The Second
World War

Author: John Keegan
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISDN : 014011341X
Published : 1989, 1998

Table Of Contents

Prologue
1 Every man a soldier
2 Fomenting world war
Part I
- The War in the West 1940-1943 -
3 The Triumph of Blitzkrieg
4 Air Battle: the Battle of Britain
5 War supply and the Battle of the Atlantic
Part II
- The War in the East 1941-1943 -
6 Hitler's strategic dilemma
7 Securing the eastern springboard
8 Airborne battle: Crete
9 Barbarossa
10 War production
11 Crimean summer, Stalingrad winter
Part III
- The War in the Pacific 1941-1943 -
12 Tojo's strategic dilemma
13 From Pearl Harbor to Midway
14 Carrier battle: Midway
15 Occupation and repression
16 The war for the islands
Part IV
- The War in the West 1943-1945 -
17 Churchill's strategic dilemma
18 Three wars in Africa
19 Italy and the Balkans
20 Overlord
21 Tank battle: Falaise
22 Strategic bombing
23 The Ardennes and the Rhine
Part V
- The War in the East 1943-1945 -
24 Stalin's strategic dilemma
25 Kursk and the recapture of western Russia
26 Resistance and espionage
27 The Vistula and the Danube
28 City battle: the siege of Berlin
Part VI
- The War in the Pacific 1943-1945 -
29 Roosevelt's strategic dilemma
30 Japan's defeat in the south
31 Amphibious battle: Okinawa
32 Super-weapons and the defeat of Japan
33 The legacy of the Second World War
Bibliography and Index

Total pages = 608

Description -
In this comprehensive history, John Keegan Billiantly explores both the technological and the human impact of the greatest war of all time. Keegan examines each theater of the war, focusing on five crucial battles and offering new insights into the distinctive methods and motivations of modern warfare. In knowledgeable, perspective analyses of the airborne battles of Crete, thye carrier battle of Midway, the tak battle of Falasie, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa, Keegan illuminates the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The best one-volume treatment available, The Second World War by John Keegan is an outstanding synthesis of an enormous amount of material on "the largest single event in human history." The book proceeds chronologically through the war, but chapters appearing at appropriate moments focus on particular themes, such as war production, occupation, bombing, resistance, and espionage. Keegan's ability to translate the war's grand strategies is impressive, and the battle descriptions are superb. Generals obviously play a key role in this narrative, but ordinary soldiers also receive proper credit, as do the often-overlooked merchant marines whose heroic efforts to supply Great Britain made the Allied victory possible. Keegan, author of the landmark book The Face of Battle, is without doubt one of our greatest military historians, and here his analytical powers and skilled writing are on full display.

From Book News, Inc. , April 1, 1991
Keegan examines each theater of the war, focusing on five crucial battles (the airborne battle of Crete, the carrier battle of Midway, the tank battle of Falaise, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa) as well as the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole. First published in Great Britain (Hutchinson) and Canada (Key Porter) in 1989. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc.... read more Synopsis Much more than a mere chronological narrative, the history of World War II is recounted both periodically and thematically. Keegan analyzes five crucial battles, each characteristic of a distinctive kind of warfare ofthe period. Photographs, maps, diagrams.