War, Memory, and Culture Book Series
War, Memory, and Culture is a book series published by the since 2016. Devoted to scholarship that examines the construction of collective or
cultural war memory, the series is international in scope and not limited to any particular
conflict. Steven Trout of the University of Alabama serves as the series editor.
is a family memoir of resilience and survival. Daniela Spenser initially set out
to tell the story of her mother, Ruth, but in the course of her research unearthed
personal facts and stories that additionally illuminate the shared traumas and experiences
of millions of Czech, Polish, and German Jews who died in the Holocaust, as well as
the stories of those who survived and lived under Communism and the Cold War. Her
resulting work is a fascinating hybrid that combines family letters and interviews
with deeply researched political history spanning from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
鈥淪penser鈥檚 erudition as a writer and scholar shines through 鈥� [Echoes of Exile] is
a fascinating and highly readable account of the author鈥檚 family history during a
tumultuous period in world history. It is a story worth telling.鈥�
鈥� S. Jonathan Wiesen, coauthor of Nazi Germany: Society, Culture, and Politics
is a based on a 2017 symposium held at the University of Alabama that explored the
Great War as experienced in the American South and by its people. The book includes
an introduction featuring a survey of recent literature dealing with regional aspects
of WWI and a discussion of the centenary commemorations of the war. An afterword by
Jay Winter places 鈥�Dixie鈥檚 Great War鈥� 鈥� the symposium and this book鈥攚ithin the larger framework of commemoration, emphasizing
the vital role such forums perform in creating space and opportunity for scholars
and the public alike to assess and understand the shifting ground between cultural
memory and the historical record.
鈥�The wide-ranging conversation in Dixie's Great War touches on a number of important
facets of the South's participation in World War I. From military service to civil
rights, and from the home front to the legacy of the conflict, this work provides
an engaging and approachable introduction to scholarly discussion of this transformative
moment in the Southern history.鈥�
鈥� Matthew L. Downs, co-editor of The American South and the Great War, 1914-1924
is a collection of essays exploring the vital role played by painting in the visual
culture of combatant nations during and following the First World War. The volume
features a foreward by Jay Winter and contributions from Great War scholars from across
the globe. Edited by Margaret Hutchison of the Australian Catholic University and
the Center's Steven Trout.
鈥淧ortraits of Remembrance is a welcome addition to scholarship on commemoration and memory of the First World
War.鈥�
鈥擯earl James, author of The New Death: American Modernism and World War I
is an introduction to key issues in the study of war and memory that examines significant
conflicts in twentieth-century Europe through case studies. David Messenger is Chair
of the History Department at the University of South Alabama.
鈥�War and Public Memory is a gripping story of Europe鈥檚 most divisive conflicts. In lucid prose, Messenger
traces how loss has been carved into the European landscape. This vital study demonstrates
that past atrocities continue to shape national identity, while memorials transform
war into productive mechanisms of memory.鈥�
鈥擲ara J. Brenneis, author of Spaniards in Mauthausen: Representations of a Nazi Concentration Camp, 1940鈥�2015
is an examination of the relationship between art, architecture, war memory, and
Franco-American relations. Kate Clarke Lemay is a historian at the National Portrait
Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC.
鈥�Triumph of the Dead provides much needed information on post鈥揥WII American military cemeteries in Europe,
as well as the US agenda in postwar Europe in general.鈥�
鈥擡rika Doss, author of Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America
is based on author Thomas Alexander Boyd鈥檚 personal experiences as an enlisted Marine.
First published in 1925 and long out of print, this edition rescues from obscurity
a vivid, kaleidoscopic vision of American soldiers, US Marines mostly, serving in
a global conflict a century ago. It is a true forgotten masterpiece of World War I
literature. Reissued in the series in a new edition with notes and introduction by
Steven Trout, this work can now reach a new audience.
鈥淭homas Boyd is famous for the novel Through the Wheat, now enshrined as a World War
I classic. In Points of Honor, through a set of interlocking narratives, he pulls off something of a short story
version of William March鈥檚 Company K. A clear and interesting introduction by Steven
Trout, pegged for the literate general reader, makes a strong case for the stories
as something of an advance over Through the Wheat. Here the characters and situations
are diverse, and the modes of narration and development are strikingly varied.鈥�
鈥擯hilip D. Beidler, author of Beautiful War: Studies in a Dreadful Fascination and The Victory Album: Reflections on the Good Life after the Good War
Stephen C. Murray's 2016 was the first book in the series. It is a study of public memory, and the ways three
peoples swept up in conflict struggle to create a common understanding of the tragedy
they share. Listen to Stephen C. Murray talk about the book on the .
"Stephen Murray has written a remarkably sensitive, insightful, and compassionate
book about a war that continues. While Japanese forces surrendered the island of Peleliu
in what is now the Republic of Palau to American invaders on 24 November 1944, the
battle goes on around issues of memory, commemoration, and the meaning of history.
To his great credit, Stephen Murray has done much to redress the imbalance and injustice."
鈥擳he Contemporary Pacific
