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Available
Description
Using the most up-to-date scholarship and research, and writing with clarity and compassion, Beevor assembles the whole picture of the Second World War in a gripping narrative that extends from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific, from the snowbound steppe to the North African Desert, to the Burmese jungle, SS Einsatzgruppen in the borderlands, Gulag prisoners drafted into punishment battalions, and to the unspeakable cruelties of the Sino-Japanese War.
User reviews
LibraryThing member vguy
Exhaustive and detailed account, with a slight bias towards the European theatres (which is Beevor's established area of expertise). I'm left with a feeling of the Western Allies leaders from de Gaulle to Monty to Mark Clark being occasionally incompetent and always suffused with egotistical
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vanity. The Germans and Japanese on the other hand combining competence with indescribable evil. Horrifying new evidence comes out of the Japanese medical experiments and cannibalism. He also deals in some detail with the Russian mass rape of German women. In his book on Berlin he surprised me by saying there was little evidence for it; here he talks of probable millions. It's certainly well-known in Germany and a major cause of the flight of millions from Prussia ahead of the Red Army. My mother's friend Fritzi was one who fled for that reason, her baby dying in her arms. How lucky we are to live now. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksCooksLooks
I will open by writing that I know very little about the Second World War. Well, I KNEW very little about the Second World War. After reading this book I now know a lot more. I'm not sure I'm happier for the knowing.
I did not sit down and read this book through in one sitting. To be honest I've
The book discusses all of the battles on all of the fronts of the war. That is a LOT of battles. Mr. Beevor goes into detail about commanders, equipment and all that goes into what makes war and battles happen. I was woefully ignorant as to the Pacific end of WWII and now have a better idea of what the Japan/China side of the war was about.
The one thing that bothered me immensely though, was Mr. Beevor's treatment and descriptions of Hitler. He seemed to be treating him as a puppet rather than as the leader of the Reich. He never has Hitler fully taking charge of, or giving him responsibility for the Holocaust and to write a book about this war and to take Hitler off the hook for that horror is just egregious. I don't understand.
I can't begin to write as to whether this is a definitive work on WWII as I have minimal knowledge of the facts as I stated earlier. I can state that it was easy to read, albeit a bit slow at times. I liked that I was able to learn so much as I was reading the book chapter by chapter as to increase my knowledge of this pivotal time in modern history.
I did not sit down and read this book through in one sitting. To be honest I've
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had it for several months and I read it chapter by chapter in between all of the other books I have read this summer. It was too much war for me to take all at once. That does not mean that it was a bad book - not at all! In fact it read beautifully. I just could not take all of that war all at once. I had to pace myself. So pace myself I did and I am a bit later with this review than I promised and I do apologize for that. But this is the first time I've really gotten into the nitty-gritty of WWII and well, it was a lot. The book discusses all of the battles on all of the fronts of the war. That is a LOT of battles. Mr. Beevor goes into detail about commanders, equipment and all that goes into what makes war and battles happen. I was woefully ignorant as to the Pacific end of WWII and now have a better idea of what the Japan/China side of the war was about.
The one thing that bothered me immensely though, was Mr. Beevor's treatment and descriptions of Hitler. He seemed to be treating him as a puppet rather than as the leader of the Reich. He never has Hitler fully taking charge of, or giving him responsibility for the Holocaust and to write a book about this war and to take Hitler off the hook for that horror is just egregious. I don't understand.
I can't begin to write as to whether this is a definitive work on WWII as I have minimal knowledge of the facts as I stated earlier. I can state that it was easy to read, albeit a bit slow at times. I liked that I was able to learn so much as I was reading the book chapter by chapter as to increase my knowledge of this pivotal time in modern history.
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LibraryThing member nicktingle
One horrible thing after another. There is no heroism in Beevor's book, just incessant and ongoing carnage.
One take away lesson. The US did not win the war; it finished it off, after Russia won it.
Human beings are beasts.
Highly recommended.
One take away lesson. The US did not win the war; it finished it off, after Russia won it.
Human beings are beasts.
Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member Speesh
At the excellent talk given by Anthony Beevor I was lucky enough to attend this last summer here in Aarhus (Denmark) (just before the release of 'The Second World War', or 'Anden Verdens Krig', if you're Danish), one of the - extraordinarily perceptive, considering English is not their first
I won't go into Anthony's reply (look, I met him, chatted with him and liked him a lot, so it's 'Anthony' from now on, ok?), but it is a question that I've been thinking about the answer to, while reading this truly extraordinary book.
But it's immediately obvious.
