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Big Ideas Simply Explained
The World War II Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
Discover the key battles, tactics, technologies and turning points of the Second World War - the epic conflict that shaped the modern world.
Combining authoritative, exciting text and bold explanatory graphics The World War II Book explores the causes, key events, and lasting consequences of the Second World War.
Using the original, graphic-led approach of the series, entries profile more than 90 of the key ideas and events during and surrounding the conflict - from the rise of Hitler and Fascism in the 1930s to Pearl Harbor, the D-Day landings, and the bombing of Hiroshima to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.
Offering a uniquely compelling, accessible, and immediate history of the war, The World War II Book shows how key battles, political and economic forces, individual leaders, and technological advances influenced the course of the conflict.
Combining authoritative, exciting text and bold explanatory graphics The World War II Book explores the causes, key events, and lasting consequences of the Second World War.
Using the original, graphic-led approach of the series, entries profile more than 90 of the key ideas and events during and surrounding the conflict - from the rise of Hitler and Fascism in the 1930s to Pearl Harbor, the D-Day landings, and the bombing of Hiroshima to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.
Offering a uniquely compelling, accessible, and immediate history of the war, The World War II Book shows how key battles, political and economic forces, individual leaders, and technological advances influenced the course of the conflict.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published June 28, 2022
244 people are currently reading
926 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,125 books2,067 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 14, 2023
Se non si è esperti sull’argomento e si vuole approfondire è buon libro a cui approcciarsi.
Se si è esperti non credo aggiunga nulla di nuovo.
Se si è esperti non credo aggiunga nulla di nuovo.
September 24, 2022
An interesting and engaging work that reads like a school textbook. For the person not that familiar with the war and the key details/aspects of it, there is much to learn. If you are already pretty familiar with the war and its history, it is interesting to pursue, but not much more than that.
December 25, 2025
3.5 stars.
-ONE-
I am surprised how different the writing and experience reading of this is compared its prequel, The World War I Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (BISE). I expected trench warfare to still be prominent; I forget how neutered France became so early on in the war, due to it ironically faced with the same mindset that got them in trouble at the start of WW1, too, which was trying to not repeat the same mistakes of a war that happened decades earlier, so they prepared themselves to fight in a war similar to it - an example of the common advice of 'looking to the past to prepare for the mistake' or, 'learning from history to not make the same mistakes in the present' gone wrong. What's worse, their country became a puppet for an empire that's synonymous with, "the most evil entity you can think of."
After reading this, I can see why WW2 tend to be peoples' favorite over WW1 in media, video games, and literature, but I think the story told in The World War I Book: BISE is drastically more compelling than this one's.
Thus, reading this as a continuation from the previous one, was a bit of a whiplash. The Bolsheviks were hyped up in the prequel, giving rise to Stalin, for example, but there wasn't much attention put on the behind the scenes of Russia in here, where it breezed through or didn't spotlight mentioning its many deficiencies that self-sabotaged and cannibalized itself, yet still stumbling into victory because it's literally too big to fail; which felt like the authors were being too sympathetic to the regime, though that suspicion was promptly dashed in the last chapter, when they were very expressive at the terror people felt by being invaded by them, and the Soviets exorbitant use of R- on women.
Lastly in this introduction, the Japanese military/government were portrayed as a real menace, a malignant force of greed, racism, and nationalism, through imperialism. It cannot be understated how awful they are described in these BISE books in this era of history. The Japanese military/government at this time, were simply taking the lead that expansionist Europe taught them. Another irony of the war, both Germany and Japan pushed to expand their colonial empires, but ended up reigning in the end of colonialism as whole (except for a few exceptions).
-TWO-
Now to talk about the quality here.
This is a fine book, and all. I felt like a bureaucrat most of the time: separated from the frontline, and reading a spread sheet of numbers, statistics, and names that almost dehumanize and desensitized what was happening. And though there were faces, unlike this book's prequel, I didn't feel immersed in the human impact and misery until the last chapter; which might've been the intention, to symbolize the reader as an army general or nation leader, then to end it in a euphoria and gut punch once it's all over, but I doubt it. Though, on page 289, "By May 8, the war in Europe was over" shell shocked me into nearly shedding a tear.
There were, however, lots of little bits of dark humor, mostly by the tactics Germany used at the start and near the end of the war.
