William K. Klingaman

Both authors have PhD degrees, one in American History and one in meteorology, which helps to explain the depth of the research and the detail in writing. Then, once I figured out how the book was organized, reading became easier.

Mount Tambora exploded in April 1915 and the weather patterns around the world dramatically changed for nearly two years, but no one could figure out that the two events were related. Many theories for the extreme weather conditions were proposed, while crops failed and people were starving.

This is a part of history that I would have never learned about except that, as a genealogist, I had ancestors living in New England who migrated to Ohio during this timeframe and I'm always looking for the push/pull factors for migration. Previously I had no idea about the drought suffered in the United States during 1816--the year without a summer, I had assumed that the only reason for crop failure was the freezing temperatures during every month of the growing season. I also had no idea that Europe experienced the opposite precipitation extremes, rain and floods along with the cold temperatures, causing worse famine than in the United States.

After the describing the initial eruption, the authors used a timeline approach, following the United States and several European countries during specific time periods, then introduced several prominent people within those countries for whom information is available to tie the story together and better understand the local impact of the weather patterns. Or, as was sometimes the case, reveal the lack of both government and local understanding of the problems.

I appreciate the story and am glad I read the book, but it took a little longer to read and sometimes I felt like I was having to plough through a lot of detail.… (altro)

This book was phenomenal. I have been reading a lot about World War II and many books told me information that I had never heard and others clarified details for me, however, this book was filled with details of what my parents and others of their generation went through after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the steps that were made by the government to fight in the war.

The Home Front was almost immediately changed by the entry into the war - the general population appeared stunned by the attack and the immediate declaration of war but since Christmas was so close and the attack so far away for those on the east coast, no immediate changes were made to people's actions. Still, the government set to work to get our armed forces in fighting stance.

Schools, housing, manufacturing, were prompted to prepare for the changes in society. School Administrators accelerated curriculum so that undergraduate degrees were 3 years instead of four, sometimes 2, so that students would stay in school. But enrollments declined up to 20% in 1942 when the draft age was lower to 20. Professional schools were also sped up - Medical Colleges changed from 4 years to 3, law schools from 3 to 2. Lower grades had their summer vacations changed to run from May to November so teenagers could help out on the farms with the harvest. One downfall of the shorter education time was disqualification of recruits for lack of arithmetic skills. Teachers were also in short supply having been drafted.

Because of the draft, there was an increase in marriages (originally married men were not classified as 1A but as 1B). Men who were recruited to work in the defense industry, found that when they moved to the cities that there was little housing for families in the area of the factories.

Seattle put workers into boats, trailers, garages, chicken coops, attics, and basements. Brooklyn Navy yard workers were housed in tenement barracks, Norfolk-Portsmouth sheltered 7,000 families in 100 trailer camps. Other workers slept in their cars, armchairs at boardinghouses. Frequently, factories would hire new workers only to lose more because of housing conditions.

But the home front had even more difficulties with supply chains (sound familiar?).

Due to the need for metal and rubber - once store shelves were empty of items they would not return until after the war. Refrigerators, radios, mixers, radiators, lawn mowers, toasters, dishwashers, percolators, phonographs, Xmas tree bulbs, electric razors, TVs, zippers, sewing machines, flashlights, irons, vacuum cleaners, plastic or metal ashtrays, coat hangers, playground equipment all became hot commodities after Pearl Harbor as items were added to the rationing list.

Beer was moved to Quart glass bottles to save metal on bottle caps.
Razor blades were restricted to 1 blade per adult male per week.
Panic buying showed a 25% increase in department store sales and some merchants actually asked shoppers to stop buying so much.

Clothing manufacturers made changes - eliminating pleats, trouser cuffs, shoulder pads, shortened suit coats, narrowed collars and lapels, and did away with the 2nd pair of pants.

Gasoline and tire rationing - nearly all the gas stations in the gas-rationed areas were dry; drivers stalked gasoline delivery trucks to follow them to their station of delivery so as to be first in line to fill up. Rubber was the main reason for gas rationing. Rubber tires were in short supply and even when the nation was informed about the shortage and the need to reduce non-essential travel, people still drove their vehicles for pleasure. By rationing gas, it was hoped that the tires that were currently on the vehicles could be maintained for the duration of the war.

Distilleries that could turn grain into 190 proof ethyl alcohol were ordered to make nothing else shutting down production of bourbon, rye, and gin.

War isn't cheap and FDR asked Congress to set a 100% levy on all individual incomes over $25,000 and on married couples over $50,000. This would have effected about 11,000 people including FDR and would only have generated about $200M revenue.
$25,000 in 1942 had the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $456,611.96 in 2022.

But the most demoralizing aspect on the home front was the lack of information as to the events of the war. Dangerous to the nation's morale was the military's inability to tell the public the truth.
CA congressman accused the War Dept of issuing "fake reports" (sound familiar?)

Newspapers, radio stations, and TV weren't permitted to give any "bad news" because the government didn't think the public could handle it. They weren't even allowed to give a weather report because spies might be able to use that information.

As more and more men went into the armed forces, the labor shortage became acute and the employment of women and Negros became a necessity that factory owners were not happy about. Unions frequently would not permit women members.

"Once women starting working at defense plants, aircraft executives acknowledged that their female employees required less supervision, suffered fewer accidents, inflicted less damage on tools, increased productivity, and were less likely to quit then men."

"Automakers, however, resisted as long as possible preferring qualified male workers but as the draft impacted the labor available, they were forced to consider other options." Labor unions were afraid that women workers would reduce the wage scales. Ford kept women away from the assembly lines until they were ordered by the War Dept to hire 12,000 women for the bomber plant in Willow Run but Ford fought its order because of inability to "define acceptable attire" for them.

Shipyards were no easier. The Intl Brotherhood of Boilermakers (union) did not accept women members. Union leaders said shipyards were too dangerous for women. As resistance lessened, most employers still refrained from hiring women over 25.

FDR in a fireside chat noted that businesses had no choice "In some communities, employers dislike to employ women. In others, they are reluctant to hire Negroes. In still others, older men are not wanted. We can no longer afford to indulge such prejudices or practices." Interesting that 80 years later we still have prejudices against women, blacks, and the elderly.

Unfortunately, I never got a chance to talk to either of my parents about their experiences during the war. I know that my father and several of his brothers worked at the shipyard in Baltimore. My parents were married during the war but because my father enlisted in the Merchant Marine, they were not living on their own, my mother was with her parents while my Dad was at sea. This book was tremendous at bringing to light the hardships and fears that civilians had to handle.

Seems like a book that should be read by the younger generations so that they could better understand deprivation.… (altro)