Thanks for the Memories : Love, Sex, and World War II

"Jane Mersky Leder is the author of a terrific book about an overlooked area in history - the sex lives of the greatest generation." - Fayetteville Observer "In her lively, highly readable new book, Thanks for the Memories, Leder details the upheavals, personal and social, that began as the country mobilized to fight. In that upended society, she finds the beginnings of the many rights movements -- civil rights, women's liberation and gay rights." - Evanston Review "Her book -- a very readable psycho-sociological study -- explores how the war and people's reaction to the times set in motion such things as the second wave of the women's movement." - Historical Text Archive "Jane Mersky Leder pricks the notion that men and women of the 'Greatest Generation' were all God-fearing....She writes well; the book is a good read." - Blogcritics.org "Thanks for the Memories is replete with captivating bits of history, wonderful personal stories, and a peek into a generation slipping away fast. It's never dull as Ms. Leder moves you swiftly through history, confidently and engagingly." - TCM Reviews "Written with great sensitivity and skill, this book makes the greatest generation more real to the succeeding generations; it exposes the young men and women of that time as being both stronger and more vulnerable than either history books or overly romantic movies sketch them." - Bookpleasures.com "Thanks for the Memories is one of those rare books that one can either read quickly or savor slowly. At times it is fun and witty; at other ties it is poignant and thought-provoking." - The Detroit Jewish News "[W]WII as a time of bawdy sexual experimentation? That might take a little getting used to. Jane Mersky Leder understands our reluctance. Four years ago, as she began to unravel surprising stories about the Greatest Generation, she was reluctant to believe them, too. But the men and women she interviewed, who are dying at a rate of approximately 1,000 a day, encouraged her to tell the more complete story, naughty though it may be....Her book is diligently researched and footnoted, and her sources spoke freely and candidly....At the height of the war, 19 million women were keeping the home front running. And it was that taste of independence - physical and economic - that Leder and many other cultural observers believe set the stage for the women's movement 20 years later. French shores on D-Day into the enthusiastic embrace of waiting mesdammes. French women, he told Leder, go about sex like American women go about knitting." - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) "Through engaging stories and recollections, Leder paints a vivid picture of the love lives of the members of the Greatest Generation, from the service wives who followed their husbands around the country during their stateside training to the khaki-wackies and Victory girls who gave servicemen a roll in the hay in exchange for a Coca-Cola or movie, to the women, African Americans, and gays and lesbians who defied society to enlist in the military. Always enlightening and never prurient, Thanks for the Memories illuminates an untold chapter in World War II history--a chapter that resonates today in the continual redefining of gender roles and race relations." - America in WWII "Freelance writer and journalist Mersky examines the impact of WWII on relationships between men and women. Focusing on the areas of love, sex, and marriage, she describes how the war's disruption of ordinary home life and the subsequent entry of women into the workforce allowed for a relaxing of the social restrictions that had formerly kept women in check. The personal stories of ordinary people single, married, military, and civilian are interwoven throughout the narrative." - Reference & Research Book News