World War II: A Photographic History

by David Boyle

This new edition of a photographic history of World War II features 900 captioned images. It covers every major theatre of conflict and the people involved, capturing scenes of mass suffering and individual heroism, military conflict, portraits of leaders, and more. The text provides historical grounding by summarizing the many complex events of the period. 8.5x12. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, War, Photography, Military History

600 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

David Courtney Boyle was a British author and journalist who wrote mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business, and culture. He lived in Steyning in West Sussex.
He conducted an independent review for the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on public demand for choice in public services which reported in 2013. Boyle was a co-founder and policy director of Radix, which he characterized in 2017 as a radical centrist think tank. He was also co-director of the mutual think tank New Weather Institute.

Reviews

[Ali Mahfoodh · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب ممتع دسم بأحداثه وطويل بصفحاته خفيف بقراءته ولكن اخذ مني بعض الوقت ، الأسلوب لا غبار عليه واضح و نقدر نقول انه حيادي ، عرفني على الحرب الكبرى عن قرب بصوره الكثيرة (عددها اكثر من ٩٠٠ كما هو في الغلاف الخلفي ولست مستعداً لعدها ^^) ، تناول فيه اولاً تقنية التصوير في الحرب وطبيعتها وثم بدء بسرد أحداث الحرب من معقلها أوروبا مع ذكر خلفية عن حالها ما قبل الحرب انتهاءً بسقوط برلين ثم تبدأ حرب المحيط الهادئ في الظهور بالكتاب حتى القنبلة الذرية واخيراً بالفصل المسمى ب "وقت الحساب" ليكون خاتمة للكتاب الضخم ذو ال٦٠٠ صفحة وقد أصابني بعض الملل والتيهان أثناء القراءة لأن في بعض الأحيان قام المؤلف بالرجوع للوراء ما سبب في تشتيتي في خضم الأحداث .
الكتاب أضاف لي الشيء الكثير في رصيد معلوماتي عن الحرب الثانية و مجرياتها ولكن لا أضمن بأن كل ما قرأته سيعلق في ذاكرتي .
اجمالاً الكتاب رائع وأنصح به مع التنويه لغلاء سعره .

[Sara Abdulaziz · Rating 4 out of 5]

يضم هذا الكتاب ما يقارب الـ ٩٠٠ صورة، تم التقاطها خلال الحرب العالمية الثانية،أي منذ ١٩٣٩ وحتى ١٩٤٥ -معظمها-. بالإضافة إلى شرح تاريخي بسيط، وغير مفصل، للحرب العالمية الثانية.
هذا الكتاب، تأريخٌ لبشاعة الإنسان، وما بإمكانه أنه يفعله بأخيه ما إن أُوهم بأن في ذلك منجاةٌ له.

[Audrey Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently came back from a trip to Normandy; I've got the chance to visit Bayeux, Arromanches (Omaha beach) and Colleville-sur-Mer (Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial). Wanting to learn more about it I picked up this book.
We had plenty of lessons about WWII during high school and university however it always felt kind of 'abstract'. I'm the very curious type, answers just lead to me asking more questions. Needless to say that the guide in Arromanches did an excellent job in explaining the way of workings and construction of the artificial harbour (Mulberry harbour). It definitely satisfied my curiosity that day, as much as this book did. Often I would study a picture for a while trying to understand and capture every detail I was seeing.
Respect and a big thank you to the photographers for immortalizing WWII through images. Because pictures truly speak a thousand words.

One of the images that always catches my attention is one of D-Day, the landings in Normandy (see below). I saw this picture in multiple WWII museums and together with the pictures of Normandy's artificial harbours (Mulberry Harbour), it amazes me every time I see it again. Just imagining the infrastructure, logistics, and the dedication of all these countries coming together to liberate Europe, renders me speechless.


D-Day - Operation Overlord: Normandy, Omaha beach (USA)

I'm looking forward to go back to Normandy and visit other places there. I recommend this book to everyone. However please note that sometimes the text accompanying the images can be confusing and do not always further enlighten the picture. I've read the Dutch translation but I'm not a 100 % sure that's the cause.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War II in Photographs a selection of around 900 amazing photos, mostly from WWII but also including a few from the 1930s. They are arranged in chapters usually relating to particular campaigns with some accompanying text explaining the events in order to provide a context. The blurb says ‘900 comprehensively captioned images’ – I would disagree, as the captions tell you very little and a few of them are spectacularly wrong, which is a pity the as excellent selection of well reproduced images often tell you a great deal in the detail, which the author could have easily reflected in the captions through a minimum of research. Many areas are omitted altogether, but this may be due to the American bias.

