The End of the Victory Culture

Summary

This is a reinterpretation of American culture since World War II. The book relates the experience of a generation that grew up in the wake of Japanese surrender. From Hiroshima through to Vietnam, American triumphalism disintegrated and, along with it, the certitudes of national identity. Drawing on sources as diverse as war toys and national security memoranda, the author explores the cultural life of a nation that has lost its national myth - that elimination of a less than human enemy was the key to achieving its destiny.