An American History

SUGGESTED READING ★ A-13

Kennedy, David M. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and
War, 1929–1945 (1999). A detailed and lively account of American history
from the Great Depression through the end of World War II.
Lichtenstein, Nelson. Labor’s War at Home: The CIO in World War II (1982).
Examines the war’s impact on workers and the labor movement.
Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986). A dramatic account of
how the atomic bomb was created.
Von Eschen, Penny. Race against Empire: Black Americans and Anticolonialism,
1937–1957 (1997). Examines how black Americans responded to the rise
of movements for colonial independence overseas during and after World
War II.
Zelizer, Julian E. Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security— From
World War II to the War on Terrorism (2009). Traces the origins of the
national security state from Roosevelt’s “arsenal of democracy” speech
of 1940 to the present, stressing the tension between the two elements,
arsenal and democracy.

WEBSITES
A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution: http://
amhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/
A People at War: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/a_people_at_war/a_people_at
_war.html
Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942–1964: http://americanhistory
.si.edu/exhibitions/bittersweet-harvest-bracero-program-1942-1964
Remembering Nagasaki: http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/

CHAPTER 23

BOOKS
Biondi, Martha. To Stand and Fight: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Postwar New York
City (2003). A comprehensive account of the broad coalition that battled for
racial justice in New York City, in areas such as jobs, education, and housing.
Canaday, Margot. The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-
Century America (2009). Details the federal government’s efforts to stigma-
tize and punish homosexuality.
Cullather, Nick. The Hungry World: America’s Cold War Battle Against Poverty
in Asia (2010). Explores how divergent approaches to combating world
poverty became a battleground in the Cold War.
Donovan, Robert. Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1945–
1948 (1977). A careful account of Truman’s first administration and his
surprising election victory in 1948.