Book Review of
Michael C.C. Adams, The Best War Ever: America and World War II. Baltimore and London: The Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1994.
The myth of World War II being America's shining moment where our greatest generation rose
up to defeat forces of evil and bring America to world dominance is alive and well. In the final
Presidential Debate of the 2012 campaign former Governor Mitt Romney, as a part of his closing
remarks, mentioned that, “America's greatest generation held a torch of freedom, hope, and
opportunity which now will be handed over to the current generation in order to lead the world
forward.” Adams clearly argues against thinking that the war years were a, "golden age, an idyllic period
when everything was simpler and a can-do generation of Americans solved the world's problems." (p.
xiii) He attempts to "present a more realist picture" (p. xiv) by subjecting major aspects of World War II
to fresh analysis. He fears that, "we do both past and present a disservice when we simplify into
mythology the complex patterns of human experience." (p. xv)
The myths primarily addressed by Adams center around appeasement of Germany, the fluid
battlefront, glamorous combat, no discrimination amongst the troops, and how World War II ended the
Depression. Adams is arguing repeatedly, under each sub-myth, that, "To make World War II into the
best war ever, we must leave out the... questionable aspects while exaggerating the good things." (p. 7)
These questionable aspects include the firebombing of sixty-one Japanese cities with napalm resulting in
the 672,000 casualties. American GIs would also treat prisoners and combatants unfairly, especially
when fighting in the Pacific. "Americans boiled the flesh off of Japanese heads and sent the skulls as gifts
to loved ones in the States. Ears, hands and sexual organs were dried as keepsakes." ( p. 112) Post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was rampant among US troops, some stemming from the feeling that,
"If you made it home, you had to live with what you had seen and with the guilt of knowing you were
secretly glad others had got it instead of you." (p. 110)
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To defend his argument Adams gathered his information from journals, magazines, movies,
poems, advertisements, drawings, and numerous monographs. Readers can clearly see Adams striking
back at historians such as the late Stephen E. Ambrose who perpetuated in 1992 the good war myth of
World War II in his book Band of Brothers, which was later turned into a popular HBO miniseries by the
same name. If there is a future reprinting of The Best War Ever, I hypothesize Adams would also claim
Tom Brokaw's book, The Greatest Generation, printed in 1998 and the blockbuster movies Saving
Private Ryan (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001) also perpetuated and increased the same myth.
Adams would also possibly expand his argument on the myth of the war fixing an economic
crisis. "In World War II, unemployment left over from the Depression was sopped up when sixteen
million potential workers were absorbed into the military, leaving those at home to take advantage of
the economic opportunities. The Gulf War, by comparison, was fought by professionals already in the
forces, so that there was no absorption of the worker pool." (p. 115-117) He may include the recession
beginning in 2007 and how two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could not bring America back to economic
stability and higher employment rates.
Critics of Adams say his scope is too broad and his book is too short, a mere 159 pages,
to accurately defend his argument. This critique is too easy and simple to take seriously. Adams clearly
states, "This book does not claim to be a definitive study of the war." (p. xiv) Truly the magnificence of
this book is in its brevity. Whether the reader agrees with Adams or not, the direct and concise way he
argues a point and counterpoint on complicated and detailed issues inspires the reader to question
what they believe is true about World War II. I plan on using this book in my own classroom because
students of history at all levels, from middle school through graduate students, can use this book as a
gateway for more reading, research, and conversation on a topic many think of as archetypal war of
good versus evil.
~ Craig W. Cowles
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