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No End Save Victory: Perspectives on World War II: 2

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World War II--with its multiple fronts, its massive battles, its appalling death toll, and its far-reaching consequences--continues to fascinate historians and the general public. More than 50 years after the war's end, new details and compelling stories are still coming to light. Many are being published in The Quarterly Journal of Military History.Drawn from the pages of that award-winning, authoritative journal, nine vivid essays reveal little-known facts and events from both the European and Asian theaters. W.A.B. Douglas explains how the Nazis established a post in North American to obtain current weather information--an enormous advantage in battles. William H. Whyte give an eyewitness account of patrolling Guadalcanal as a junior Marine officer. George Feifer describes Joseph Goebbels's race to complete one final motion picture for the Reich before its fall. Other renowned historians take us from Europe to the Asian theater, bringing the

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First published March 19, 2001

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About the author

Robert Cowley

127 books49 followers
Robert Cowley is an American military historian, who writes on topics in American and European military history ranging from the Civil War through World War II. He has held several senior positions in book and magazine publishing and is the founding editor of the award-winning MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History; Cowley has also written extensively and edited three collections of essays in counterfactual history known as What If?

As part of his research he has traveled the entire length of the Western Front, from the North Sea to the Swiss Border.

He currently lives in New York and Connecticut.

-Wikipedia

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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for K.D. Absolutely.
1,820 reviews
September 7, 2011
I started reading this book last Friday, Sept 1st 2011. I decided to read this as my way of remembering my dad who died on the same day 14 years ago. I did not know if he read any war books but I saw how attentive he was whenever a war movie was on the telly. When he migrated to the US, my brother regularly rented war movies just to make my dad happy.

This book, NO END SAVE VICTORY is an anthology of 7 unforgettable stories by 7 most respected and well-known military historians. This book offers another glimpse at the seven important events during World War II (1939-1945) but this time in a concise, incisive and enthralling manner. Sometimes, you don’t need to spend weeks on history books to appreciate what happened in the past. The order of the stories is based on the sequence of the actual events as captured by history books: starting with the siege of Poland by Hitler’s German soldiers that officially started the war up to airing of Emperor Showa Hirohito’s supposed to be surrender (but he used neither this word or defeat in his speech) radio message all of over Japan.

Poland 1939 by Caleb Carr (4 stars) tells the story of the siege of Poland that started on September 1, 1939. I was amazed by the coincidence. I started reading this book on Sept 1st and it was also the day when World War II started. I have not a full-length or detailed book about Hitler (I am planning to read a couple of books currently in my tbr on this someday) so I found this book very informative. I particularly liked the fact that war analysts did not expect that the siege of Poland would last for 27 days and they attributed that to the Poland resistance to the bravery and tactical skill of the Polish soldiers.

Diary of a Tail Gunner by John Gabay (2 stars) is about an American flight fighter pilot. I admired the heroism but it just felt like an ordinary life of a soldier. The parts that make this portion worth listening to me are the first-person narrative and his description of the sky. It felt like one of those Richard Bach novels minus the philosophy or metaphorical statements. Instead, the narration is about hitting enemy planes or being hit and doing an emergency suspenseful landing in an enemies’ territory.

Berlin by John Keegan (4 stars) takes us inside Berlin in the spring of 1945 during the most intense city siege in history. Siege of Berlin ended the war that lead to the Hitler’s suicide. Even though what Hitler did for 7 years was considered as the most atrocious act (primarily holocaust) in the history of the world, his suicide on the night of April 30, 1945 was just too sad because he could have been a good leader what with his charisma and ability to influence legions of people.

The Last Barrier by Stephen E. Ambrose (3 stars) tells the miraculous story of a single American company that captured a bridge over the Rhine river Hitler had considered a barrier never to be broken. The writing is fluid and interesting. It’s just that I could not relate to the events as I thought I need to know more about that part of history.

King of Bataan by Thaddeus Holt (5 stars) is one of my favorite essays in the book. Obviously, the reason for this is that I am a Filipino and this part of that World War II will always be the closest to my heart. It tells the story of Major General Edward P. King who decided, risking court martial, to give up Bataan to the Japanese on April 9, 1942 defying the order of Generals Douglas MacArthur and Jonathan Wainwright to fight till the end. King reasoned that there was nothing he could do and his decision was because of the fact that he did not want Bataan to be the biggest manslaughter in the history of the world. Little did he know that surrendering the American-Filipino troops in Bataan would result to the infamous Death March and 3 years of imprisonment that also led to many deaths of approximately 600,000 lives including both American and Filipino forces.

