The central concern of the novel is the war against Nazi Germany, 19411945, which transformed the United States economically and politically. The war rescued America from the Depression and laid the foundation for unprecedented material prosperity. The war also moved the United States from complacent isolationism to uneasy responsibility for world order.

For Shaw there are three levels of conflict: international, national, and personal. The war is first a life-ordeath struggle between political systems, German Fascism and American Democracy. The war is second a contest between America's haves and have- nots who do not share equally in the good life and do not share equally the risks of combat. Third, the war is a personal trauma for good men who are appalled at the prospect of taking other men's lives and destroying their nation.

To the themes of conflict, Shaw brings the perspective that dominated political thinking...