9780674737686-0674737687-Elvis’s Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield

Elvis’s Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield

ISBN-13: 9780674737686
ISBN-10: 0674737687
Edition: 1
Author: Brian McAllister Linn
Publication date: 2016
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Format: Hardcover 464 pages
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Book details

ISBN-13: 9780674737686
ISBN-10: 0674737687
Edition: 1
Author: Brian McAllister Linn
Publication date: 2016
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Format: Hardcover 464 pages

Summary

Elvis’s Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield (ISBN-13: 9780674737686 and ISBN-10: 0674737687), written by authors Brian McAllister Linn, was published by Harvard University Press in 2016. With an overall rating of 3.9 stars, it's a notable title among other United States History (Strategy, Military History, United States, Americas History) books. You can easily purchase or rent Elvis’s Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield (Hardcover) from BooksRun, along with many other new and used United States History books and textbooks. And, if you're looking to sell your copy, our current buyback offer is $3.13.

Description

When the U.S. Army drafted Elvis Presley in 1958, it quickly set about transforming the King of Rock and Roll from a rebellious teen idol into a clean-cut GI. Trading in his gold-trimmed jacket for standard-issue fatigues, Elvis became a model soldier in an army facing the unprecedented challenge of building a fighting force for the Atomic Age.

In an era that threatened Soviet-American thermonuclear annihilation, the army declared it could limit atomic warfare to the battlefield. It not only adopted a radically new way of fighting but also revamped its equipment, organization, concepts, and training practices. From massive garrisons in Germany and Korea to nuclear tests to portable atomic weapons, the army reinvented itself. Its revolution in warfare required an equal revolution in personnel: the new army needed young officers and soldiers who were highly motivated, well trained, and technologically adept. Drafting Elvis demonstrated that even this icon of youth culture was not too cool to wear the army’s uniform.

The army of the 1950s was America’s most racially and economically egalitarian institution, providing millions with education, technical skills, athletics, and other opportunities. With the cooperation of both the army and the media, military service became a common theme in television, music, and movies, and part of this generation’s identity. Brian Linn traces the origins, evolution, and ultimate failure of the army’s attempt to transform itself for atomic warfare, revealing not only the army’s vital role in creating Cold War America but also the experiences of its forgotten soldiers.

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