. Operation Torch and the Great Debate over Strategy 9. The Sea of Dreams 10. The Politics of Sacrifice 11. Minorities and Women: The Democratic Failure 12. The Transformation of Everyday Life 13. Two Wars in the Pacific: Guadalcanal to Luzon 14. Air Power: The Democratic Delusion 15. The GI 16. Overlord 17. Victory in Europe 18. The War Winds Down at Home 19. The Destruction of Japan 20. The Reckoning Notes Index