The most standout trait in here is the commentary about the war. The authors have a very distinct view of events, which is clear by how they say - without actually saying - how much they've researched this subject. For starters, I believe their thesis statement is laid bare on page 39, when they write that "As war loomed in the late 1930s, democracy was hanging by a thread across the world, assailed by fascism, communism, and other forms of extremist politics." Which is then is elegantly concluded on page 285 with, "This divided world became normal, as the two superpowers[, the US and USSR,] fought to maintain their global influence. This is the most lasting and important legacy of World War II."
Secondly, "[...] most historians now agree that the US blockade of Japan, conventional bombing, and the USSR's declaration of war against Japan on August 8 would have forced a capitulation without nuclear weapons," pages 284-5, which contradicts other BISE books discussing WW2, which tend to leave the morality of the decision open ended, like in their Chemistry Book and Military History Book.
You can decide how much of these statements you agree with or not; they at least provide poignant commentary, as WW2 seems to be as relevant as ever in today's political conversations.
A common literary device used all throughout this book is foreshadowing. Theyyyy love to foreshadow future events, often at the end of articles, sections, or parts, which gives this book a lot more structure that's lacking in most other BISE books.
Lastly, I am flabbergasted that they omitted talking about the dekulakization that was taking place under Stalin's USSR, which, alongside the collectivization in The Five Year Plan, decimated the agricultural industry, leading to the great starvation; instead, on page 135, they attributed this food shortage to the loss of Ukraine, which yes, likely was a major problem, this book completely glances over the kulak genocide under the USSR and the disastrous mismanagement of agricultural land by the USSR! Bruce Pauley's book, "Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini," which covers the same window of time as this book, really highlighted some of these atrocities that I AM SHELL SHCOCKED, these authors glossed over. But, hey, I'm no historian, just a history reader.
In conclusion, this was a good overall read of WW2. There were many photos that seem to have had color edited in, which was cool but weird to see. There are a total of 14 maps, with the first one appearing as late as page 131, and the bulk squished near the rear; I had to resort referring to my miniature globe and sometimes Google maps as a references, but could have also used YouTube videos. It's a good book that inspired me to learn more about national geography, nonetheless!
PS: I was sad to see on page 116 they didn't correct themselves in brackets saying that Salonika is also known as Thessaloniki, as that was my favorite personal running comedic bit in the prequel, hahaha.
And also, the Zionists seem to be a product of the saying, 'hurt people hurt people,' with being victims of immense antisemitism, to then inflicting real harm to the Arabs in Israel.
-ONE-
I am surprised how different the writing and experience reading of this is compared its prequel, The World War I Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (BISE). I expected trench warfare to still be prominent; I forget how neutered France became so early on in the war, due to it ironically faced with the same mindset that got them in trouble at the start of WW1, too, which was trying to not repeat the same mistakes of a war that happened decades earlier, so they prepared themselves to fight in a war similar to it - an example of the common advice of 'looking to the past to prepare for the mistake' or, 'learning from history to not make the same mistakes in the present' gone wrong. What's worse, their country became a puppet for an empire that's synonymous with, "the most evil entity you can think of."
After reading this, I can see why WW2 tend to be peoples' favorite over WW1 in media, video games, and literature, but I think the story told in The World War I Book: BISE is drastically more compelling than this one's.
Thus, reading this as a continuation from the previous one, was a bit of a whiplash. The Bolsheviks were hyped up in the prequel, giving rise to Stalin, for example, but there wasn't much attention put on the behind the scenes of Russia in here, where it breezed through or didn't spotlight mentioning its many deficiencies that self-sabotaged and cannibalized itself, yet still stumbling into victory because it's literally too big to fail; which felt like the authors were being too sympathetic to the regime, though that suspicion was promptly dashed in the last chapter, when they were very expressive at the terror people felt by being invaded by them, and the Soviets exorbitant use of R- on women.
Lastly in this introduction, the Japanese military/government were portrayed as a real menace, a malignant force of greed, racism, and nationalism, through imperialism. It cannot be understated how awful they are described in these BISE books in this era of history. The Japanese military/government at this time, were simply taking the lead that expansionist Europe taught them. Another irony of the war, both Germany and Japan pushed to expand their colonial empires, but ended up reigning in the end of colonialism as whole (except for a few exceptions).
-TWO-
Now to talk about the quality here.
