Technology of War

By Robin Cross

Colour and black and white photographs, artwork and maps illustrate a title from the ERA OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR series which uses the stories of individual children to examine their experiences of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568471777
• ISBN13: 9781568471778
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Thomson Learning
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.0" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Wars are fought to build better futures for children?

Do you wonder how compassion develops in youth today? Will reading about the real experiences of children during WW2 give those of a younger generation a sense of the damage War can do to the individual psyche? "Children & War" by author Robin Cross was originally published in Britain in 1994. The many ways in which children were affected by wartime conditions are surveyed: aiding the resistance movement, being hidden from the Gestapo, starving in many countries. suffering the cruelties of the Atomic Age. Excellent graphics are used throughout. The last chapter was possibly an after-thought inserted for U.S. publication. Its final paragraph seems to focus on teenagers in the U.S. who wore "zoot suits"! Even with the draft distributing the pain of military service more 'equally' the children in this country were almost totally removed from reality except when a family member or close friend was killed. Japanese-Americans lost their homes, precious self-respect & hopes for the future but most other children lived in innocence - - maybe until the U.S. ushered in even greater atrocities, and Americans felt a deep, broad sense of despair, and some even shame. Before the book's introduction the author states: "All sides in the war claimed to be trying to build a better future for their children" - - that might be the last time such a claim was made in print? There are governments engaged in conflicts presumably so that other countries can experience a democratic way of life. Yet on the way to that goal children are forced to fight, are maimed and/or killed. Where are the studies that could inform us of the emotional damage done? And where is evidence that anyone has been allowed to grieve for the horrendous, indescribable insults to body & mind that any war causes? Leaders use all kinds of justification for War. How many of the reasons given come anywhere near being honest? In which case, how can we make a connection between honesty and the democratic way of life envisioned? This is a "blockbuster book" - - Think of adult heads as blocks of wood in a stubborn mold , resistant to trying peaceful solutions, perhaps even resisting the formation of intergenerational study groups where Peace could be discussed? Reviewer mcHaiku hopes that many will read "Children & War" and agree that it is an important book that reminds us that War is not a glorious adventure for children but has many cruel after-effects, as with adults. Study history, but spend "equal time" working for a better world.