Histories of - for instance - the Second World War are written mostly from the point of trying to make sense of something that the more historians write about, the less sense it actually makes. Anthony Beevor makes absolute sense of it all, by showing how little sense it all made. At the time and today. I don't think it's a case of not being able to appreciate the thought processes of societies at 80 years distance. It made no sense to the ordinary people at the time. It makes no sense now.
With 'The Second World War', Antony Beevor is at the top of his game. He writes with a sureness and clarity of style, a deftness of touch, that not just for covers the grand scale of a conflict that stretched across continents, but also has a sharp eye for the the telling detail, the splash of colour that adds nuance to the stark facts and innumerable shockingly senseless figures. And to reveal the ordinary human despair of people adrift at the bottom of a world totally out of control.
So, I'll now bore you with how I read the situation after reading 'The Second World War' (and these opinions are my own, and possibly not those of Antony Beevor, or those he intended his reader to form after reading the book). How do I see the Second World War?
There are shocking tales of blunders, mistakes, ignorance, arrogance and total failure to take or give the right orders. Failure to understand the significance of events or moods among the Generals and politicians, that will have you wondering how anyone won this war, let alone the 'good guys'. But by the end, I think most people will draw the conclusion that the real 'winners' were Stalin and his...well, maybe just Stalin then.
In my estimation, German planning and execution of their plans seems to have been better than the Allies' for the most part. But they were eventually overwhelmed by superior, mostly Soviet, numbers and by Hitler's insistence on incompetant interfering where he should have left it to people who knew what they were doing.
I don't really have a frame of reference for the conflict with Japan and in and around the Pacific. I am naturally, because I'm European, more fascinated by the war in Europe. However, one fact and opinion that struck me in Beevor's description of the conflict that shows that even on a different continent, there was no difference:
"It has been estimated that six in every ten of the 1.74 million Japanese soldiers who died in the war succumbed to disease and starvation. Whatever the scale of their war crimes against foreign nationals, the Japanese chiefs of staff should have been condemned by their own people for crimes against their own soldiers, but this was unthinkable in such a conformist society."
So, far from understanding why we won, after reading this and also Max Hastings' 'All Hell Let Loose', it is in my opinion, possibly more accurate to say; how on earth did we win? Well, it's always going to sound glib trying to sum up the unsummable in a sentence. But let's have a go anyway. I have of course never previously questioned, or even thought to question, that we won World War II, because we were right and we better than them. However, one of the things that has impressed me after reading 'The Second World War' and 'All Hell Let Loose', is this: We won, or rather we didn't lose, because our leaders were slightly less incompetent than theirs'.
Even though i know a lot about the Second World War, as my generation must, and have read many other books about the conflict, the enormity of the events brilliantly presented by Antony Beevor here are almost too much. The facts and figures are so large, so brutal, so numbingly shocking, that it's almost too much to comprehend and absorb. Even though he is obviously describing true events, it's almost too much to believe that it actually did happen. The book contains the kinds of examples of deliberate death and destruction that if the author said he was writing about the Middle Ages, you'd believe him. That it happened within the lifetimes of millions of people still alive and around us today, is hard to square. It's like we're reading about another time and place, yet it was Europe, where I live, within my parents's lifetime. For me, that makes it even more shocking.
I did feel almost literally stunned when i finished the book. I had to take some time to let it all sink in and get my views of it put to rest. Yes, it's an exhaustive and exhausting experience, but it's also a richly rewarding one. As I said above, while the book discusses and analyses the broad strategy sweeps of course, but it also makes us think about and remember those individuals less fortunate than us, who were caught at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and were the ones who paid for others' stupidity, incompetence, megalomania, arrogance, intransigence, ambition and more, through no fault of their own, with their lives. Sacrificed on the altar of someone else's ambition. Maybe we will be in danger of learning and even improving, by reading books like this.
If you're only going to buy one book on the Second World War, make it this one.
And Max Hastings' 'All Hell Let Loose'.
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language - questions asked by the Danish audience went along the lines of: "Given the profusion of World War II books in general and histories in particular, what will make yours' different?"I won't go into Anthony's reply (look, I met him, chatted with him and liked him a lot, so it's 'Anthony' from now on, ok?), but it is a question that I've been thinking about the answer to, while reading this truly extraordinary book.
But it's immediately obvious.
Histories of - for instance - the Second World War are written mostly from the point of trying to make sense of something that the more historians write about, the less sense it actually makes. Anthony Beevor makes absolute sense of it all, by showing how little sense it all made. At the time and today. I don't think it's a case of not being able to appreciate the thought processes of societies at 80 years distance. It made no sense to the ordinary people at the time. It makes no sense now.
With 'The Second World War', Antony Beevor is at the top of his game. He writes with a sureness and clarity of style, a deftness of touch, that not just for covers the grand scale of a conflict that stretched across continents, but also has a sharp eye for the the telling detail, the splash of colour that adds nuance to the stark facts and innumerable shockingly senseless figures. And to reveal the ordinary human despair of people adrift at the bottom of a world totally out of control.
So, I'll now bore you with how I read the situation after reading 'The Second World War' (and these opinions are my own, and possibly not those of Antony Beevor, or those he intended his reader to form after reading the book). How do I see the Second World War?
There are shocking tales of blunders, mistakes, ignorance, arrogance and total failure to take or give the right orders. Failure to understand the significance of events or moods among the Generals and politicians, that will have you wondering how anyone won this war, let alone the 'good guys'. But by the end, I think most people will draw the conclusion that the real 'winners' were Stalin and his...well, maybe just Stalin then.
In my estimation, German planning and execution of their plans seems to have been better than the Allies' for the most part. But they were eventually overwhelmed by superior, mostly Soviet, numbers and by Hitler's insistence on incompetant interfering where he should have left it to people who knew what they were doing.
I don't really have a frame of reference for the conflict with Japan and in and around the Pacific. I am naturally, because I'm European, more fascinated by the war in Europe. However, one fact and opinion that struck me in Beevor's description of the conflict that shows that even on a different continent, there was no difference:
"It has been estimated that six in every ten of the 1.74 million Japanese soldiers who died in the war succumbed to disease and starvation. Whatever the scale of their war crimes against foreign nationals, the Japanese chiefs of staff should have been condemned by their own people for crimes against their own soldiers, but this was unthinkable in such a conformist society."
So, far from understanding why we won, after reading this and also Max Hastings' 'All Hell Let Loose', it is in my opinion, possibly more accurate to say; how on earth did we win? Well, it's always going to sound glib trying to sum up the unsummable in a sentence. But let's have a go anyway. I have of course never previously questioned, or even thought to question, that we won World War II, because we were right and we better than them. However, one of the things that has impressed me after reading 'The Second World War' and 'All Hell Let Loose', is this: We won, or rather we didn't lose, because our leaders were slightly less incompetent than theirs'.
Even though i know a lot about the Second World War, as my generation must, and have read many other books about the conflict, the enormity of the events brilliantly presented by Antony Beevor here are almost too much. The facts and figures are so large, so brutal, so numbingly shocking, that it's almost too much to comprehend and absorb. Even though he is obviously describing true events, it's almost too much to believe that it actually did happen. The book contains the kinds of examples of deliberate death and destruction that if the author said he was writing about the Middle Ages, you'd believe him. That it happened within the lifetimes of millions of people still alive and around us today, is hard to square. It's like we're reading about another time and place, yet it was Europe, where I live, within my parents's lifetime. For me, that makes it even more shocking.
I did feel almost literally stunned when i finished the book. I had to take some time to let it all sink in and get my views of it put to rest. Yes, it's an exhaustive and exhausting experience, but it's also a richly rewarding one. As I said above, while the book discusses and analyses the broad strategy sweeps of course, but it also makes us think about and remember those individuals less fortunate than us, who were caught at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and were the ones who paid for others' stupidity, incompetence, megalomania, arrogance, intransigence, ambition and more, through no fault of their own, with their lives. Sacrificed on the altar of someone else's ambition. Maybe we will be in danger of learning and even improving, by reading books like this.
If you're only going to buy one book on the Second World War, make it this one.
And Max Hastings' 'All Hell Let Loose'.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AndreiCatalinS
Total book of WWII, covers the period from '39 to '45 with an abundance of details. Written in an easy to follow manner with tons of references. I find it the best English history book on WWII.
LibraryThing member Claire5555
An exceptional historical record of the 2nd world war, starts with Japans invasion of mainland China, right until America’s victory. Looks at all the conflicts in Asian, Europe and the Pacific, which is important to understand the bigger picture. From the huge loss of life at Stalingrad, to the
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great victories by the Russians and Americans which helped us the UK defeat Germany and their allies. The second world should as the TV program says “Be a warning from history”, and lets hope nothing like that happens again, for us or our grandchildren. Real quality book, deserves to be an international best seller, the book is very popular amongst under-graduate students studying history, the book is in-depth, provides huge amount of information, 863 pages in total which includes the index, really long but ideal for history students, people interested in the second world war. Ultimate second world war book that comes from the same author as the book Crete, which won a Runciman Prize, and Stalingrad, all books that I have read, and all books that I value very highly. If you are into second world related histories, then following this authors work might just be up your street. Show Less
LibraryThing member twp77
This book does an excellent job of tying every part of the Second World War together. Though Beevor is a specialist on the European war, he covers everything from Operation Torch in North Africa to the Sino-Japanese War and its impact on Axis & Allied power.
