by Mark Harris
First published 2014
Mark Harris examines how World War II transformed Hollywood through five legendary directors: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Before Pearl Harbor, the film industry faced government scrutiny and accusations of being too foreign and un-American. The war gave Hollywood a chance to prove its patriotism. These five directors threw themselves into military service, documenting major battles across every theater of war. Ford filmed at Midway, while others covered North Africa, Normandy, the liberation of Paris, and the Nazi death camps. They served in all military branches and shaped wartime propaganda from Washington. Harris argues that the war fundamentally changed both these men and the entire film industry. The directors returned from combat as different people, and Hollywood emerged from the war having matured in ways that shaped American cinema forever. Through these five careers, Harris reveals how the war created modern Hollywood.
Genres: history, 20th-century, world-war-ii, non-fiction, biography-memoir, military-history, film, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: biography, historical-fiction
Setting: Midway, North Africa, Normandy, Paris, Nazi Death Camps
Period: World War II, Pearl Harbor
511 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press