Despite the title, this is not another epic about the “greatest generation.” Instead, it is the first in-depth study of the G.I. Bill and its impact on the lives of World War II veterans – delivered with a poignant political message. The core of Mettler's research is a survey of a representative sample of veterans. She suggests that the G.I. Bill was the single most successful piece of government legislation in American history. It not only enabled veterans to enrol in higher education, the effect most commonly associated with the bill, but also allowed countless others to engage in vocational training programmes. Based on the survey responses and the veterans' social background, Mettler argues that the participants were subsequently better off than they would have been without the bill.
Mettler's political message emanates from the second part of her book, in which she demonstrates that the positive experience of the G.I. Bill led to higher levels of civic participation, be it in politics or voluntary organizations. The experience of government intervention as a positive force in individual lives motivated veterans to participate in politics. Equipped with these findings, Mettler pleads for an activist government, going against the grain of the almost conventional American wisdom today that government should be as small and non-interventionist as possible.
While the book describes a rousing success story, Mettler also considers how minorities experienced the G.I. Bill. African Americans similarly benefited and displayed higher levels of political activity than the non-veteran population. Persistent discrimination, however, focussed their political energies on the civil rights struggle. Women, on the other hand, showed no significant increase in political activity because they were largely excluded from the provisions of the bill. Curiously absent in Mettler's treatment of the African American experience, however, is an explanation of why black veterans responded to her survey in much smaller numbers than white veterans.
Perhaps the part of Mettler's book most open to debate is the political agenda. In an age of “small government” and citizen apathy, her plea for a more activist government is commendable. Nevertheless, it is doubtful that a unique programme like the G.I. Bill can serve as a model for today. Comparisons with European countries indicate, moreover, that social programmes do not necessarily create more active citizens. Such minor criticism, however, should not detract from the fact that Mettler's study is the first thorough analysis of the G.I. Bill and a welcome addition to the literature on postwar American society.
