Americans' Views About War

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Seventeen contributors address the shifting views of war in American history. The essays discuss the role of films, books, and mass-media presentations and how they impacted audience sensibilities. In a chronological fashion, the articles begin with a brief look at the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, fought largely by volunteer armies following heroes George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. As the nation's armed forces expanded, so did the geographical boundaries of conflict. An essay on pacifism in popular culture notes that antiwar films were prevalent in the early 1900s as cinematic propaganda was born. The home-front movement of World War II depicts the patriotic fervor of this era that returned in the 1980s when President Reagan called for a renewal of American military power, depicted in films such as Rambo. The book concludes with a debate about Saving Private Ryan as either an antiwar or pro-war film. This title will be useful in most curricular areas of American history or communications.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.