American War Stories [Hardcover]

American War Stories asks readers to contemplate what traditionally constitutes a “war story” and how that constitution obscures the normalization of militarism in American culture. The book claims the traditionally narrow scope of “war story,” as by a combatant about his wartime experience, compartmentalizes war, casting armed violence as distinct from everyday American life.  Broadening “war story” beyond the specific genres of war narratives such as “war films,” “war fiction,” or “war memoirs,”American War Storiesexposes how ingrained militarism is in everyday American life, a condition that challenges the very democratic principles the United States is touted as exemplifying.

 American War Storiesbreaks down the American perception of wars and focuses on how and why we conceptualize the “war” story. It is one of the first studies to ask readers to contemplate what constitutes a “war story” and how that constitution obscures the normalizing of militarism in American culture.
 BRENDA M. BOYLEis a professor of English and director of the Writing Center at Denison University, Granville, Ohio. She authoredMasculinity in Vietnam War Narratives, co-authoredMasculinity and Monstrosity in Contemporary Hollywood Films, editedThe Vietnam War, and co-editedLooking Back on the Vietnam War.