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The Complete History of World War II
Prepared with a board of historical and military authorities and includes war photographs, official records, and maps. Front several pages include a place for service record, which has been left blank.
999 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1945
About the author
Francis Trevelyan Miller
369 books1 followerFrancis Trevelyan Miller (1877–1959) was an American writer and film-maker. He is known for his books about exploration, travel and photography. Notable works from him including several books about the American Civil War, such as The Photographic History of the Civil War, in Ten Volumes (New York: The Review of Reviews Co., 1912). Another of his significant works is "History of WWII: Armed Services Memorial Edition." He has also made several feature films and wrote the screenplay for the 1919 film Deliverance about Helen Keller. In 1955 his photograph of children at a Chicago funfair was selected by Edward Steichen for MoMA's world-touring The Family of Man exhibition.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 22, 2026
This is a long, detailed history of World War II, written right after the war ended. It focuses mostly on the military campaigns: the battles, leaders, decisions, and sacrifices that led to the Allied victory.
It is not a modern, detached history. It is very much a 1945 book, and you can feel that in the tone. That makes it useful, but also limited. It captures how the war was understood at the time, while later histories have filled in a lot more about civilians, the Holocaust, race, empire, occupation, and the harder questions around total war.
What stayed with me most was the scale of the suffering. So much of it came from hatred, propaganda, aggression, and people choosing to follow cruel orders or look away.
The lessons of World War II do not feel safely behind us. The details change, but we are still dealing with the same ugly patterns.
A sobering book, and worth reading with an eye toward both what it includes and what it leaves out.
Never forget.
It is not a modern, detached history. It is very much a 1945 book, and you can feel that in the tone. That makes it useful, but also limited. It captures how the war was understood at the time, while later histories have filled in a lot more about civilians, the Holocaust, race, empire, occupation, and the harder questions around total war.
What stayed with me most was the scale of the suffering. So much of it came from hatred, propaganda, aggression, and people choosing to follow cruel orders or look away.
The lessons of World War II do not feel safely behind us. The details change, but we are still dealing with the same ugly patterns.
A sobering book, and worth reading with an eye toward both what it includes and what it leaves out.
Never forget.
July 4, 2023
This was a great compendium of WWII . It has a tremendous amount of facts and so I had to read it in small chunks and let things simmer for a while.
August 11, 2012
Not an easy read. The numbers of dead and wounded in World War II are astounding but add to those losses are those of the civilian populations - impossible for me to comprehend sitting safely in my air conditioned home in Southern California. The atrocities of war in Europe and the Pacific are documented but not the focus of this volumn. It is a history of the military campaigns.
One quote to share by Ilya Ehrenburg page 409 "..for the sake of what did Hitler's soldiers slaughter millions of innocents? If you ask a German this he will grin, or cry like a coward. He has nothing to say. He has neither ideas nor faith. He slew because he was told...He slew because that was his mission, his justification, his whole life.
That is the most terrible thing about the atrocities of the Germans: they slaughtered millions of fine people for nothing at all-simply out of greed, stupidity, inborn ferocity...."
Never forget.
One quote to share by Ilya Ehrenburg page 409 "..for the sake of what did Hitler's soldiers slaughter millions of innocents? If you ask a German this he will grin, or cry like a coward. He has nothing to say. He has neither ideas nor faith. He slew because he was told...He slew because that was his mission, his justification, his whole life.
That is the most terrible thing about the atrocities of the Germans: they slaughtered millions of fine people for nothing at all-simply out of greed, stupidity, inborn ferocity...."
Never forget.
March 4, 2012
Oh wow! Almost 1000 pages of detailed history right from the mouths of the warriors that fought the war themselves. It was written soon after the war (in 1948) and given to all the veterans so they would never forget the sacrifices made to perserve freedom from tyranny, injustice and racism. I found this book for $50.00 in a used pawn shop. Definitely worth the money, and much better than what Wikipedia has to offer.
June 4, 2012
Obviously, since this book is an Armed Services Edition and written within a year of the end of World War II, it is very pro-American and pro-Allies. Yet, as was once said, history belongs to the victors. There is a ton of information in this book, and if you can get beyond the slant, it is still a good read. I have a first edition, and I think when I finish it I will donate it to our local museum.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews