Synopses & Reviews
World War II is a clear and accessible narrative explains the course of the war and examines its causes, and its momentous consequences. The book examines the objectives and concerns of all the combatants, giving a complete picture of the conflict across its many theatres -- China and Southeast Asia as well as the Western Pacific; the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Scandinavia and Italy, as well as the Eastern and Western Fronts. The major campaigns and phases of the war are introduced by a timeline highlighting the critical moments, decisions and military actions that decided its outcome and detailed coverage of the effect of war on civilians, with features on the home fronts in Germany, Britain, Russia, the USA and Japan, resistance movements, and wartime cinema. The book also includes brief biographies of many major military figures and interesting personalities of the war and eyewitness accounts of soldiers and civilians provide a vivid evocation of life under siege or aerial bombardment, or engagement in crucial battles.
Synopsis
The book has ten chapters: the first is an analysis of the build-up to the war, the next seven chapters cover the war itself and the final chapter examines how victory for the USA and the USSR shaped the subsequent history of the 20th century. The chapters are arranged as far as possible to give a clear chronological account of the war as it developed in all theatres, both on the battlefields and on the home front. Each begins with an overview of the situation at the starting point of the chapter. The following sections are each introduced by a timeline of the events covered. The main text is accompanied by maps, feature boxes on many aspects of life during the war, and brief biographies of major personalities.
This enhanced version includes 16 additional pages of a gazetteer of World War II memorials, battlefields, and museums