Second World War: A Complete History ANNOTATION
First published in 1989 to mark the 50th anniversary of World War II, Gilbert's masterful history chronicles the entire war--from the German invasion of Poland in 1939 to the surrender of the Japanese more than five years later. "Surprisingly effective at reminding us that World War II was more than a series of battles and feats of arms."--Washington Post Book World. 64 pages of photographs; 102 maps.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
It began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. By the time it came to an end on V-J Day-August 14, 1945 -it had involved every major power and become global in its reach. In the final accounting, it would turn out to be, in both human terms and material resources, the costliest war in history, taking the lives of thirty million people.
In one brilliant volume, eminent historian Martin Gilbert offers the complete history of the Second World War. With unparalleled scholarship and breadth of vision, Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill as well as one of the leading experts on the Holocaust, weaves together political, military, diplomatic, and civilian elements to provide a global perspective on the war, in a work that is both a treasure trove of information and a gripping, dramatic narrative.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
This volume has an ``astonishingly broad'' scope, revealing the impact of major campaigns on soldiers and civilians worldwide. ``Masterful,'' said PW . ``Though the military aspect is told with noteworthy clarity and narrative power, most impressive is Gilbert's presentation of WW II as primarily a matter of organized evil and mass madness.'' Photos. (Nov.)
Library Journal
The 60th anniversary of the Normandy landing brought a barrage of World War II titles. This 1989 book by the eminent British historian provides a single-volume overview. It offers grim detail and spotlights the tremendous numbers of nameless combatants and civilians who perished. A very human history of an inhuman event. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Though few one-volume histories of World War II have been published in the last ten years, the 50th anniversary of the war's start has inspired new works: Gilbert's book and John Keegan's The Second World War (reviewed in this issue, p. 102) are two of them. Gilbert's is less a battle history than Keegan's. For Gilbert (biographer of Churchill and Holocaust historian, author of the massive The Holocaust, LJ 2/1/86) the movements of armies and the decisions of statesmen were ultimately the consequences of Nazi and Japanese racial policies. Thus the struggles and fates of Axis victims are essential to the complete history of war, which inflicted such unprecedented suffering on innocent parties. Gilbert uses this perspective to present the war from an original angle. Accounts of campaigns and conferences are directly juxtaposed to descriptions of atrocities and resistance. Gilbert draws his human interest not from battlefields and home fronts, as do most histories of the war, but from concentration camps and ghettoes. In so doing he reminds us that World War II was a ``good war,'' because it was fought against tyrannies that perpetuated obscenities as a matter of principle. Recommended for all collections.-- Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs
Booknews
A reprint of the publisher's original cloth edition (1989) which was the US edition of the Brit Second World War. Such a massive book is no bargain in its paper incarnation. Cloth edition (unseen), $29.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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