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Understanding the Literature of World War II: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. By James H. Meredith. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999. ISBN 0-313-30417-3. Illustrations. Index. Pp. xix, 250. ,39.95.
James H. Meredith's Understanding the Literature of World War II is a reference work for high school students. It is also the most ambitious volume that Greenwood Press has published in its "Literature in Context" series. Whereas most entries in this series aid students in their study of individual literary works, Meredith states in his introduction that he has attempted "to cover as many important topics as possible" (p. xiv). Unfortunately, this ambition may be the book's undoing.
The book is divided into five thematic sections: "The Combatants"; "The Home Front"; "Occupation, Resistance and Espionage"; "The...