The Second World War A Complete History eBook Martin Gilbert
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In the hands of master historian Martin Gilbert, the complex and compelling story of the Second World War comes to life. This narrative captures the perspectives of leading politicians and war commanders, journalists, civilians, and ordinary soldiers, offering gripping eyewitness accounts of heroism, defeat, suffering, and triumph.
This is one of the first historical studies of World War II that describes the Holocaust as an integral part of the war. It also covers maneuvers, strategies, and leaders operating in European, Asian, and Pacific theatres. In addition, this book brings in survivor testimonies of occupation, survival behind enemy lines, and the experience of minority groups such as the Roma in Europe, to offer a comprehensive account of the war’s impact on individual lives on both sides. This is a sweeping narrative of one of the most deadly wars in history, which took almost forty million lives.
About the Author
Sir Martin Gilbert is a leading British historian and the author of more than eighty books. Specializing in 20th century history, he is also the official biographer of Winston Churchill and has written a best-selling eight-volume biography of the war leader’s life.
Born in London in 1936, Martin Gilbert was evacuated to Canada with his family at the beginning of World War II as part of the British government’s efforts to protect children from the brutal bombings of the Luftwaffe. He was made a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, in 1962. He is the author of several definitive historical works examining the Holocaust, the First and Second World Wars, and the history of the 20th century.
In 1990, Gilbert was designated a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and was awarded a Knighthood in 1995. Oxford University awarded him a Doctorate in 1999. Today, he is a sought-after speaker on Churchill, Jewish history, and the history of the 20th century, and he travels frequently to lecture at colleges, universities, and organizations around the world.
The Second World War A Complete History eBook Martin Gilbert
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The Second World War A Complete History eBook Martin Gilbert Reviews
First and foremost, I would say that like his history of World War I, British historian Martin Gilbert has written and accessible history of World War II. Anyone looking for a battle-by-battle blow of the war will certainly be disappointed; while Gilbert addresses many of the larger battles and campaigns, his focus is more on the human story of those who fight. As a teacher and historian, I found the work insightful, and full of material I could call upon when teaching World War II. There is to my mind, a little too much statistical discussion as it applied to Nazi and Japanese atrocities (I.e., specific numbers murdered, executed, or exterminated in death camps), but that is the human focus of his work that I touched on earlier. Although he does address the bombing campaigns of the allies, especially on civilian targets (some because of the imprecision of World War II bombing), these events show the inhumanity of much of the warfare throughout human history, and deserve to be addressed in a more thorough way.
One must realize, that a truly complete history of this monumental war, is virtually impossible in a one volume work, regardless of its length. For those who have only a cursory understanding of the war should read Gilbert's work, and then seek out books written about other aspects of the conflict to gain a better understanding. This book is an excellent starting point.
Except perhaps for Iris Chang's *The Rape of Nanking*, no other book I have read captures the horror and brutality of World War II like this one. Martin's trademark style is historical narrative intermingled with individual stories and anecdotes, and it is the individual accounts, replete with documented proper names and direct quotes, that convey the proper note of atrocity committed by the Axis Powers. There are daily accounts of Holocaust victims that should be enough to refute any Holocaust denier, and there are also recorded acts of selfless courage and heroism. No other book I have read on this subject expresses to this extent the madness perpetrated in the last century by two of the most powerful and advanced nations in the world. This is not a book for students of tactics and military strategy a la John Keegan, this is a memorial of human suffering in the most horrendous war ever fought. It is not exactly exciting, but it is appropriately appalling.
For mostly any type of reader, this is an excellent work curious readers will learn much, researchers will find it an invaluable resource, and anybody will gain a pertinent knowledge of this war - the greatest (in scale) of all wars in history.
Unfortunately, and very surprisingly, there is no historical preface whatsoever the book begins with the invasion of Poland, 1 September 1939, pronto. Thus, with no foundation, the reader might be quite irritated, especially if (s)he doesn't already have a fairly good knowledge of the events leading to the Second World War. This will not, however, impede the ability to read the book still, the first two chapters or so concentrate primarily on the Nazi atrocities within Poland during and in the months after its conquest.
Past that point, however, the narrative removes itself from any particular perspective or base, and the reader is put in view of the war from all perspectives - Allied, Axis, and of the agony of occupied Europe, the Holocaust, which is not ignored by this history, and nor does its tragic story interfere with the flow of history itself.
This book is rather lengthy, which may be the delight or dismay of a potential reader if you prefer longer, more extensive, comprehensive work, you will not be disappointed. If you had in mind a short, brief history just to fill you in on the basic happenings of the war, you might want to look elsewhere. But either way this book is a paragon of excellence in the career of historians.
It is impossible to cover WWII in less than 800 pages. 100,000 pages seems like a more likely venue. Nevertheless, Mr. Gilbert has done it remarkably well. He arranged the topics by date and covered the whole world of events very briefly, skipping from a few well written, informative sentences on the Pacific war to more sentences in Europe or elsewhere to provide complete, but not detailed information or everything. If you want detailed information on a specific topic like Hamburg or Peleliu or the Bismarck or anything else you can buy whole volumes on the that topic. This book presents the 'tip of the iceberg' very well. It is not an uptight resource on any time or event.
A true masterpiece. Martin Gilbert is one of the finest storytellers of History. His history of both the First and Second World War contain details not found in other books, yet his narrative style makes putting down the book all the harder. This book is filled with facts and figures but are so will Incorporated into the story, they add to the readability. I highly recommend this and several other Martin Gilbert books.
Martin Gilbert’s The Second World War A Complete History, is indeed a complete history. This an all-encompassing book, but Gilbert does leave out some crucial parts of the war. He does not begin World War II with the hostilities between Japan and China. This is a general trend in this work the Pacific theater gets short shrift; Gilbert is far more interested in Europe. Gilbert was British, and this book is also written far more from the British prospective than any other. At times, it seems Gilbert forgets the American involvement in the war.
His prose is also flat and uninspired. Often, it reads with all the verve of a Wikipedia entry. For such a long work, some clever use of language would have been a welcome element.
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