This review summarizes and analyzes David Brinkley's bestseller, Washington Goes to War. While Mr. Brinkley's book title initially gives the reader the impression that it is about Washington D.C. during all of its war years, his book barely mentions the first World War and never mentions the Vietnam War at all. Instead, the author directs his story to the four terms that Franklin Roosevelt spent in the White House. Brinkley covers the events leading up to Roosevelt declaring war on Japan and continues his historical chronology through the invention of the atom bomb and the end of World War II. Although the text discusses the town of Washington D.C. and details some of the living conditions its citizens encountered during the time Roosevelt was president, the descriptions of the citizens and their environment are a backdrop for the heart of Brinkley's saga: Roosevelt.
The author begins in summer, 1939, and, before the end of the first chapter, backtracks a few times to 1937, when Roosevelt began serving as president. Brinkley proceeds, for the most part, in chronological order, through the main events that shaped the growth of Washington D.C. during the Roosevelt era. The first chapter ends with an interesting piece of history: Hitler's S.S. began the-war by faking an attack by Poland on Germany (22). Twelve German criminals were given lethal injections, then dressed in Polish uniforms, shot, and then shown to the press who visited the border to view the carnage (23). This gave Hitler a reason to order his troops to invade Poland; and World War II had begun.
The focus of this book is on the war, but from the point of view of the people, press, and politicians who lived in Washington D.C. at the time. Brinkley usually covers both sides of the story. He does not side with any particular race, as can be ascertained from his coverage of the Marion Anderson quarrel. Howard University wanted Anderson to sing at Central High...