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World War II Day By Day
Informative commentary by distinguished journalists and military historians, complemented by hundreds of photographs, specially commissioned maps and diagrams, and personal memoirs, trace the events and personalities of World War II, from Hitler's Blitzkrieg through Europe, through the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
728 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 11, 2018
Although billed as 'the full, declassified story' of WW2 the information contained in the book is more general rather than detailed.
It says 'day by day' on the cover but only some of the entries are truly day-by-day. The rest are more accurately week-by-week.
Book is heavily biased with Allied, especially British viewpoints. Hence most of the entries are British-centric including the domestic front. Only a quarter for Americans, some for German and even less for Soviet, Japanese domestic developments.
I found trying to follow specific campaigns fought confusing because the entries are obviously split up by day/week and not grouped. Not ideal for those who wish to follow particular campaign histories, you are better served elsewhere.
Some entries are not necessarily strict WW2 timeline eg the Lady Be Good bomber crash site which was only discovered in 1958.
While the book begins on the first official day of WW2, it ends abruptly on August 31st. It should have included the official signing of the Japanese surrender on Sept 2nd and the immediate post-war months.
Admittedly the introduction, countdown to war, aftermath sections were very well done giving the reader a thorough, if concise background information for the reasons and following aftereffect of WW2.
The Who's Who section receives particular praise from me. Although not including everyone of note in my opinion, those that are included are summarised very well. Obviously if one wanted to read or find out more they can search for the many biographies of the respective personalities.
To summarise the book is still a good more or less week-by-week, month-by-month general history of WW2. The information gleaned will whet ones appetite for more detailed coverage in other books.
This book is best used to search what happened of note on a particular day/week in WW2. It should also not be the first book one reads on WW2, there are better single volume general histories out there eg the reader's digest illustrated history of world war two (better organised by campaign & section) or martin gilbert's the second world war: a complete history.
It says 'day by day' on the cover but only some of the entries are truly day-by-day. The rest are more accurately week-by-week.
Book is heavily biased with Allied, especially British viewpoints. Hence most of the entries are British-centric including the domestic front. Only a quarter for Americans, some for German and even less for Soviet, Japanese domestic developments.
I found trying to follow specific campaigns fought confusing because the entries are obviously split up by day/week and not grouped. Not ideal for those who wish to follow particular campaign histories, you are better served elsewhere.
Some entries are not necessarily strict WW2 timeline eg the Lady Be Good bomber crash site which was only discovered in 1958.
While the book begins on the first official day of WW2, it ends abruptly on August 31st. It should have included the official signing of the Japanese surrender on Sept 2nd and the immediate post-war months.
Admittedly the introduction, countdown to war, aftermath sections were very well done giving the reader a thorough, if concise background information for the reasons and following aftereffect of WW2.
The Who's Who section receives particular praise from me. Although not including everyone of note in my opinion, those that are included are summarised very well. Obviously if one wanted to read or find out more they can search for the many biographies of the respective personalities.
To summarise the book is still a good more or less week-by-week, month-by-month general history of WW2. The information gleaned will whet ones appetite for more detailed coverage in other books.
This book is best used to search what happened of note on a particular day/week in WW2. It should also not be the first book one reads on WW2, there are better single volume general histories out there eg the reader's digest illustrated history of world war two (better organised by campaign & section) or martin gilbert's the second world war: a complete history.
February 10, 2022
Excellent book! An amazing perspective on WWII told on a day to day basis. It really brought out the world wide scale of this conflict with battles happening throughout the world and even concurrently. It was more slanted to the British perspective, but treated the other combatants pretty well. Excellent photos. Lots of facts. A great reference book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews