In Grand Illusions: American Art and the First World War, Lubin provides a multidisciplinary examination of American art, society, and war in the early twentieth century. Professor Jennifer Wingate wrote in Panorama: The Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art, "In summary, readers will appreciate the breadth of subject matter in Grand Illusions, the inclusion of lesser-known cultural voices, and the eye-opening comparisons that connect themes and artwork in unexpected ways." Yaëlle Azagury gave the book a more mixed review in the Washington Post, writing that "...his readings, which may be irritating to the political conservative or the more classic-minded, are intellectually provocative", but "he delivers a disparate collection of essays while failing to conclude whether, indeed, a cohesive national style emerged in the aftermath of the war."
