What do you think?
Rate this book
World War Two: The Untold Story
Stimulating, fluently written, and filled with fascinating analyses, here is a history of the Second World War that bridges the gap between accounts that overwhelm with detail and those that are simply too spare. A broad, busy canvas reveals what happened during the war and why, with political and strategic background, cogent discussions of battles and campaigns, and the importance of military intelligence. It offers new and considered insights into this vast conflict.
308 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 1988
3 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Philip Warner
87 books9 followersPhilip Warner (1914 - 2000) was an outstanding military historian, and for the last 13 years The Daily Telegraph's peerless Army obituarist. Indeed, he played a vital role in setting the standard for the modern Telegraph obituary. He had a relish for the piquant detail and an understanding that a good story should never be overdressed.
He was a master of the laconic, lapidary phrase. Warner's direct, uncluttered and transparent prose, was a reflection of the man. Above all, he felt deep admiration for the lives he celebrated. His own character, always strong, had been tempered by his terrible experiences at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.
One of the Allied soldiers rounded up and imprisoned after the fall of Singapore on February 15 1942, he spent some time in the infamous Changi jail, and worked on the Railway of Death. For every sleeper laid on the 1,000 miles of track through Malaya, Burma and Thailand, a prisoner of war was lost. Philip Warner was saved by his tough-mindedness and by his belief in the virtues of loyalty. To help his fellow prisoners forget their troubles, he organised plays, talks and debates.
Afterwards, he never liked to mention his ordeal. He felt he owed his survival to his physical condition (he performed 30 minutes of exercises every day of his life), his scrupulous hygiene (hard to stick to when one is starving), and to his strong sense of belonging to his family back in Britain. At night he would look at the moon, and think of it passing over Warwickshire.
In 1944 Warner and other able-bodied PoWs were stowed under deck in a troopship (he enjoyed the irony of being almost torpedoed by the Americans), and taken to Japan, where he worked in the copper mines, in dark, hot and dangerous conditions.
As the Americans closed in, he and his fellow PoWs had the unnerving experience of being herded into caves, while the Japanese guards set up machine-guns outside. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved the prisoners from massacre.
At the beginning of the war Warner had weighed 14 stone; in 1945 he was 4.5 stone. In 1,100 days of captivity, he only received half a Red Cross parcel. He was never among those inclined to bestow easy forgiveness upon the Japanese. The maltreatment which he had endured increased his natural reticence. Although he set great store by loyalty, he gave his trust warily.
Once certain that he could rely on someone, he would do anything for them; should anyone abuse his trust, he was slow to forgive. "There are six billion people in the world," he was wont to say, "and when this person gets to the top of the pile again, I will give him another chance." After the war Warner taught at Sandhurst and became a prolific writer, turning out more than 50 books.
He would produce two volumes a year, not to mention up to 200 obituaries and many book reviews - all with an absolute minimum of fuss. He worked on the principle that, once he had covered a page with writing, he could always cross it out. He was a firm believer in the virtues of perseverance - "Stick at the wicket and the runs will come" - and in early starts: "One hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon, is worth three in the evening."
In the 1970s he was seriously ill, but under his colossal labour he throve as never before. Without it, he used to say, he would have had to play golf every day; and, useful player though he was, that was not his idea of a tolerable life.
Though the last man to preach, Philip Warner set a supreme example of how to tackle old age. While eager to enjoy himself, and, still more, to see that his friends enjoyed themselves, he instinctively understood that pleasure is best courted against a background of disciplined endeavour.
Philip Arthur William Warner was born at Nuneaton on May 19 1914, the last in
He was a master of the laconic, lapidary phrase. Warner's direct, uncluttered and transparent prose, was a reflection of the man. Above all, he felt deep admiration for the lives he celebrated. His own character, always strong, had been tempered by his terrible experiences at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.
One of the Allied soldiers rounded up and imprisoned after the fall of Singapore on February 15 1942, he spent some time in the infamous Changi jail, and worked on the Railway of Death. For every sleeper laid on the 1,000 miles of track through Malaya, Burma and Thailand, a prisoner of war was lost. Philip Warner was saved by his tough-mindedness and by his belief in the virtues of loyalty. To help his fellow prisoners forget their troubles, he organised plays, talks and debates.
