Domestic politics during the US war in Vietnam are often noted for the extreme divisions between Right and Left, between doves and hawks, and between whites and non-whites. But as Joseph Darda argues in his book, How White Men Won the Culture Wars: A History of Veteran America (University of California Press, 2021), the War in Vietnam helped heal divisions among white men. It created what he calls, “a white racial reunion” that allowed white men to see themselves through the image of the Vietnam War veteran: forgotten and not valued. Of course, not all veterans are white, and not all (or even most) white men are veterans, but as Darda shows the image of the Vietnam War veteran was made to stand in for a range of grievances held by white men. Using a diverse set of texts, from the DSM III to college writing programs to the music of Bruce Springsteen and the movies of Sylvester Stallone, Darda shows how the cultural products of the post-Vietnam War era worked to create an image of white men who were victims of the war, of an uncaring society, and a government that betrayed them.

This book is important not just for scholars interested in the US war in Vietnam and its domestic aftermath but also helps us understand contemporary attitudes and political developments involving racial politics, affirmative action/DEI, and how we understand the current generation of veterans from so-called Wars on Terror.

Joesph Darda is an Associate Professor of English at Michigan State University. He has previously been interviewed on New Books Network about his book The Strange Career of Racial Liberalism. https://newbooksnetwork.com/th...

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