Helluva Town: The Story of New York City During World War II
Post-Depression New York was struggling to get back on its feet, hosting a world’s fair that was only beginning to reflect international tensions. Its most prominent political and financial figures would soon become involved in the debate about whether or not to go to war. Journalist Goldstein chronicles how citizens, famous and obscure, acted and reacted as the nation prepared for and went to war. He recalls Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Century Association pushing for intervention while Charles Lindbergh spoke on behalf of the isolationists. The Manhattan Project at Columbia University resulted in the building of the atomic bomb. Drawing on interviews and memoirs, he recalls how New Yorkers remember first hearing the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; enlisting in the service or other war efforts, from conservation to victory gardens; the rounding up of Japanese, German, and Italian nationals for a reverse Ellis Island experience; and Mob dock workers helping to root out saboteurs. He recalls patriots as well as spies; heroism as well as rising anti-Semitism and racism. A complex look at New York during WWII. --Vanessa Bush