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Life Goes to War: A Picture History of World War II
Pictures created by scores of Life photographers and artists document the victories and losses of the Second World War and capture the many moods of wartime America
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 13, 2019
I have the 1978 Wallaby first paperback printing of this book; it was a Christmas present from my parents that year I think. It's definitely one of those defining books from my childhood - it helped jump-start my interest in military history (which I haven't really kept up with) and history in general. And it remains 31 years later a fascinating mostly pictorial account of the war seen through a mainstream American weekly news & feature magazine. There are combat pictures galore (some rather graphic), homefront stories, photos from VA hospitals, and even pieces on popular pin-up girls from the era, and now-forgotten fads and minor celebrities of the day.
The book is arranged chronologically, with covers of most issues reproduced in small images. Most of it is black and white, though there are a fair number of color images, including a variety of propaganda posters and paintings. There are also a number of political and humorous cartoons reprinted, among them work by Bill Mauldin and George Baker (Sad Sack). Famous photographers represented include Margaret Bourke-White and Robert Capa. There are also a few of the era's ads represented, most of them obviously patriotic in nature. I'd hazard an estimate at the ratio of illustrations to text being about 4 or 5 to 1 overall.
This is hardly a book for scholars or people seriously interested in learning about the history of the war, but it's a good pictorial overview of the era as seen by the American public and an American magazine, and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone on those grounds. Though it's out of print at the moment it's easily found here and elsewhere.
The book is arranged chronologically, with covers of most issues reproduced in small images. Most of it is black and white, though there are a fair number of color images, including a variety of propaganda posters and paintings. There are also a number of political and humorous cartoons reprinted, among them work by Bill Mauldin and George Baker (Sad Sack). Famous photographers represented include Margaret Bourke-White and Robert Capa. There are also a few of the era's ads represented, most of them obviously patriotic in nature. I'd hazard an estimate at the ratio of illustrations to text being about 4 or 5 to 1 overall.
This is hardly a book for scholars or people seriously interested in learning about the history of the war, but it's a good pictorial overview of the era as seen by the American public and an American magazine, and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone on those grounds. Though it's out of print at the moment it's easily found here and elsewhere.
June 25, 2020
To be able to witness the events of World War II through the camera's eye is amazing. Words are inadequate to describe the sights.
March 17, 2015
Mostly a collection of photographs.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews