THE SECOND WORLD WAR: A Complete History

by Martin Gilbert ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1989

From esteemed historian Gilbert (History/Oxford; The Holocaust, 1986; Shcharansky, 1986; etc.), a massive (800 pp., with 103 maps and 130 b&w photos--not seen) one-volume history of WW II. Employing an engaging narrative style bristling with an astonishing wealth of detail, Martin traces the war from August 31, 1939--the day before the German invasion of Poland--when ""an unknown prisoner in one of Adolf Hitler's concentration camps, most probably a common criminal"" became the war's first victim, to 1945--and beyond: a final chapter finds, for example, that even in 1989 the ""unfinished business"" of the war still disrupts the volatile politics of West Berlin. In between, major campaigns, political tides, and personalities on both fronts--European and Pacific--are covered in satisfying breadth, depth, and attention to both the personal (the horror of American soldiers upon viewing the concentration camps; Hitler firing his cook after learning she had a Jewish great-grandmother) and the big picture.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1989

Categories: NONFICTION