Sunday, Sept 3rd at 12:30 p.m. My wife and I were waiting for the first screening of the movie “One Day” in one of the theatres at Robinson’s Galleria. Since it was the day’s first screening, the Philippine National Anthem has to be played. Upon seeing on the screen “Pambasang Awit ng Pilipinas” as if by instinct, I and my wife stood up. However, at our back, there was a young couple who did not. I felt so bad. Many of our forefathers died fighting for our independence and our national flag and song represent all of us as a country. Yet, these two young people did not show respect to the song.

A Kamikazee’s Story by Kanji Suzuki (4 stars) is another must-read essay about a Japanese kamikaze soldier who miraculously survived the suicide. He faced the shame of having survived the war when the more glorious option according to the Japanese faith, was to die for one’s nation even in a suicide mission.

The Voice of a Crane by Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar (3 stars) tells the story of the war after Americans bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I did not know that there were Japanese resistance forces that waged war in Tokyo and other Japanese cities upon learning the planned surrender. This resistance forces did not want to surrender to the Allied forces. Although the closing of the book is so sad with Emperor Showa Hirohito giving Japan’s conditional surrender (without using the word), it expressed sadness over the fact that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki claimed the lives of many innocent civilians and many of them were women and children.

Overall, World War II is just like most of any other wars. Two opposing beliefs. In the case of Bataan, It was part of Japan’s advocacy of “racial equality” (they were recently subjected to oil boycott so they decided to conquer the oil-rich Dutch East Indies) and “Asia for Asians.” On the other side, the US and its allies were protecting their interest and acting as world police forces among nations.
Profile Image for Justin Tapp.
704 reviews89 followers
August 14, 2016
These books are a collection of essays by WWII historians like Stephen E. Ambrose. Some of the essays are extended excerpts from books by the authors and others are original essays highlighting some little-known or little-reported aspects about the war. If you're a history or WWII fan, I highly recommend these.

Among the most interesting are a re-printing of a diary of a Japanese kamikaze pilot who survived his attack and was captured. The profile of General Edwin P. King, who surrendered the largest U.S. force in history, was also great. A couple of the essays are from the little-reported viewpoints of the Japanese--kind of like Letters from Iwo Jima.

Volume 2 has an interesting essay about Operation Peppermint and the Allied fears that Nazi Germany had an atomic weapon. On D-Day several soldiers were assigned to discretely record radiation levels on the beach and observe any strange signs of radiation sickness. There was also a covert operation to destroy the Nazi's heavy water facility in Norway, and other operations to determine the extent of Germany's atomic knowledge. In Germany, Nazis inspected bomb craters with Geiger counters to see if the Allies were using atomic weapons.

There's also the story of a previously unknown Nazi landing in North America-- when Germany set up a weather station in Greenland.

Good stuff, five stars out of five. If you have to choose between one of the two sets, choose Volume 1.
Profile Image for Sean Seger.
32 reviews
April 17, 2008
Well like any collection of essays, the book is only as good as the current essay you are reading. Most of them were really well done. Some weren't. But overall it was a good book that brought to light new takes and details on events I kind of take for granted that I already knew.
Profile Image for Tom Schulte.
3,374 reviews73 followers
August 25, 2025
Great collection of deep views into many different facets of this manifold topic. I was particulary impressed with the stories of the attempted coup in Japan, the Flying Fortress tailgunner diary, and the behind-the-scenes stories of Bataan and the Bridge at Remagen.
Profile Image for Nolan.
3,631 reviews38 followers
October 13, 2024
This book was a sleeper. No, I don’t mean I slept through it. I mean I feared going in that it would be extremely dense, and that I would have to apply copious amounts of self-discipline if I were to finish it. I was ridiculously wrong. You don’t need the kind of grinding discipline that insists you stay with it and stay with it until you’ve slogged through it. Instead, the various authors will carry you along fully engaged until you hit page 688 and come away marveling that you’re finished so quickly.

Nearly all these essays are engaging and highly readable. One essay puts a human face on the problem of surrender. It looks at General King’s decision to surrender the American force in the Philippines, and the author gives you a sympathetic look at King and the difficult decision he had to make.

Of note is a gripping excerpt from the diary of a Brooklyn-born tail gunner. His is a remarkable (suspenseful in places) story.

One essay looks at the battle of Tarawa from the Japanese perspective, and another seeks to rehabilitate the reputation of British General Montgomery. (Good luck with that.)

You get a fascinating snapshot of efforts to destroy the heavy water production facility the Nazis built in Norway. This reads like a gripping fiction piece, but it’s decidedly not fiction.

