Bullets and Bread

by Kent Whitaker

First published 2013

The United States enters World War II with a massive challenge: feeding an armed forces that explodes from 350,000 to 11 million service members while maintaining the home front. The nation must abandon its traditional system of cities supplied by local farms and create an entirely new national food production industry. Military leaders scramble to organize supply chains that can reach battlefields across the globe. Farmers retool their operations for wartime demands. Families on the home front adapt their kitchens and tables to rationing and shortages. From generals planning mess hall menus to soldiers sharing recipes in foxholes, everyone becomes part of this massive transformation. The book follows the people who made this shift possible, capturing both the prominent figures who directed policy and the ordinary Americans who grew, cooked, and ate their way through the war years.

Genres: 20th-century, world-war-ii, non-fiction, military-history, american-history, food-history

Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family

Setting: United States

Period: World War II

320 pages · Hardcover · History Publishing Company, LLC

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