World War II

by H.P. Willmott

Combines period photographs, maps, and timelines into a narrative that offers an overview of World War II, including the causes of the conflict, the objectives of the combatants, the campaigns and battles, and the war's consequences.

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

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Hedley Paul "Ned" Willmott was a widely published military historian, author, former Senior Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in modern history and politics from Liverpool University and a Ph.D. from the University of London in 1991.

Reviews

[Dylan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always had a great interest in World War II stuff and when my grandma got me this book I couldn't put it down! This book is a non-fiction book so its kind of a tough read if you aren't into world war II. In this book it shows the tactics, weapons, where and when stuff happened in world war II and how so many people were effected by the war. My favorite part about this book is about the Nazis and how cruel they were to the Jewish people and what they did to them it really intrigued me. This book is not just the average everyday reader, you have to be at least a little bit interested in world war II to even get past the first page. My favorite quote from the book is "Do you want total war? Do want a war, if necessary, more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today?" Josef Goebbels, February 18th, 1943. I would recommend this book to only people who like World War II. But all in all I really liked this book and when I finished it, it only left me wanting to know more and more about what really happened during this dark time period.

[Nathaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is richly illustrated and briefly touches on all aspects of WWII: military, political, social, and economic. However, the key word is "briefly." For example, the Battle of the Bulge is half a page, the discovery of concentration camps is one paragraph, and the Battle of Berlin is two pages. If you don't need many details, then the brevity isn't a big deal. However, it's tough with such brevity to follow the progression of battle. The maps are usually 5-10 pages into a chapter, so unless you like to often flip pages (or have a projection map of the South Pacific or Eastern Europe in your head) it can be tricky following along.
My final complaint is that my edition of this book needs to be edited again. It is full of typos. There are punctuation errors and other screw-ups that detract from reading. And it isn't just the text. The map of Europe on page 15 puts the island of Cyprus in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this on a shelf at Borders for $10. And, yes, I am aware that there are NUMEROUS similar books like this, but, still, this book is surprisingly insightful and in-depth. This book perfectly blends all of the important political/strategic developments, theaters, battles and campaigns into a single volume. If you know nothing about the war, check this out. If you think you are an expert on the war, well, a general "recap" won't hurt, albeit a very insightful, in-depth recap.

[Tom Anstett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veritable encyclopedia for discovering the events of World War II, This book captures interest on three levels. The first is the plethora of detail that encompasses the chronology established by the authors. They leave no stone unturned. These details are further embellished by the various placement of small articles on many pages that highlight certain aspects of the war. Features such as "Airborne Forces," "Fighting in the Snow," "The Free French," and "The Indian National Army" -among many others-explain little-known facts about the scope of the war. Plus, these small features promote the considerable preparation for the impressive layout of pages.
The second level is the outstanding collection of photographs that support the text. A reader could just examine the pictures with the explanations and discover an outside knowledge of this climactic event in world history.
The third level of interest is the actual text; it is both detailed and hard to read due to very small print size (main reason for four stars). In any event, this book is an excellent guide to a thorough knowledge of the events of the war. If one wanted to explore individual personalities, there are tons of those books in libraries and through biographies.
Any avid student of World War II will appreciate this book.

[Chris Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of a series of fine books put out by DK Publishing. Perhaps for a generation raised on iPhone, the layout is suitable, but I find it off-putting, with photo identifications, or brief in-depth sections breaking up the text. The text is well written and the information is outstanding. But too often one must search for the caption, or read text that has been printed over a picture. For a quick overview of the war and some of the combat issues this does a good job. The final chapter on the Cold War and other results is excellent.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Willmott's book on World War I and this work provided equally thorough coverage of the events in World War II. It would always be difficult to cover every incident, topic, and battle that occurred during the war, but I felt that this book offers enough detail to provide a comprehensive summary of the everything to do with WW2. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a general overview of WW2.

[Keefer Bolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great book. I don't know what else to say, because there's so many good things about this book.

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference.

[Daniel Free]

Read until p 84.

[Read Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

My copy had a different cover photo, but not a big deal. My cover photo was a action shot of a US fighter being cleared for takeoff.

It has the look and feel of a coffee table book, but the narrative inside is just a bit more detailed than most coffee table books. I expected a photo essay, but found great photos that I was not familiar with and many short but well thought out narratives of the events of the time. There really is a lot more narrative than I was expecting. The book was well put together. Events leading up to WWII are mostly hazy for me, since things I know of the time period mostly start closer to the US involvement.

The book included some great relative timelines making it easier for the reader to figure out how events meshed with each other.

I found this to be a GoodReads. I will be rereading it from time to time.

[Badger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a little wary of books in this format, but after reading an Amazon review of WW1, I ordered it together with the WW1 volume by Willmott and very glad I did too. Both are superb overviews and certainly not a trace of 'dumbing-down'.

So much more to read now, so little time and money!

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant non-fiction book packed full of information and lots of fantastic pictures. Great for a sit-down read-through, or a flick-through 'coffee table' book - either way, it will be resonating and thought-provoking. I'm definitely off to check out the rest of the series!

[Kleon Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the ever first war related book i ever read in my life, and I found it astonishing like the World War 1 book by H.p. willmott.

[Mohamed Wakil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gr8

[Gavin]

Very good information book. Great pictures with much context to explain what is going in every page.