"The Second World War was the largest and most appalling military conflagration in history. It killed millions of people. It destroyed much of the old Europe. It altered the world balance of political and economic power. Its consequences are incalculable and are everywhere with us still.In his now classic book, The World at War, Mark Arnold-Forster tells the story of the War in a simple, bold and highly readable way. He illuminates each of the main theatres individually, so that the complex development of the various campaigns can be easily followed. Making use of original documents as well as first-hand interviews, he has produced a history which is both authoritative and intensely vivid. Originally written to accompany the Thames Television series of the same name, The World at War has since been fully revised and now, for the first time, includes a substantial introduction by Richard Overy, which brings to bear the most recent scholarship and ensures that the book remains one of the best possible accounts of this cataclysmic period."

Provides an overview of the entire war from a global perspective, looking at diplomatic actions, military strategy, economic developments, and pressures from the home front

Surveys the bureaucratic mistakes--including poor weapons and strategic blunders--that marked America's entry into World War II, showing how these errors were overcome by the citizens waging the war.

Originally broadcast in 1973, the landmark television series 'The World at War' tells the story of the Second World War through the testimony of key participants. This book uses the interviews from the series (along with many that never made the final cut) to weave a narrative of the war.

This text provides an innovative global military history that joins three periods—World War I, the interwar years, and World War II. Jeremy Black offers a comprehensive survey of both wars, comparing continuities and differences. He traces the causes of each war and assesses land, sea, and air warfare as separate dimensions. He argues that the unprecedented nature of the two wars owed much to the demographic and industrial strength of the states involved and their ability and determination to mobilize vast resources. Yet the demands of the world wars also posed major difficulties, not simply in sustaining the struggle but also in conceiving of practical strategies and operational methods in the heat and competition of ever-evolving conflict. In this process, resources, skills, leadership, morale, and alliance cohesion all proved significant. In addition to his military focus, Black considers other key dimensions of the conflicts, especially political and social influences and impacts. He thoroughly integrates the interwar years, tracing the significant continuities between the two world wars. He emphasizes how essential American financial, industrial, agricultural, and energy resources were to the Allies—both before and after the United States entered each war. Bringing the two world wars to life, Black sheds light not only on both as individual conflicts but also on the interwoven relationships between the two.

This volume presents the results of a conference on the history of total war.

In A World At War, 1911-1949, leading and emerging scholars of the cultural history of the two world wars begin to break down the traditional barriers between the historiographies of the two conflicts, identifying commonalities as well as casting new light on each as part of a broader mission, in honour of Professor John Horne, to expand the boundaries of academic exploration of warfare in the 20th century. Utilizing techniques and approaches developed by cultural historians of the First World War, this volume showcases and explores four crucial themes relating to the socio-cultural attributes and representation of war that cut across both the First and Second World Wars: cultural mobilization, the nature and depiction of combat, the experience of civilians under fire, and the different meanings of victory and defeat. Contributors are: Annette Becker, Robert Dale, Alex Dowdall, Robert Gerwarth, John Horne, Tomás Irish, Heather Jones, Alan Kramer, Edward Madigan, Anthony McElligott, Michael S. Neiberg, John Paul Newman, Catriona Pennell, Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses, Daniel Todman, and Jay Winter. See inside the book.

World War I heralded a new global era of warfare, consolidating and expanding changes that had been building throughout the previous century, while also instituting new notions of war. The 1914-18 conflict witnessed the first aerial bombing of civilian populations, the first widespread concentration camps for the internment of enemy alien civilians, and an unprecedented use of civilian labor and resources for the war effort. Humanitarian relief programs for civilians became a common feature of modern society, while food became as significant as weaponry in the fight to win. Tammy M. Proctor argues that it was World War I—the first modern, global war—that witnessed the invention of both the modern “civilian” and the “home front,” where a totalizing war strategy pitted industrial nations and their citizenries against each other. Civilians in a World at War, 1914-1918, explores the different ways civilians work and function in a war situation, and broadens our understanding of the civilian to encompass munitions workers, nurses, laundresses, refugees, aid workers, and children who lived and worked in occupied zones, on home and battle fronts, and in the spaces in between. Comprehensive and global in scope, spanning the Eastern, Western, Italian, East African, and Mediterranean fronts, Proctor examines in lucid and evocative detail the role of experts in the war, the use of forced labor, and the experiences of children in the combatant countries. As in many wars, civilians on both sides of WWI were affected, and vast displacements of the populations shaped the contemporary world in countless ways, redrawing boundaries and creating or reviving lines of ethnic conflict. Exploring primary source materials and secondary studies of combatant and neutral nations, while synthesizing French, German, Dutch, and English language sources, Proctor transcends the artificial boundaries of national histories and the exclusive focus on soldiers. Instead she tells the fascinating and long-buried story of the civilian in the Great War, allowing voices from the period to speak for themselves.

The first Magic Tree House® Super Edition—and Jack and Annie’s most dangerous mission ever in the scariest time the world has ever known—World War II. With a longer story and additional facts and photographs, this is a thrilling adventure no reader will want to miss! When the magic tree house takes Jack and Annie back to World War II, Europe is in trouble! It is June 1944 and the brother-and-sister team must go behind enemy lines and crack a code that could save a lot of lives. But this is war, and Jack and Annie might just be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can they save everyone before the great battle of D-Day begins? They don’t know, but they have to try! Previously published in hardcover as Magic Tree House Super Edition #1: Danger in the Darkest Hour. Have more fun with Jack and Annie on the Magic Tree House® website at MagicTreeHouse.com. Did you know there’s a Magic Tree House book for every reader? Find the perfect book for you: Magic Tree House® Classics: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just starting to read chapter books. F&P Level M. Magic Tree House® Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced Magic Tree House® reader. F&P Level N. Magic Tree House® Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure with Jack and Annie. F&P Level P. Magic Tree House® Fact Trackers: Non-fiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House® adventures. F&P Levels N-T.