When current events seem overwhelming, it can be
instructive, even comforting, to read about the courage and resilience of
previous generations. In The 40s: The Story of A Decade, The New Yorker has collected many
articles from that dire decade when The Great Depression persisted and the
entire world went to war. Begun in 1925 as a magazine of humor and local
interest, The New Yorker became,
during the decade of the 1940’s, a national powerhouse of reporting and
opinion, employing the greatest writers of the time. These writers lived in
London during the blitz, landed on Iwo Jima with the Marines and crossed the
Channel on D-Day. Other well-researched articles cover subjects familiar to all
Americans today: John F. Kennedy and his PT boat; the Monuments Men; and the
Berlin airlift. John Hersey’s famous work, Hiroshima, about six
survivors of the atomic bomb, was first published on August 31, 1946, and
occupied nearly the entire issue.
But The New Yorker
articles were not devoted solely to matters of historical and political
importance. The best of the movie, book, music, fashion and theater reviews
have been reprinted in this book. Alas, no cartoons! Here also are the best
poetry and short stories of the 1940’s. Shirley Jackson’s famous The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker. As in many modern
magazines, there were articles about celebrities of the day. Such diverse
personalities as Walt Disney, Eleanor Roosevelt and Walter Winchell were
featured in various issues. Human
interest articles have not been omitted. Of particular interest to all readers
might be the report on the 1949 Miss America contest. The simplicity of the
contest and contestants stands in stark contrast to the sophistication of the
current event. Three of the forty-eight states did not send contestants. All
contestants were required to compete in donated Catalina swimming suits,
Catalina being a pageant sponsor. In a parade rolling down the boardwalk, each
contestant, wearing an evening gown, sat on a float pushed by a couple of
men. As for talent, there was the usual
singing, acting and musical instrument playing. However, Miss Nevada’s talent
was raising purebred Herefords. She had wanted to bring one of her cows, but
pageant officials would not allow it. And the lackadaisical Miss New York
State, the contestant featured in the article, gave little thought to her
talent. “Her act, as she planned it, was going to consist of getting up in her nurse’s
uniform and making a little speech about her nursing experience…All I know how
to do is give a good back rub.” Who would not root for this young woman!
