ECU Libraries Catalog

Americans in a world at war : intimate histories from the crash of Pan AM'S Yankee Clipper / Brooke L. Blower.

Author/creator Blower, Brooke L., 1976-
Other author/creatorOxford University Press.
Format Electronic and Book
Publication InfoNew York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2023]
Descriptionxviii, 528 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Supplemental Content Full text available from Oxford Scholarship Online
Supplemental Content Full text available from Oxford Scholarship Online History
Subject(s)
Portion of title Intimate histories from the crash of the Yankee Clipper
Contents Introduction: Into the Vortex -- Part I: 1914-1920 -- Balloon Work George hopes to fight in France -- Autumn Flies Tamara survives civil war in Ukraine -- Blood of the Earth Harry learns the oil business in Romania -- Tramp Trade Manuel watches the Great War tear Spain apart -- Interlude: New York to Bermuda Sully greets his passengers -- Part II: 1920-1939 -- Free Lunches Frank competes in the Amsterdam Olympics -- Unfinished People Tamara struggles in the Bronx -- The Silk-Stocking Revolt George runs for Congress against -- the New Deal -- Twelve Mile River Ben falls in love with Roosevelt's -- Washington -- Woman and Bird Tamara finds fame on Broadway -- Tea-Time Frank moves to the Philippines -- Stolen Soil Manuel's schemes reach Mexico and Cuba -- Interlude: Bermuda to the Azores Sully flies past the Point of -- No Return -- Part III: 1939-1942 -- Three-Minute Channel Ben endures the London Blitz -- Back to Porridge Frank contends with the fall of the -- Netherlands -- Ship's Stores Manuel is arrested for smuggling -- Easy Dish Frank braves the invasion of Java -- Red Mississippi Ben reports from Russia -- Hold Your Hats George joins the army -- Interlude: The Azores to Portugal Sully prepares for -- arrival -- Part IV: 1942-1943 -- Patent Denials Harry manages his company's German ties -- Dangerous Acts Tamara volunteers to entertain troops -- The Charter Offer Manuel makes a bargain -- Small Potatoes Frank broadcasts from Australia -- Acid Test Ben witnesses the Quit India campaign -- Hot Questions George testifies before Congress -- Conclusion: A Strange and Frightening World.
Abstract "On February 21, 1943, Pan American Airways' celebrated seaplane, the Yankee Clipper, took off from New York's Marine Air Terminal and island-hopped its way across the Atlantic Ocean. Arriving at Lisbon the following evening, it crashed in the Tagus River, killing twenty-four of its thirty-nine passengers and crew. Americans in a World at War traces the backstories of seven worldly Americans aboard that plane, their personal histories, their politics, and the paths that led them toward war. Combat soldiers made up only a small fraction of the millions of Americans, both in and out of uniform, who scattered across six continents during the Second World War. This book uncovers a surprising history of American noncombatants abroad in the years leading into the twentieth century's most consequential conflict. Long before GIs began storming beaches and liberating towns, Americans had forged extensive political, economic, and personal ties to other parts of the world. These deep and sometimes contradictory engagements, which preceded the bombing of Pearl Harbor, would shape and in turn be transformed by the US war effort. As the Yankee Clipper's passengers' travels take them from Ukraine, France, Spain, Panama, Cuba, and the Philippines to Java, India, Australia, Britain, Egypt, the Soviet Union, and the Belgian Congo, among other hot spots, their movements defy simple boundaries between home front and war front and upend conventional American narratives about World War II"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2023004896
ISBN9780199322008 (hardback)
ISBN(epub)

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