[Dieguituco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un buen libro con mas de 900 fotografías inusuales con interesantes comentarios explicándolas, también explica las fases del conflicto, cada operación y cada campaña

[Astor Teller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leste denne på norsk og det er en bok som gir en forbilledlig (med det mener jeg her mange bilder) innføring i andre verdenskrig, da delt inn i to deler: krigen mot Nazi-Tyskland først, og deretter krigen mot Japan.

Boken inneholder mange fun-facts (eller kanskje gruesome-facts) jeg ikke har funnet i andre bøker, bla:
- Tysklands ultimatum til Lituania der de annekterte Memel-området (før andre verdenskrig brøt ut).
- Utsettelsen av angrepet på Frankrike som var satt til 12. november 1939 fordi en tysk offiser som måtte nødlande i Belgia og ble beslaglagt med disse papirene.
- Fallskjermdukker som ble brukt over Belgia for å gi inntrykk av at det var masse fallskjermtropper. - Hitler som bestemte at Winston Churchill bare skulle nevnes med tilnavnet «den whiskey-drikkende» når han ble omtalt av tysk media.
- Den amerikanske torpedojageren Niblack som 10. april 1941 angriper tysk ubåt (altså før Pearl Harbour og USAs inntredelse i krigen).
- Prints Fumimaro Konoe som var statsminister og brukte maske mot bakterier da han var hypokonder.
- At Hitler aldri meddelte til japanerne at han skulle angripe Sovjetunionen (han ville ha den kaken for seg), men oppfordret heller japanerne til å ta Singapore, så japanerne inngikk en nøytralitetspakt med Stalin.
- At noen japanere på Guadalcanal først overga seg i okt 1947.
- Chiang Kai-sheks kinesiske soldater som forsvarer India med de allierte og samarbeidet de allierte hadde med nasjonalistlederen.
- Likene av dømte nazister (som Ribbentrop og Keitel) ble kremert i konsentrasjonsleiren Dachau.

Det eneste jeg hadde å utsette på boken var noen feilstavelser som jeg tror har dukket opp i oversettelsen av boka. Ellers er det en oppslukende bok takket være konsis tekst og mange bilder.

[Luis Lee Libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Boyle nos explica cómo sucedió la 2da Guerra Mundial desde la llegada del Nazismo al poder en 1933 hasta los juicios después de la guerra.

El titulo explica que verás fotografías, pero también te da contexto de ellas y una cronología de sucesos de gran parte de la guerra. Aprendí muchísimo y era lo que esperaba de un libro de ese periodo.

Me hubiera gustado ver mapas. Si, las fotografias son lo principal, pero cómo vas a escribir un libro de historia sin incluir mapas? 😭

[AlberTorre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con este libro me enganché a la segunda guerra mundial hace 20 años. Buen libro para tener una visión global de todo el conflicto antes de profundizar más en él con libros más específicos. Para mí maravilloso.

[Ali Khalfan Obaid Alkindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكتاب الذي نقلني من بيتي للحرب العالمية الثانية
عشت فيه الخوف والألم والإنتصار في آن واحد
الكتاب الذي وجدت فيه مالم إجد في غيره وخصوصا من ناحية الصور

[Ivano Bassis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ricco e molto bello l'apparato iconografico, un pò superficiale, sbilanciata verso la guerra nel Pacifico (e con qualche imprecisione, forse dovuta alla traduzione) la parte descrittiva.

[Cws]

XOS-940.45B

[Yago de Artaza Paramo · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those giant books that you think nobody reads... well I did. Good quick reference for WW2. Many great and well selected images.

[Hadi Aleid · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب ممتع وحيادي تقرأ فيه عن أبشع حرب في تاريخ البشرية، تبدأ بالعنصرية بين البشر وتنتهي باستخدام أكثر الأسلحة تدميرا في التاريخ.

[Mika Bracke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing read. The photographs - many of which were new to me - add real value. The combination of text and images creates an immersive experience of the Second World War.