Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of World

World War II was the quintessential "good war." It was not, however, a conflict free of moral ambiguity, painful dilemmas, and unavoidable compromises. Was the bombing of civilian populations in Germany and Japan justified? Were the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials legally scrupulous? What is the legacy bequeathed to the world by Hiroshima? With wisdom and clarity, Michael Bess brings a fresh eye to these difficult questions and others, arguing eloquently against the binaries of honor and dishonor, pride and shame, and points instead toward a nuanced reckoning with one of the most pivotal conflicts in human history.

Michael Bess is professor of history at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of The Light Green Society: Ecology and Technological Modernity in France, 1960-2000, and Realism, Utopia, and the Mushroom Cloud: Four Activist Intellectuals and Their Strategies for Peace, 1945-1989.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction: Evaluating the Second World War: Celebration, Doubt, and Complexity	p. 1
Fomenting War	p. 19
A Wide World of Racisms	p. 21
Causes of the Pacific War: A Longer View on Pearl Harbor	p. 42
Causes of the War in Europe: The Paradoxical Legacy of Munich	p. 58
Making War	p. 77
Bystanders: How Much Is Not Enough?	p. 79
Bombing Civilian Populations: A Case of Moral Slippage	p. 88
Deep Evil and Deep Good: The Concept of Human Nature Confronts the Holocaust	p. 111
Decisions at Midway, 1942: Moral Character As a Factor in Battle	p. 136
Tyranny Triumphant: The Moral Awkwardness of the Alliance with Stalin	p. 166
Kamikaze: Wartime Suicide Attacks in Anthropological Perspective	p. 179
The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Twelve Questions	p. 198
Long-Term Consequences of the War	p. 255
Justice for the Unspeakable? The Enduring Legacy of the War Crimes Trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo	p. 263
Generations Under a Shadow: The Challenge of Peace Since Hiroshima	p. 287
The Politics of Memory: Remembering and Unremembering Wartime	p. 309
Conclusion: What Would Be the Opposite of Hitler's World?	p. 336
Notes	p. 347
Bibliography	p. 371
Index	p. 381
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of World War II

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