World War II: A New History

by Evan Mawdsley

This book is a magisterial global history of World War II. Beginning in 1937 with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Evan Mawdsley shows how the origins of World War II lay in a conflict between the old international order and the new and then traces the globalisation of the conflict as it swept through Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. His primary focus is on the war's military and strategic history though he also examines the political, economic, ideological, and cultural factors which influenced the course of events. The war's consequences are examined too, not only in terms of the defeat of the Axis but also the break-up of colonial empires and the beginning of the Cold War. Accessibly written and well-illustrated with maps and photographs, this compelling new account also includes short studies of the key figures, events and battles that shaped the war.

Genres: History, World War II, School, Military History, Nonfiction, War

498 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Evan Mawdsley is Professor of International History at Glasgow University. He has written numerous books and articles on Russian history and is the co-author of The Soviet Elite from Lenin to Gorbachev. He lives in Glasgow.

Reviews

[Jordan Cloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very basic overview of the war, excellent for those who are new to the topic. Those familiar with the history of the war are likely to find very little new from this book. Mawdsley, does however challenge strong misconceptions about the war, like "the foolishness of appeasement," and dispels myths, like "the guns of Singapore only pointed out to sea." He also does an excellent job of analyzing events from a historical perspective rather than succumbing to the bias of hindsight.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went in primarily looking to see if this was worth recommending as an introductory work for someone looking for a single volume history, and on that front... it is serviceable. Nit picks here and there, but if that is what you want, you could manage to do worse. But the title specifically promises [i]A New History[/i]. If a book is bold enough to make that claim, I expect more than what was in the end a mostly paint by numbers survey of the greatest hits. I would expect that even for me, someone who considers themselves pretty well read, I would come away with, if not new [i]information[/i], at least given a new way to think about the war, and in this vein the work utterly falls flat. There is nothing to it that suggested to me it deserves the 'new', as it is anything but.

[Tori Keim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some people like history and prefer a "this was the event and the following results happened" way of looking at historic events. Some people like history and want the story to explain more in depth things like the psychological toll or how the people felt about the events. If you are the latter, this book is dry and boring. If you're the former you'll love this book. Mawdsley is very clinical in his discussion of World War 2, he teaches the events that happened and how many people died and what kind of tanks were used.

If I wasn't required to read this for school, I probably wouldn't.

[Allan Wellings · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'd think that, at my age, I'd pretty much learned all there was to know about WWII. My father served in Iceland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Our teachers were mainly veterans. The documentary series "All Our Yesterdays" seemed show every week until 1980s, and then there were a multitude of books and, less reliably, films.

So what's so "New" about this history? Well, quite a lot. The conventional British view is that WWII started when Germany invaded Poland and that we "stood alone" after the fall of France. Mawdsley says the first shots were fired by Japan and China in July 1937, a conflict that did not end until Japan's surrender in 1945. The population of the British Empire was over 531 million, comfortably exceeding that of China, our economy was second only to the USA, almost double that of Germany. Mawdsley presents a bigger picture - one where resources, manufacturing and supply are at least as important as the battles.

But it is his global perspective that I found most illuminating. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Normandy to Stalingrad, from Manchuria to the Dutch East Indies. For example, I've always regarded the Russian Declaration of War on Japan in August 1945, 3 days after the Hiroshima Bomb, as simple token opportunism but Mawdsley shows that the Red Army deployed 1.5 million men in 80 Divisions utterly destroying the Japanese Kwangtung Army in a matter of days, taking 600,000 prisoners and ending any suggestion that there could be any result for Japan than unconditional surrender.

Highly recommended.

[Bob Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mawdsley provides a good general overview of the war. He challenges many American assumptions about World War II, asking the reader to answer these questions:

When did WWII start?
Which country suffered the most casualties (both civilian and military)?
Which country landed more troops in Normandy on D-Day?
Which country won WWII?

For anyone interested in the subject, Mawdsley furnishes a solid addition to one's library.

[Jane Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thorough history of World War II. I found the sequence of events a bit difficult to follow, since it proceeded geographically rather than chronologically. It didn't take much imagination to recognize that it was written by a "Brit". American advances in the war were underplayed if played at all.

[Balazs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standard review of the military and political sides. It is relatively small in scope and ambition, but its judgements are balanced, is aware of the salient issues and can communicate and organize the information and conclusions well. The side-boxes, quotes from documents and addressing issues (Churchill's war leaderships, questions of strategic choice, the value of strategic bombing, reasons for Axis success early and failure late in the war, etc.) manages to compress a gigantic set of topics into a comprehensible and to a remarkable extent, comprehensive one. Still, Beevor's volume still reigns as the supreme one-volume history.

[Neil Crocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent one-volume (400 page) summary and explanation of WW2. We meet all the famous people and many others and visit all the famous locations and many others. Written at the level where human suffering and heroics are statistical rather than personal, of course. I wish I had read it, or an equivalent years ago.

[Julianne Quaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent high level overview of WWII which covers all theatres of war and the belligerents. Great maps and supporting data on army sizes economies and production as well as devastating data on deaths and civilian impact. Easy to follow and well argued.

[Mike Willey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on WWIi

The author has some interesting tales on the war, especially with regard to the influence of economies with respect to the causes and outcomes of the war. I enjoyed it.

[Jane Lowes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the conflict, from an unusual and thought-provoking perspective.

[Mallory Spiers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read for school! Great writing and great info!

[Thomas Hoffstetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book but the naval warfare section was hard for me to get through.

[LA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text for HISU 337

[BBQ Yum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great narrative of WWII but lacks depth in content

[Ben Gerber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used as a textbook in a class I'm a teaching assistant for.

Excellent coverage of WW2. Good summaries of the theaters of the war that get less attention sometimes (Italy, China, Balkans) and those that receive the bulk of it (France, Pacific islands, North Africa, Eastern Front).

[Vik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good general overview of World War Two for someone (like me) who doesn't know much about it.