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An important and powerful contribution to the literature on the World War II home front. Hiltner recovers the long-forgotten history of American liberty ports and reveals that U.S. civil-military relations were far more violent and chaotic than most Americans may want to believe. --Aaron O'Connell, University of Texas at Austin Hiltner shines a light on a little-known conflict that occurred on the American home front in World War II: one wrought by brawny and belligerent GIs who caroused and terrorized their way through liberty cities across the country. Rejecting military and civilian control, these men took the spoils of war for themselves, leaving civilians--often women--to fend for themselves. This is not a comforting story about the American home front in World War II, but it is a vital one with important lessons for today. --Kara Dixon Vuic, Texas Christian University In this innovative study of World War II, Hiltner shows us another side of the home front: the 'friendly invasions' of US servicemen on leave in US liberty ports. The chaos that ensued--drunken brawls, racial and sexual violence, civilian-military conflict--reveals a darker side of wartime America and the far-reaching impact of the militarization of urban life. --Marilynn S. Johnson, Boston College Taking Leave, Taking Liberties is [Hiltner's] first book. And what a book it is. --Laurence M. Vance LewRockwell.com Taking Leave, Taking Liberties offers a whole new way of thinking about a moment in history we thought we already knew. From Times Square to Hollywood Boulevard to San Francisco's Barbary Coast, servicemen on leave transformed the landscapes and economies of cities, upended civil-military relations, and redefined what Americans thought it meant to be a man. GI Joe, you've met your match in Hiltner: this is the freshest take on the World War II home front in a generation. --Christopher Capozzola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Phrases like 'the Good War, ' and 'The Greatest Generation' reassure us of the Second World War's redemptive power. With Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq all clouding living memory, we can look back to a necessary war, fought by selfless volunteers against ruthless enemies. You can believe this fully, and Hiltner's Taking Leave, Taking Liberties will still give you pause. Hiltner traces the mobilization of millions of men over the course of four years, and he explores the contradiction between fighting ideals and the spectacular rise of crime, sexual violence, assaults, and urban disorder wherever soldiers gathered on the home front. It is a fresh contribution to the history of World War II, of masculinity, and of violence. --Elliott Gorn, Loyola University Chicago

Hiltner shines a light on a little-known conflict that occurred on the American home front in World War II: one wrought by brawny and belligerent GIs who caroused and terrorized their way through liberty cities across the country. Rejecting military and civilian control, these men took the spoils of war for themselves, leaving civilians--often women--to fend for themselves. This is not a comforting story about the American home front in World War II, but it is a vital one with important lessons for today. --Kara Dixon Vuic, Texas Christian University In this innovative study of World War II, Hiltner shows us another side of the home front: the 'friendly invasions' of US servicemen on leave in US liberty ports. The chaos that ensued--drunken brawls, racial and sexual violence, civilian-military conflict--reveals a darker side of wartime America and the far-reaching impact of the militarization of urban life. --Marilynn S. Johnson, Boston College An important and powerful contribution to the literature on the World War II home front. Hiltner recovers the long-forgotten history of American liberty ports and reveals that U.S. civil-military relations were far more violent and chaotic than most Americans may want to believe. --Aaron O'Connell, University of Texas at Austin Taking Leave, Taking Liberties offers a whole new way of thinking about a moment in history we thought we already knew. From Times Square to Hollywood Boulevard to San Francisco's Barbary Coast, servicemen on leave transformed the landscapes and economies of cities, upended civil-military relations, and redefined what Americans thought it meant to be a man. GI Joe, you've met your match in Hiltner: this is the freshest take on the World War II home front in a generation. --Christopher Capozzola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Phrases like 'the Good War, ' and 'The Greatest Generation' reassure us of the Second World War's redemptive power. With Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq all clouding living memory, we can look back to a necessary war, fought by selfless volunteers against ruthless enemies. You can believe this fully, and Hiltner's Taking Leave, Taking Liberties will still give you pause. Hiltner traces the mobilization of millions of men over the course of four years, and he explores the contradiction between fighting ideals and the spectacular rise of crime, sexual violence, assaults, and urban disorder wherever soldiers gathered on the home front. It is a fresh contribution to the history of World War II, of masculinity, and of violence. --Elliott Gorn, Loyola University Chicago

Hiltner shines a light on a little-known conflict that occurred on the American home front in World War II: one wrought by brawny and belligerent GIs who caroused and terrorized their way through liberty cities across the country. Rejecting military and civilian control, these men took the spoils of war for themselves, leaving civilians--often women--to fend for themselves. This is not a comforting story about the American home front in World War II, but it is a vital one with important lessons for today. --Kara Dixon Vuic, Texas Christian University In this innovative study of World War II, Hiltner shows us another side of the home front: the 'friendly invasions' of US servicemen on leave in US liberty ports. The chaos that ensued--drunken brawls, racial and sexual violence, civilian-military conflict--reveals a darker side of wartime America and the far-reaching impact of the militarization of urban life. --Marilynn S. Johnson, Boston College Phrases like 'the Good War, ' and 'The Greatest Generation' reassure us of the Second World War's redemptive power. With Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq all clouding living memory, we can look back to a necessary war, fought by selfless volunteers against ruthless enemies. You can believe this fully, and Hiltner's Taking Leave, Taking Liberties will still give you pause. Hiltner traces the mobilization of millions of men over the course of four years, and he explores the contradiction between fighting ideals and the spectacular rise of crime, sexual violence, assaults, and urban disorder wherever soldiers gathered on the home front. It is a fresh contribution to the history of World War II, of masculinity, and of violence. --Elliott Gorn, Loyola University Chicago

Author Information

Aaron Hiltner is an assistant faculty associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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