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Dear John: Love and Loyalty in Wartime America
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About This Book
Are "Dear John" letters lethal weapons in the hands of men at war? Many US officers, servicemen, veterans, and civilians would say yes. Drawing on personal letters, oral histories, and psychiatric reports, as well as popular music and movies, Susan L. Carruthers shows how the armed forces and civilian society have attempted to weaponize romantic love in pursuit of martial ends, from World War II to today. Yet efforts to discipline feeling have frequently failed. And women have often borne the blame. This sweeping history of emotional life in wartime explores the interplay between letter writing and storytelling, breakups and breakdowns, and between imploded intimacy and boosted camaraderie. Incorporating vivid personal experiences in a lively and engaging prose – variously tragic, comic, and everything in between – this compelling study will change the way we think about wartime relationships.
Reviews
"an eye-opening study of wartime romances and breakups ..."
"Susan Carruthers sets out to explore the long and surprisingly complicated story of the 'Dear John' break-up letter sent by American women to US troops serving overseas."
"Carruthers is careful to acknowledge that couples are not hermetically sealed from the larger social shifts of the past century, including changes in women's status, marital expectations and the conduct of warfare ..."
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