"With analysis, factual contextual information, and historical documents, this book provides a detailed, but broad perspective on the most destructive event in history. Along with interviews with literary luminaries that personalize the war and help to make connections between the literature and the actual experiences of those involved, Meredith also provides rare historical documents that enhance the reader's understanding of the military and political strategies of the major forces of the war." "Each chapter provides a literary analysis of the most relevant literature for students on the topic of that chapter, followed by a historical overview of the aspect of the war that will aid the student to understand the historical context of the literature. This comprehensive casebook will be valuable for interdisciplinary study of World War II and the literature from that period most frequently taught in high school English and history classes."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

World War II Chronology 1. The Combatants: An Analysis of Martha Gellhorn's A Stricken Field, Joseph Heller's Catch-22, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, James Jones' From Here to Eternity, Irwin Shaw's The Young Lions, and the Poems of Richard Wilbur, James Dickey, and Randall Jarrell 2. The Home Front: An Analysis of Bette Green's Summer of My German Soldier and David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars

3. Occupation, Resistance, and Espionage: An Analysis of John Steinbeck's The Moon Is Down, Jack Higgins' The Eagle Has Landed, and Paul West's The Very Rich Hours of Count von Stauffenberg and Rat Man of Paris 4. The Holocaust: An Analysis of William Styron's Sophie's Choice and Elie Wiesel's Night 5. The Atomic Bomb: An Analysis of John Hersey's Hiroshima.