284 Indiana Magazine of History to contribute to a larger understanding both of the past and of the means by which society tries to comprehend it. University of Notre Dame, Barbara Allen South Bend, Ind.

Skinning Cats: The Wartime Letters of Tom Krueger. Edited by James B. Lane and Stephen G. McShane. (Chicago: Cattails Press, 1985. Pp. 160. Illustrations, notes. Paperbound, $5.95.) In July, 1943, shortly after his graduation from Wirt High School in Gary, Indiana, eighteen-year-old C. Thomas Krueger enlisted in the United States Navy, becoming one of the more than fifteen million men and women to serve in America’s armed forces during World War 11. Taking his basic training at Camp Peary, Virginia, Krueger joined the “Seabees,” a special division of the navy organized to build military bases in combat areas. Following advanced instruction in Virginia and Rhode Island, Krueger was shipped to the Pacific Theater, where he worked on various construction projects in New Guinea and the Philip- pines. During the twenty-eight months he spent away from home, Krueger wrote nearly two hundred letters to his family describ- ing his transformation into a “Seabee” and his experiences over- seas. The young seaman possessed a facile pen and a sense of humor, and his letters were both informative and entertaining. Discovered in 1984 at a demolition site, the Krueger letters were saved from destruction to be published as the first volume in the Calumet Regional Studies Series sponsored by Indiana Univer- sity Northwest. Skinning Cats is a fresh and candid look at what it meant to be an American sailor in World War 11. Not unexpectedly, Krueger complained a lot about navy food, overbearing officers, and other service hardships. However, his letters also provide rich insights into navy training, midwestern racial and sexual attitudes, and the mechanics of wartime censorship. Though he saw no combat, Krueger was stationed close enough to the front to be menaced by Japanese booby traps, airplanes, and misdi- rected artillery shells. The book’s major weaknesses are weak editing and the lack of an index. James B. Lane and Stephen G. McShane contrib- uted a suitable introduction and a handful of helpful notes, but they neglected to explain the service jargon and wartime slang that clutter the letters. The reader born after 1945 might guess that “Frankie Glamour Pants” was Frank Sinatra and “Moose- Book Reviews 285

Face” was Benito Mussolini, but a glossary is required to reveal the meaning of many other terms. These omissions notwithstanding, Skinning Cats is a store- house containing many historical treasures. It would make a useful reference for those interested in the social history of World War 11. University of Central Arkansas, Gregory J. W. Urwin Conway

Kentucky’s Governors, 1792-1985. Edited by Lowell H. Harrison. (Lexington: University Press of , 1985. Pp. xxi, 217. Suggested readings, index. $22.00.) Lowell H. Harrison should be complimented for editing these fifty-four essays by thirty-two authors who chronicle Kentucky’s history through its chief executives. He provides a sensible pref- ace without grandiose claims, and Thomas D. Clark’s introduc- tion establishes a helpful framework for understanding the governors’ milieux. This collection is aimed at the general reader, but because the work is done largely by professors, more atten- tion is devoted to analyzing policies than to tracing genealogies. Overall, the venture is a welcome contribution, although one of mixed quality and success. Constitutionally limited to one term, Kentucky governors have four years to create a memorable record. Many have failed at this, and their biographers generally do not inflate their at- tempts. Some who distinguished themselves were aided by cir- cumstances beyond their control. , for instance, remains notable mainly for being the first governor, for his assassination, A. B. “Happy” Chandler for his flamboyance and longevity, and for be- coming the first female chief executive. Others, such as George Johnson and Richard Hawes who were Civil War governors of an unofficial Confederate Kentucky, have virtually disappeared from memory. Also of dubious distinction were William S. Tay- lor, who fled to Indiana under indictment for complicity in a murder, and James T. Morehead, who “did nothing to hinder education” (p. 39). If the essays are read in sequence, several themes emerge. One becomes aware of the political significance of and of the necessity for currying ’s favor in the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century support of the Louisville CourierJournal and Alben W. Barkley was equally important. Intriguing parallels also emerge. Relief wars during the depression of the 1820s resemble ’s problems in