In his style, Beevor writes in a way that
For all this, it is clear to the reader that Beevor simply doesn't have the same knowledge and thus the same flair for writing about the campaigns and battles in the other areas of the world. This seems to be more to do with the lack of the type of personal stories and anecdotes that he uses when writing about the war in Europe. In this sense, despite Beevor's best efforts, the bulk of the book remains Eurocentric. This is one of the reasons I simply couldn't give it five stars.
Having said that, he does a commendable job of documenting the horrors inflicted on women, in particular the prevalence of rape as a weapon of war. All too often this is mentioned in passing in war history despite horror of these acts and the women who suffered. It offers an answer to his critics who considered him too harsh on the Red Army in his book on the fall of Berlin for being honest about the crimes they committed despite being liberators. He doesn't waver from pointing out these atrocities time and again by soldiers from both the Allies and Axis armies and tries to maintain a balance and humanism that is necessary for understanding the horrific events of the war.
In his style, Beevor writes in a way that
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makes it difficult to put the book down. As ever, it's not simply a chronological arrangement of events but a story which is endlessly fascinating. For all this, it is clear to the reader that Beevor simply doesn't have the same knowledge and thus the same flair for writing about the campaigns and battles in the other areas of the world. This seems to be more to do with the lack of the type of personal stories and anecdotes that he uses when writing about the war in Europe. In this sense, despite Beevor's best efforts, the bulk of the book remains Eurocentric. This is one of the reasons I simply couldn't give it five stars.
Having said that, he does a commendable job of documenting the horrors inflicted on women, in particular the prevalence of rape as a weapon of war. All too often this is mentioned in passing in war history despite horror of these acts and the women who suffered. It offers an answer to his critics who considered him too harsh on the Red Army in his book on the fall of Berlin for being honest about the crimes they committed despite being liberators. He doesn't waver from pointing out these atrocities time and again by soldiers from both the Allies and Axis armies and tries to maintain a balance and humanism that is necessary for understanding the horrific events of the war.
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LibraryThing member GeoKaras
Like his book on Normandy you wonder if another such work will be worthwhile. However, Beevor adds material and perspective that is very interesting and which makes the book worthwhile to the student of World War Two. He is however forced to abbreviate some narrative and many of his battle
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descriptions are merely sketches and in some cases contain errors. Some errors are ommission of important detail which result in an innacurate portrayal of the battle. Other errors are simply inaccuracies which detract from the otherwise excellent summary of events. Show Less
LibraryThing member jerhogan
Up to his usual good standard. Exciting and interesting with some interesting revelatons.
LibraryThing member Luftwaffe_Flak
Excellently written, most of the things presented are known if you are familiar with WWII but it is written in such a way that its still enjoyable. Very well researched, and I still learned things.
LibraryThing member neddludd
One of the best histories I have ever encountered. Beevor speaks knowledgably about the Japanese war in China (where the Japanese were as barbaric as the Germans in Europe), and how a seemingly small defeat by Japan (against Soviet Russia) in 1938 over the Manchurian/Soviet border, changed the
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course of the entire war, as Japan feared Russian and turned South, attacking the United States instead of coordinating with Hitler and striking North against Russia. Beevor provides personality assessments than damn not a few generals for egocentrism and braggadocio while also considering the fate of the troops on the ground and the civilians who suffered the most. The German loathing of "sub-humans" permitted them actions which today seem incomprehensibly cruel and barbarous. War is definitely hell. I was someone skeptical of Beevor's ability to cover the entire conflict in just one volume, but he does it and in a lively, active voice that brings you back again and again to the work--as if you did not know the outcome. His descriptions of military aspects is down to the company and brigade level, so you see the leaders formulating a strategy and then the grunts trying to survive as they try to make that strategy work. Even though I have done extensive reading on WWII, I learned a great deal. Superb work of history. Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
Huge history of the war in Asia and Europe. Doesn’t skimp on brutality—cannibalism shows up in multiple areas, though only as a deliberate military tactic on the part of the Japanese. Military miscalculation happens on both sides, but, as someone said, the Americans don’t solve problems, they
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overwhelm them. Show Less
LibraryThing member hmskip
A powerful description of the horrors of WWII that includes much information on the worldwide scope of the war that has not been included in other histories that I have read.
LibraryThing member kropferama
Breevor takes a familiar piece of history and Presents it in a new fascinating light. He combines personal accounts with a great command of the larger history and its implications. You will not be disappointed.
Awards
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2012)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (Nonfiction — 2012)