Afterwards, he never liked to mention his ordeal. He felt he owed his survival to his physical condition (he performed 30 minutes of exercises every day of his life), his scrupulous hygiene (hard to stick to when one is starving), and to his strong sense of belonging to his family back in Britain. At night he would look at the moon, and think of it passing over Warwickshire.
In 1944 Warner and other able-bodied PoWs were stowed under deck in a troopship (he enjoyed the irony of being almost torpedoed by the Americans), and taken to Japan, where he worked in the copper mines, in dark, hot and dangerous conditions.
As the Americans closed in, he and his fellow PoWs had the unnerving experience of being herded into caves, while the Japanese guards set up machine-guns outside. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved the prisoners from massacre.
At the beginning of the war Warner had weighed 14 stone; in 1945 he was 4.5 stone. In 1,100 days of captivity, he only received half a Red Cross parcel. He was never among those inclined to bestow easy forgiveness upon the Japanese. The maltreatment which he had endured increased his natural reticence. Although he set great store by loyalty, he gave his trust warily.
Once certain that he could rely on someone, he would do anything for them; should anyone abuse his trust, he was slow to forgive. "There are six billion people in the world," he was wont to say, "and when this person gets to the top of the pile again, I will give him another chance." After the war Warner taught at Sandhurst and became a prolific writer, turning out more than 50 books.
He would produce two volumes a year, not to mention up to 200 obituaries and many book reviews - all with an absolute minimum of fuss. He worked on the principle that, once he had covered a page with writing, he could always cross it out. He was a firm believer in the virtues of perseverance - "Stick at the wicket and the runs will come" - and in early starts: "One hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon, is worth three in the evening."
In the 1970s he was seriously ill, but under his colossal labour he throve as never before. Without it, he used to say, he would have had to play golf every day; and, useful player though he was, that was not his idea of a tolerable life.
Though the last man to preach, Philip Warner set a supreme example of how to tackle old age. While eager to enjoy himself, and, still more, to see that his friends enjoyed themselves, he instinctively understood that pleasure is best courted against a background of disciplined endeavour.
Philip Arthur William Warner was born at Nuneaton on May 19 1914, the last in
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 7, 2011
If you enjoy reading about World War 2 then this is the definitive pick. Until the official account of Second World War British Intelligence activities was published, myth, propaganda and misrepresentation had combined to confuse the view of the war.
The result is a vivid, concise and meaningful account of a day-by-day war of the lowly soldier in the field while simultaneously giving an overview of the events that made, decided and ended the Second World War.
Not just a history book but a story that is stranger than fiction.
The result is a vivid, concise and meaningful account of a day-by-day war of the lowly soldier in the field while simultaneously giving an overview of the events that made, decided and ended the Second World War.
Not just a history book but a story that is stranger than fiction.
February 20, 2016
An interesting look at World War Two, from the British perspective. Much like his previous book on WW1, Philip Warner does a solid job of presenting the war and its impact on Britain, giving a vivid portrait of the courage and sacrifice that all Britons endured during the war. Alas, the coverage of non-British campaigns is far less detailed, and other than major events like Pearl Harbor and Stalingrad, only a page (or even a paragraph) is offered on many major battles. Also, despite offering updated information on code-breaking and espionage efforts, he presents several outdated facts that have since been proven wrong (ie, that the German raid on Rotterdam on May 14, 1940 killed 10,000 people when in fact around 800 perished). Nonetheless, I still recommend this book as an interesting change of point of view on history's most devastating war.
July 2, 2015
I started reading the memoirs of Churchill when I was 13 year old as training to improve my English; I also read De gaulle memoirs, I am lucky to have bibliophile parents.
My review of this book might be biased since anything about World war II I will read regardless if I like it or not.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. I felt I was there on the field along the foot soldier.
For some thought like me that read similar stories and documentaries about the World War II might find it boring because they already read them somewhere else. It’s a good book fro someone that doesn’t know anything about the World War II to initiate somehow.
My review of this book might be biased since anything about World war II I will read regardless if I like it or not.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. I felt I was there on the field along the foot soldier.
For some thought like me that read similar stories and documentaries about the World War II might find it boring because they already read them somewhere else. It’s a good book fro someone that doesn’t know anything about the World War II to initiate somehow.
October 16, 2014
It's ok nothing special and nothing I've not read before in other books claiming to be the "untold story" passed a commute to work would I read it again no! Would I recommend possibly to some1 doing their GCSE history or younger person wanting to learn about the war! If you have read up on WW2 I wouldn't bother with this.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews