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Review at MyShelf.Com | ||||||||||||||
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by Edward Humes Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Edward Humes’ latest book explores how The G.I. Bill redefined post World War II America by offering returning G.I.'s the chance to do many things unthinkable in the depression; including go to college and buy a home. The bill set the stage for the economic boom of the 1950's and 60's, swelling home ownership to record highs and laying the foundation for suburban life as we know it. Mr. Humes doesn't ignore the downside of the G.I. Bill, where women and Americans of color were either left out or minimized in what was the largest mass give-away ever by the U.S. Government. Diminished over the years, the G.I. Bill today is a mere skeleton of what it once was. . Mr. Humes easily engages the reader with an educational but personal style, rescuing them from what could have been a sleepy, bureaucratic history lesson. The book is filled with first-person stories of the war, provided by in-the-trenches G.I.'s, who extol the life-changing impact The G.I. Bill had on their lives and those of their families. Over Here is an important military and political chronicle on long-ago legislation which has impacted most Americans, young or old, for almost fifty-years. Sadly though, as the author reports, since 1985, only eight-percent of veterans have taken full advantage of the educational benefits the bill provides. |
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Over Here