Why We Fought

“A deeply thoughtful and probing meditation on the cultural undercurrents that united Americans in the war against Fascism. Unafraid to challenge historical assumptions about the Second World War, Why We Fought is a truly essential new interpretive work. Read it!”—Douglas Brinkley, director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies“Robert Westbrook’s Why We Fought is a brilliant, sustained reflection on the conflict between liberal society and state power in the age of total war. Westbrook imaginatively connects high and popular culture to illuminate the complex moral significance of a war too easily shrouded in sentiment. With sensitivity and insight, he raises issues at the heart of contemporary public debate.”—T. J. Jackson Lears, Board of Governors professor of history at Rutgers University

Robert B. Westbrook, author of the highly acclaimed John Dewey and the American Democracy, teaches American history at the University of Rochester. He lives in Brockport, New York.