Another essay looks at whether the allied decision to strategically bomb Germany was worth the losses. There’s a piece about the stormy relationships between Churchill and his generals, and you get a brief biographical snapshot of Orde Wingate, likely not a guy you learned about in your local history class, even if the unparalleled Florence Neil was your teacher. The Brits posted Wingate to Jerusalem prior to World War II, and while the British army was decidedly pro-Arab, Wingate became an ardent Zionist and supporter/protector of the Jews. He had the social skills of mouse poop on a prized family heirloom, but those who could get around his awful social skills and even worse hygiene found a military genius, according to the essayist in this book.

Stephen E. Ambrose animates as only he can Patton's crossing of the Rine River in an essay entitled "The Last Barrier." He recounts the well-known story of General Patton standing in the middle of a pontoon bridge delightedly pissing into the river. Ambrose described it as a "steady, high stream." Apparently, a lot of camera-toting GI's captured Patton's pause that refreshes on film.

Victor Davis Hanson, whose work I’m frequently drawn to, authored a great snapshot of General Curtis LeMay. It both acknowledges LeMay’s faults and controversies and provides a sympathetic portrait of a highly organized American patriot.

The final essay looks at the aborted military coup in Japan at the time of its surrender. Had those not in league with the emperor not put down that coup, the war could have arguably gone on for months.
Profile Image for Tom Schulte.
3,374 reviews73 followers
August 25, 2025
Great collection of deep views into many different facets of this manifold topic. I was particularly impressed with the stories of the attempted coup in Japan, the Flying Fortress tail gunner diary, and the behind-the-scenes stories of Bataan and the Bridge at Remagen.
Profile Image for Steve.
21 reviews
Read
April 12, 2016
This is a fine book of short pieces covering different WW2 angles. It shouldn't be anyone's introduction to the subject, but is a great quick take at a sophisticated level of numerous aspects of the war. This is a worthwhile book.

But this isn't really a review but a rant. It's the title, "No End Save Victory", especially from an American perspective. I think it's extremely unfortunate in that it's accurate. My thesis: the US expended prodigious treasure and blood to achieve "Victory" and nothing else. The US won the war but lost the peace.

Why did "victory" lead to? A 45 year Cold War. Communist takeovers of Eastern Europe and China. Leading to the current Islamic sickness. Final collapse of any chance of a peaceful world order. Untold cataclysmic human misery.

I can't really blame American leadership for this disaster. Well, sort of. Clearly a bunch of them were Communist sympathizers or agents. And those that weren't, knew about it and didn't imprison or shoot those that were.

My rant is that we today refuse to recognize or discuss it. It's not a failure of the US GIs of which my dad was one, but the US leadership class. Our best and brightest have failed epically for a century. We need to collectively recognize this fact.
Profile Image for Frederick Bingham.
1,129 reviews
January 1, 2012
I listened to this on cassette on the way home from a meeting in Beaufort.This is a series of seven essays on relatively obscure aspects of WWII by various authors, Cowley is the editor. Some of the most interesting are these:Diary of a Tail Gunner is a series of diary entries from a soldier who served in a bomber crew in England. He describes various missions over Germany and occupied France. His harrowing descriptions of being chased by german fighter planes and getting shot at are amazing.The Voice of the Crane describes the last days of the japanese government during the war. It was not clear right up until the end that the japanese would actually surrender, even after having been hit by two atomic bombs. There was an attempted coup by elements of the army that wished to continue the war at all cost. The Emperor came on the radio and spoke to the japanese people directing them to accept surrender. The coup plotters almost captured the recordings of the speech that were to go onto the air.Poland 1939 is the story of the invasion of Poland at the outset of the war. Even though they were greatly overmatched, the Poles fought the germans and russians with tenacity and courage.
Profile Image for Steve Scott.
1,206 reviews58 followers
May 26, 2016
I just finished the audio book on a long drive from a Indiana to Kansas. It's a collection of essays on WW II by various authors. Leo Burmester did a decent job of reading it.

It's very good. John Gabay's "Diary Of A Tail Gunner" in particular stood out.

I don't normally do audio books...but I'm going to have to start! I can "read" while driving.
18 reviews
April 4, 2008
Collection of brief articles/accounts on various, lesser-known episodes from the Second World War. Some are absolute gems, such as the account of the attempted palace coup in Japan at the very end of the war?
Profile Image for KENNETH STACY.
3 reviews1 follower
February 24, 2013
Like the subtitle says, PERSPECTIVES. It has been a while, but I REMEMBER reading it.
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