"This collection examines the Young Men's Christian Association's support for soldiers and civilians during World War I and World War II. The contributors approach the topic from various angles and argue that the YMCA's efforts routinely resulted in conflict with governments, other civic organizations, and individuals"-- Provided by publisher.

Introduction: Collaboration and conflict: The YMCA at war /Jeffrey C. Copeland and Yan Xu -- The damn Y Man in WWI: Service, perception, and cigarettes / Joel R. Bius -- Huts in the Holy Land: The YMCA and British Empire soldiers in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns, 1916-1918 / Edward C. Woodfin -- To help and to organize: The YMCA in Italy during the Great War / Ugo Pavan Dalla Torre -- The American YMCA and war work service in Russia in World War I and the Russian Civil War, 1914-1923 / Kenneth A. Steuer -- The YMCA and the science of international civil statecraft in post-World War I Czechoslovakia / Erika Cornelius Smith -- The YMCA with the American Occupation Force in Germany after World War I / Larry A. Grant -- Character conservancy in Shanghai's emergency: The YMCA in Shanghai, 1931-1942 / Kristin Mulready-Stone -- Befriending soldiers: The Emergency Service to Soldiers Program of the Chinese YMCA during the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945 / Yan Xu -- "In harmony with American democracy": The YMCA in California during the Japanese American internment and resettlement / Jeffrey C. Copeland -- "Canadians for Canadians only ... it's like a paradise": Sport, leisure, and the Canadian YMCA in England during the Second World War / John J. Maker -- The YMCA, YWCA, and the "civilizing" of Australian servicemen in postwar Japan / John Moremon.