Backbencher

Harry Bioletti's book, The Yanks are Coming: The American Invasion of New Zealand 1942-1944, tells the story of the clash of two cultures forced together by World War II. Americans arrived in New Zealand to help fight the Japanese in the Pacific during WWII, and Bioletti's work "details the effects of the American presence and the ways in which the visitors were affected" (vii). Certainly, the New Zealanders and Americans both experienced culture shock as a result of American troop deployment to New Zealand. This was in part because neither group really had a realistic conception of the other before the Americans arrived. Upon arrival, the Americans were seen as wealthier, powerful, conversational, and brash, characteristics that helped them win over the hearts of many New Zealand women, married and unmarried. This fact was the major source of conflict for New Zealanders. In fact, several significant skirmishes resulted due to the "simmering resentment felt by the New Zealand servicemen toward their better paid, better dressed American allies" (150). Despite some of the negative clashes, Bioletti provides many essays written by individuals on both sides which speak to the mutual respect and friendship which characterized NZ-U.S. relations. In the end, many New Zealanders were grateful at the security provided by the "invading" troops of the United States. In the end, it appears that the lasting impact of the Americans could be positive or negative. It would all depend on who you ask.

Bioletti's work is valuable as a look into the personal experiences of many individuals, both American and New Zealander, during this time period. Cultural interaction occurred in relationships, radio, dancing, songs, drinking, food, and fighting (sometimes against each other). The author would have been better served to focus more on these everyday interactions. Instead, much time and space is wasted defining military jargon, providing place names, and naming every warship that was stationed near New Zealand. Though the book is dry in these places, it is rich in the personal essays from Americans and New Zealanders who participated and observed this unique period in New Zealand's history, the time of the "American invasion."