The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II - David Nasaw and Frank Rich in Conversation

A discussion of Nasaw's new book re-examining a damaged America after the war.

David Nasaw’s new book is a brilliant re-examination of post-World War II America that looks beyond the victory parades and into the veterans’ — and nation’s — unhealed traumas. Nasaw presents a complicated portrait, documenting the effects of little-understood PTSD, the doubling divorce rate, rampant alcoholism, women reverting to roles as housewives, and the racism that Black veterans faced. He illuminates a hidden chapter of American history — one of hardship, resilience, and a country in transition.

Nasaw is a distinguished professor emeritus of History at the CUNY Graduate Center, bestselling author of The Last Million, and an award-winning biographer of William Randolph Hearst, Andrew Carnegie, and Joseph P. Kennedy. He speaks about the book with journalist, author, and television producer Frank Rich. A writer-at-large for New York Magazine, Rich was previously chief drama critic and an opinion columnist for The New York Times; he executive-produced the HBO series Succession and Veep, among other acclaimed projects.