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A Short History of World War II
Discover the story of the world's deadliest war.
Combining expert historical insight with accounts of combatants and civilians, this important book offers a brilliant summary of the most important military, strategic, and political events across all theatres.
The fighting is brought to life with profiles of key military and political figures, together with features on decisive campaigns, turning points, and technological innovations.
Examine how deep-seated local fears and hatreds escalated into one vast global conflict that was fought out to the bitter end - from the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party to Pearl Harbor, the D-Day landings, and Hiroshima.
Richly illustrated with a wealth of original artifacts, weaponry, and equipment, photography, and maps, this unique combination of image and narrative provides the most accessible, episode-by-episode account ever.
Combining expert historical insight with accounts of combatants and civilians, this important book offers a brilliant summary of the most important military, strategic, and political events across all theatres.
The fighting is brought to life with profiles of key military and political figures, together with features on decisive campaigns, turning points, and technological innovations.
Examine how deep-seated local fears and hatreds escalated into one vast global conflict that was fought out to the bitter end - from the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party to Pearl Harbor, the D-Day landings, and Hiroshima.
Richly illustrated with a wealth of original artifacts, weaponry, and equipment, photography, and maps, this unique combination of image and narrative provides the most accessible, episode-by-episode account ever.
560 pages, Hardcover
Published May 5, 2020
34 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,126 books2,070 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 15, 2023
Foto albüm gibi bir kitap. Ama güzel bir toplama olmuş. Hap bilgi almak isteyenler, işin özetini ve kullanılan ekipmanlarla ilgili görseller görmek isteyenler için güzel bir çalışma.
June 9, 2024
A good introduction to the events of WWII
February 6, 2024
Not short
August 31, 2023
Reads like an encyclopedia, choppy.
September 1, 2020
This book is not really a short history. Its original title was World War II: The Definitive Visual History, and if that is not a perfect title either (it is rather presumptuous to call something a definitive history, after all), it at least gives some clue of the nature of this book and its use of pictures to convey information rather than a lot of text. Admittedly, this book still contains a fair amount of text, being more than 500 pages long. But because it aims to provide a context for World War II that includes the lead-up to the war as well as some of the things that happened after the war (including the beginning stages of the Cold War) and covers subsidiary theaters as well, the book is clearly about as short as it could be and retain any sort of scholarly value whatsoever as a secondary text. While it is by no means a perfect book--it is far too pro-Communist, for example, when dealing with China and the Soviet Union--it is certainly a worthwhile book to read as well as to critique. The authors of the book show a great interest in military technology and these sections are certainly welcome.
This book is divided into nine large chapters that take up together about 550 pages of material. The first chapter of the book looks at the lead-up to the war (1), starting with World War and including the Berlin Olympics and the Spanish Civil War as well as Japan's invasion of Manchuria and the Chinese Civil War. After that there is a discussion of the outbreak of War in Europe in 1939 (2) along with the Winter War. This leads to a look at Germany triumphant in 1940 with its conquest of most of the rest of Western Europe (3) and Italy's entrance into the war. This is followed by a discussion of the widening war in 1941 as warfare expands to Africa and the Pacific Islands and Russia as Germany and Japan attack new targets to bring new nations into the fighting (4). In 1942 we see the shifting balance as Japan and Germany reach their peak and the war turns around in North Africa (5). After that the Allies start to turn the tide in the Pacific, Russia, and Atlantic while also invading Italy (6). This leads to overwhelming force being directed by 1944 as the Allies liberate France and start to liberate Burma and the Philippines (7). The end of war comes in 1945 (8) with the victories in Europe and Asia, and the book continue to discuss the aftermath from 1946-1950 as World War II bleeds into the Cold War (9).
World War II is immensely complicated, and this book does a good job at showing why this was the case. While the book is certainly not deep, it is broad enough that the beginning reader on World War II history can get a sense of the personalities involved on various sides of the war as well as the struggle between political goals and military realities, and even the fateful way that Germany's supposed breakthroughs were delayed so much that they were of no effect. The author also notes certain aspects of Cold War and realpolitik concerns that led to decisions that others might not have appreciated so much, such as the decision not to try Warner von Braun of any crimes for his use of concentration camp slave labor because of his rocketry expertise that was useful for NASA. If the authors of this book go out of their way in trying to discredit Hitler's anti-Communism by making a reudcto at Hitlerium fallacy, the complications between the allies are clear enough and the sensitive reader can pick up on the attempt that Germany in particular made to divide the Allies on ideological grounds. Alas, since they had declared war on both the Soviet Union and the United States there really was little they could expect as far as their propaganda efforts.
