Synopses & Reviews
Widely hailed as a masterpiece, this is the first history of World War II to provide a truly global account of the war that encompassed six continents. Starting with the changes that restructured Europe and her colonies following the First World War, Gerhard Weinberg sheds new light on every facet of World War II. Actions of the Axis, the Allies, and the Neutrals are covered in every theater of the war. More importantly, the global nature of the war is examined, with new insight into how events in one corner of the world helped affect events in other distant parts. A World at Arms is a fascinating account of the Second World War and the world that the war reshaped. Gerhard L. Weinberg was born in Germany and spent the first year of World War II in England. After serving in the U.S. army of occupation in Japan, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Professor Weinberg worked on Columbia University's War Documentation project and directed the American Historical Association's program for the microfilming of captured German documents. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the origins and the course of the war, including the prize-winning two-volume study The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany.
Review
"No one, scholars included, should presume to know about the Second World War if they have not read this book." American Heritage"...Weinberg has written the most authoritative single-volume account of the Second World War, a book that the author describes, with ample reason, as a "global history." It's easy enough to tell what happended, but to explain why requires the sort of vast knowledge that Weinberg commands." Forbes"...a blockbuster of a survey, grounded, to a remarkable extent for so large a work, in primary sources and also in an evident mastery of the secondary literature. It is a joy to read: lively, vigorous, and...altogether a stylistic gem....[it] offers refreshinly forthright judgments on every major aspect of World War II strategy and policy." Naval War College Review"The bulk of the book, over 900 pages, delivers a clearly written chronological narrative of the war....Weinberg's book is based not only on mastery of the published literature, but is also the product of fifteen years of archival research....In terms of its comprehensiveness and disciplined scholarship, the work outshines that of his predecessors." The Boston Book Review"A World at Arms provided me with an entirely new panorama of the world at war. I'm overwhelmed with its refreshing sense of candor, its incisive and direct overview of the global conflict of our times. A magnificent read!" Kathy Anderson, General Trade Buyer, University Bookstore, UC-San Diego"...the text is a masterpiece of clear, level-headed explanation...It certainly deserves to be placed alongside the war histories of John Keegan, Martin Gilbert, and A.J.P. Taylor. As a sheer work of reference, it outclasses even them." Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph"This is the book on the Second World War that we have been waiting for, a truly global analysis which conveys the breadth, craftsmanship and sagacious insights of a master historian." Carole Fink, author of Marc Bloch"A most impressive work, the product of a distinguished historian at the height of his powers. Written in a clear and direct style, the book is peppered with sharp insights and shrewd observations and should appeal to a very wide audience." Jeremy Noakes, author of Nazism 1919-1945 and Intelligence and International Relations, 1900-45"Few historians could have taken on the daunting challenge of attempting a global history of the Second World War; but Gerhard Weinberg succeeds brilliantly. It is a masterly study which is unlikely to be surpassed." Ian Kershaw, author of Nazi Dictatorship and Hitler"Gerhard Weinberg is probably the world's leading expert on Hitler's foreign policy and his book on the second world war, A World At Arms, published in 1994, is by far the best single-volume history of that global sonflict." Vernon Bogdanor, Professor of Government at Oxford University
Synopsis
A survey of all aspects of World War II from a global perspective, based on new archival information.
Synopsis
This major new work is a general history of World War II which takes a global perspective, covering all theatres of war and illuminating their interrelations. Unlike other books on the war, this one is based on the archives - often containing hitherto unknown material - and looks at the war as the global catastrophe it was.
Synopsis
This is the first general history of World War II to be based both on the existing literature and on extensive work in British, American and German archives. It covers all the theaters of war, the weaponry used, and developments on the home front. Taking a global perspective, the work deals with all belligerents and relates events in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific to each other. The role of diplomacy and strategy, of intelligence and espionage, and the impact of war upon society are all dealt with, often on the basis of hitherto unknown material. New light is shed on the actions of great and small powers and on topics ranging from the beginning of the war to the dropping of the atomic bombs; the titanic battles on the Eastern Front are fitted into the war as a whole; the killing of six million Jews and millions of others is placed into context; and the fighting at sea and in the air is included in a coherent view of the great conflict.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [945]-1125) and index.
Table of Contents
Preface; Introduction; 1. From one war to another; 2. The German and Soviet attacks on Poland; 3. The world turned upside down; 4. The expanding conflict; 5. The Eastern Front and a changing war; 6. Halting the Japanese advance, halting the German advance: keeping them apart and shifting the balance; 7. The war at sea 1942-44 and the blockade; 8. The war in Europe and North Africa 1940-43: to and from Stalingrad, to and from Tunis; 9. The Home Front; 10. Means of warfare: old and new; 11. The war from the spring of 1943 to summer 1944; 12. The assault on Germany from all sides; 13. Tensions in both alliances; 14. The halt on the European fronts; 15. The final assault on Germany; 16. The war in the Pacific: from Leyte to the 'Missouri'; Conclusions: the cost and impact of the war; Abbreviations; Bibliographic essay; Endnotes; Index.