@article{858542,
      recid = {858542},
      author = {Klingaman, William K.,},
      title = {The darkest year : the American home front, 1941-1942 /},
      pages = {x, 371 pages ;},
      abstract = {"The Darkest Year is acclaimed author William K.  Klingaman's narrative history of the American home front  from December 7, 1941 through the end of 1942, a  psychological study of the nation under the pressure of  total war. For Americans on the home front, the twelve  months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor  comprised the darkest year of World War Two. Despite  government attempts to disguise the magnitude of American  losses, it was clear that the nation had suffered a nearly  unbroken string of military setbacks in the Pacific; by the  autumn of 1942, government officials were openly  acknowledging the possibility that the United States might  lose the war. Appeals for unity and declarations of support  for the war effort in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor made it  appear as though the class hostilities and partisan  animosities that had beset the United States for decades --  and grown sharper during the Depression -- suddenly  disappeared. They did not, and a deeply divided American  society splintered further during 1942 as numerous interest  groups sought to turn the wartime emergency to their own  advantage. Blunders and repeated displays of incompetence  by the Roosevelt administration added to the sense of  anxiety and uncertainty that hung over the nation. The  Darkest Year focuses on Americans' state of mind not only  through what they said, but in the day-to-day details of  their behavior. Klingaman blends these psychological  effects with the changes the war wrought in American  society and culture, including shifts in family roles, race  relations, economic pursuits, popular entertainment,  education, and the arts."--Provided by publisher.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/858542},
}