This is a fine book, and all. I felt like a bureaucrat most of the time: separated from the frontline, and reading a spread sheet of numbers, statistics, and names that almost dehumanize and desensitized what was happening. And though there were faces, unlike this book's prequel, I didn't feel immersed in the human impact and misery until the last chapter; which might've been the intention, to symbolize the reader as an army general or nation leader, then to end it in a euphoria and gut punch once it's all over, but I doubt it. Though, on page 289, "By May 8, the war in Europe was over" shell shocked me into nearly shedding a tear.
There were, however, lots of little bits of dark humor, mostly by the tactics Germany used at the start and near the end of the war.
The most standout trait in here is the commentary about the war. The authors have a very distinct view of events, which is clear by how they say - without actually saying - how much they've researched this subject. For starters, I believe their thesis statement is laid bare on page 39, when they write that "As war loomed in the late 1930s, democracy was hanging by a thread across the world, assailed by fascism, communism, and other forms of extremist politics." Which is then is elegantly concluded on page 285 with, "This divided world became normal, as the two superpowers[, the US and USSR,] fought to maintain their global influence. This is the most lasting and important legacy of World War II."
Secondly, "[...] most historians now agree that the US blockade of Japan, conventional bombing, and the USSR's declaration of war against Japan on August 8 would have forced a capitulation without nuclear weapons," pages 284-5, which contradicts other BISE books discussing WW2, which tend to leave the morality of the decision open ended, like in their Chemistry Book and Military History Book.
You can decide how much of these statements you agree with or not; they at least provide poignant commentary, as WW2 seems to be as relevant as ever in today's political conversations.
A common literary device used all throughout this book is foreshadowing. Theyyyy love to foreshadow future events, often at the end of articles, sections, or parts, which gives this book a lot more structure that's lacking in most other BISE books.
Lastly, I am flabbergasted that they omitted talking about the dekulakization that was taking place under Stalin's USSR, which, alongside the collectivization in The Five Year Plan, decimated the agricultural industry, leading to the great starvation; instead, on page 135, they attributed this food shortage to the loss of Ukraine, which yes, likely was a major problem, this book completely glances over the kulak genocide under the USSR and the disastrous mismanagement of agricultural land by the USSR! Bruce Pauley's book, "Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini," which covers the same window of time as this book, really highlighted some of these atrocities that I AM SHELL SHCOCKED, these authors glossed over. But, hey, I'm no historian, just a history reader.
In conclusion, this was a good overall read of WW2. There were many photos that seem to have had color edited in, which was cool but weird to see. There are a total of 14 maps, with the first one appearing as late as page 131, and the bulk squished near the rear; I had to resort referring to my miniature globe and sometimes Google maps as a references, but could have also used YouTube videos. It's a good book that inspired me to learn more about national geography, nonetheless!
PS: I was sad to see on page 116 they didn't correct themselves in brackets saying that Salonika is also known as Thessaloniki, as that was my favorite personal running comedic bit in the prequel, hahaha.
And also, the Zionists seem to be a product of the saying, 'hurt people hurt people,' with being victims of immense antisemitism, to then inflicting real harm to the Arabs in Israel.
April 2, 2025
Another great DK Publication enjoyed with my boys! I read this one aloud to my middle son as his introduction to all things WWII! It was comprehensive and engaging and we both loved it.
May 12, 2024
This book does exactly what it says it does. It will provide you with information you should know about WW2 with the information to learn the basics of WW2. Don't expect to learn much about WW2 if you are not a novice.
Good for someone who knows absolutely nothing about WW2 but above that you're lost.
Good for someone who knows absolutely nothing about WW2 but above that you're lost.
August 22, 2024
Like the WWI book, I really enjoyed this book too! I love the short and digestible sections that make it easy to read for short bits of time and pick up again later. I thought this book had a lot of interesting information and was a nice overview of WWII.
February 15, 2025
Great book
This book doesn’t go in a great details, but it gives you a general overview with all the details. You have the clear picture of World War III even for the price tag. I highly recommend this book for anybody that loves history or loves military history.
This book doesn’t go in a great details, but it gives you a general overview with all the details. You have the clear picture of World War III even for the price tag. I highly recommend this book for anybody that loves history or loves military history.
February 21, 2023
Good basic overview - charts and info boxes.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews