I have been reading a very thorough and interesting book by Donny Gluckstein, A People's History of the Second World War: Resistance versus Empire. Of course, the author quotes both Zinn and Terkel! The thesis is that two parallel wars were taking place. The official military war of Allies against Axis that was essentially a imperialist war from both sides. The second war was that waged by the underground people's resistance. Fascinating stuff. "The USA was equally cynical in its approach to peace. As one leading politician put it: ‘As things are now going, the peace we will make, the peace we seem to be making, will be a peace of oil, a peace of gold, a peace of shipping ... without moral purpose ... .’ Devoid of moral purpose, maybe, but Hull, Roosevelt’s Secretary of State, explained the USA would lead ‘a new system of international relationships ... primarily for reasons of pure national self-interest." That continues to this day.