This book is divided into nine large chapters that take up together about 550 pages of material. The first chapter of the book looks at the lead-up to the war (1), starting with World War and including the Berlin Olympics and the Spanish Civil War as well as Japan's invasion of Manchuria and the Chinese Civil War. After that there is a discussion of the outbreak of War in Europe in 1939 (2) along with the Winter War. This leads to a look at Germany triumphant in 1940 with its conquest of most of the rest of Western Europe (3) and Italy's entrance into the war. This is followed by a discussion of the widening war in 1941 as warfare expands to Africa and the Pacific Islands and Russia as Germany and Japan attack new targets to bring new nations into the fighting (4). In 1942 we see the shifting balance as Japan and Germany reach their peak and the war turns around in North Africa (5). After that the Allies start to turn the tide in the Pacific, Russia, and Atlantic while also invading Italy (6). This leads to overwhelming force being directed by 1944 as the Allies liberate France and start to liberate Burma and the Philippines (7). The end of war comes in 1945 (8) with the victories in Europe and Asia, and the book continue to discuss the aftermath from 1946-1950 as World War II bleeds into the Cold War (9).
World War II is immensely complicated, and this book does a good job at showing why this was the case. While the book is certainly not deep, it is broad enough that the beginning reader on World War II history can get a sense of the personalities involved on various sides of the war as well as the struggle between political goals and military realities, and even the fateful way that Germany's supposed breakthroughs were delayed so much that they were of no effect. The author also notes certain aspects of Cold War and realpolitik concerns that led to decisions that others might not have appreciated so much, such as the decision not to try Warner von Braun of any crimes for his use of concentration camp slave labor because of his rocketry expertise that was useful for NASA. If the authors of this book go out of their way in trying to discredit Hitler's anti-Communism by making a reudcto at Hitlerium fallacy, the complications between the allies are clear enough and the sensitive reader can pick up on the attempt that Germany in particular made to divide the Allies on ideological grounds. Alas, since they had declared war on both the Soviet Union and the United States there really was little they could expect as far as their propaganda efforts.
April 21, 2023
Really good “summary”. Content wise, it deserves 5 stars. I just found myself losing interest. I guess I was looking for a much shorter summary, not 18 hours worth. But that’s not the book’s fault.
September 5, 2024
Broader, but not deep.
Gives a much better than usual overview of the causes leading to the war, but not too much depth. This leads to things like four pages devoted to the nazi programs created by hitler, and then two pages about the 1936 Olympic Games.
Some of the illustrations could have been clearer but if you want a nice overview of the fifteen years from 1930 to 1945, this is a good place to start.
Gives a much better than usual overview of the causes leading to the war, but not too much depth. This leads to things like four pages devoted to the nazi programs created by hitler, and then two pages about the 1936 Olympic Games.
Some of the illustrations could have been clearer but if you want a nice overview of the fifteen years from 1930 to 1945, this is a good place to start.
September 8, 2022
"...'nın Kısa Tarihi" şeklinde başlayan kitaplara biraz ön yargım oluşmuş olsa da bu kitabı beğendiğimi söyleyebilirim. İkinci Dünya Savaşının seyrini detaylı olmasa da ana hatlarıyla toparlayan bir kitap. Kitap, Birinci Dünya Savaşının sonuçları ve Versay antlaşmasından başlayıp Soğuk Savaşın başlangıcıyla tamamlanıyor.
March 3, 2025
The book provides detailed information about the history of certain events and what lead to it. The pictures shown are detailed and of quality.
I would say it's one of the few books I purchased without feeling like I wasted my money.
If you were to purchase this, I would recommend to have the cover laminated or wrapped in plastic as the cover may rip (like what happened with mine).
I would say it's one of the few books I purchased without feeling like I wasted my money.
If you were to purchase this, I would recommend to have the cover laminated or wrapped in plastic as the cover may rip (like what happened with mine).
August 24, 2022
Extremely broad and dense but effective at laying out a relatively clear timeline of events during this pivotal time in world history
January 9, 2023
A good/well done chronological resource of WWII
February 7, 2023
America, Fuck Yeah!
August 5, 2023
This book is a good inside look at ww2 I heard story’s from relatives that in ww2 growing up this gave me a bigger pitcher of what really happen I recommend this book to read to anyone
January 21, 2024
Lots of information, but it is hard to get into a rhythm of reading the book because each section of the book is so small.
December 12, 2024
Excellent
December 28, 2024
Good chronological insight to WW2. Quite choppy like an encyclopedia.
March 4, 2024
Benim gibi WWII fanlarının seveceği,gerçek resimlerle donatılmış,önemli aşamaların özet geçildiği güzel bir eser olmuş.
March 8, 2021
Amazing book it is very informational and i loved it. As a guy that loves WW II I would recommend it to anyone that loves history. I also loved the way that it was in a historical timeline.
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September 22, 2022I would say it's increasingly hard to find such a Western Europe eccentric general history books these days. Well.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews