2003 Kirsch 2003

Roger W. Lotchin The Bad City in the Good War, Indiana U. Press: 304 pages. Reviewed in the 17 August 2003 Sunday LA Times Book Review by Jonathan Kirsch, R2, 2003, 1960s 1943, 1940s

     ". . . allows us to see how the war effort shattered the status quo and revolutionized the sleepy world of prewar California.

     "'Separated by space, race, class, and occupational barriers, normally the aristocratic polo men, cowboys, and black soldiers had very little in common' . . . (But World War II was a) 'participatory conflict (and) 'their fear of totalitarianism united them in a greater effort.'

     "The melting pot . . . was specifically urban. 'Americans have traditionally been very skeptical of their cities and often downright hostile to them, but cities and city people would contribute markedly to the overthrow and containment of totalitarianism. The 'bad city' came in very handy in the 'Good War.'""

     ". . . California was quickly turned into a vast arms factory and a staging area for the war effort . . . a map . . . showing a dot for every aircraft plant in Los Angeles County is solid black at it center because of the sheer concentration of war production."

     "'Fortress California came of age in World War II . . . The overbuilt, overnight, jumped-up, 'improbable' California cities were an enormous asset to the American homefront.'"

     ". . .

     "The sheer congestion brought its own social and cultural reverberations as soldiers and sailors, factory workers and young locals encountered each other in the hectic setting of bars, ballrooms and clubs all over California. The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 . . . were the result of a clash between military men on liberty in the streets of Los Angeles and the young men they encountered there . . . 'the best known 'recreational' event of the war . . . both sides were out to amuse themselves.'

     "Some of the gender and racial barriers that fell during World War II come as a surprise . . . the civil rights movement of the 1960s was rooted in World War II.

     ". . .

     "The author is careful not to overstate his case, insisting that the war ought to be regarded as a 'heroic interlude' rather than a revolution. Some of the forces of change already were at work before the war was over . . . 'Races met, mingled, settled in grudgingly or willingly, or skedaddled ' . . . 'No one knew quite what to make of this mix; yet all seemed to agree that it was upsetting, different, and fascinating.'"

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 Kelyn Roberts 2017