Out of the Horrors of War

"Out of the Horrors of War masterfully shows how disability is not merely 'another' analytic category for historical analysis, but is rather a crucial part of US political and policy history in the twentieth century."—H-Disability

"Out of the Horrors of War offers a most important addition to both the history of disability and the history of the U.S. welfare state. Well written and well researched, it demonstrates that the 1940s and 1950s were not a lull in the history of disability activism followed by the better-known activism of the 1960s and 1970s."—American Historical Review

"Jennings challenges scholars to reimagine the disability rights movement not as a recent phenomenon but as a decades-long continuum of activism and political engagement. . . . Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand—and anyone seeking to overcome—the obstacles faced by disability activists on Capitol Hill today."—Journal of Social History

"Jennings clearly spent countless hours in numerous archives in order to document her detailed and convincing account of the AFPH. . . . Out of the Horrors of War is thus an impressive work that will engage historians of disability, of civil rights, and of the US welfare state, as well as their graduate and undergraduate students."—Journal of American Studies

"Policy history with the people left in, Out of the Horrors of War shows that the labor shortage of WWII sparked a drive for disability rights much earlier than generally recounted. Audra Jennings astutely reveals how conflicts within the Truman administration, strong personalities, and contrasting concepts of rehabilitation waylaid the efforts of people with disabilities to obtain full economic citizenship."—Eileen Boris, coauthor, Caring for America: Home Health Workers in the Shadow of the Welfare State

"Audra Jennings is a tenacious and creative researcher who has produced an important contribution to the history of disability and disability rights movements in the United States."—Felicia Kornbluh, University of Vermont

"Out of the Horrors of War situates the origins of the disability rights movement squarely in the postwar period and persuasively revises the American narrative of citizenship and rights."—Kim Nielsen, University of Toledo