A review by redporchinverter
Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness by Elizabeth D. Samet

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

A bracing corrective to America's tendency toward sentimental self-mythologizing, Looking for the Good War casts a critical eye on the romantic narratives coloring our perception not just of World War II, but also the Civil War, westward expansion/conquest, and ultimately, our identity as a nation. In exposing the dangers of nostalgia, Elizabeth D. Samet convincingly argues that the only way we can begin to live up to our ideals in the present and future is to understand how we fought over and failed them in the past. Her analysis of our relationship to Shakespeare’s work is particularly illuminating.