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[Previous entry: "Upcoming author events and interviews include:"] [Archive Index] [Next entry: "] 01/17/2007 Over Here
And so it was: the post-World War II G.I. Bill. It revolutionized higher education, created suburbia, brought us the scientists, engineers, doctors, artists and teachers who built most of what is good in America today. My new book, Over Here: How the G.I. Bill Transformed the American Dream (Harcourt, Oct. 2006), recounts this sometimes surprising history and its lasting legacy. Consider it a book not of war stories, but of after-the-war stories, and in them you’ll meet film and theater director Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde, The Miracle Worker, the Nixon-Kennedy debates), Nobelist Leon Lederman (helped invent modern particle physics), civil rights crusader Monte Posey, George McGovern, Bob Dole, Josette Dermody Wingo and many others. Hear an Audio Excerpt of Over Here and brief commentary by downloading my podcast here or get it in iTunes. American Dreamer — There was a time when our government helped everyday Americans realize their dreams and, in the process, lifted up the entire nation. An adaptation of Over Here I wrote for the Orange County Register tells the story of two inspiring veterans of World War II who used the G.I. Bill to change their world — and ours. Now more than ever, we need a reminder of the greatness America and its leaders once achieved, and could achieve again. And don't miss the very cool Over Here Slide Show, featuring photos of G.I. Bill veteran Bill Thomas (then and now), and postwar, GI Bill-financed suburban construction in Lakewood, California. CSM on Over Here — Steve Weinberg at the Christian Science Monitor has this to say about Over Here: “The human dramas scattered throughout the narrative are irresistible. Humes's handful of real-life protagonists invent sophisticated weapons for use in the cold war, populate suburbs with tract homes that alter the urban-rural equation, become beloved physicians and teachers and film directors - all because the GI Bill provided otherwise unimaginable opportunities.”
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— Imagine telling an entire generation they could receive a free college education at any school that would accept them — Texas A&M, Harvard University, the Sorbonne — anywhere. Throw in a monthly stipend for living expenses, plus more money for books. And when you graduate, there's a government-backed home loan waiting, no money down and no credit checks — buy a house cheaper than renting an apartment. Throw in subsidized farm loans, business loans, free job training, free medical care, free job placement, and up to a year’s worth of weekly paychecks until you find work. What insane congressman, senator or president would ever approve such a costly boondoggle? It could never pass today, for it would be the most enormous, far-reaching, life-changing government program in the history of the world.