Atlas of the Second World War [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Harper Collins Publishers (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Metro Books (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586631977
• ISBN-13: 978-1586631970
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,829,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT CAMPAIGN MAPS, March 17, 2004

By 

ted bojanowski (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlas of the Second World War (Hardcover)

This atlas, edited by John Keegan, is an excellent companion when reading books on battles and campaigns waged during the Second World War, primarily because of the excellent map coverage with maps that are large, comprehensive, and easy to read. Along with the numerous maps, the editor includes a synopsis of events related to each map in question. The editor also includes a chronology of events of the war which helps keep events in proper chronological perspective for the reader. In addition to covering military action, the editor provides related ancillary information such as information on signal intelligence, human intelligence as well as economic and historical information related to causes and effects of the war. The editor is to be commended for producing a five star product. I wish only I had the atlas on hand when I was reading books on Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and other Pacific islands since the maps in the atlas give the reader a very clear perspective of the area in question. Five stars!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Gallery of Maps, April 25, 2009

By 

Dave Schranck "Dave" (Anaheim Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Atlas of the Second World War (Hardcover)

This book is huge, being 14 by 10.5 inches large, most of the maps are large. With the wealth of information included on each map plus the large size, its easy to grasp the importance of each map. Each map includes pertinent cities, rivers, other terrain features and troop movements. This atlas usually has sufficient details to allow you to follow along when your reading other books. There has been many times when the book I'm reading has no map or a poor map and this atlas will have what is needed.
One item that is missing is a mileage scale. When Bryansk fell to the Germans in 1941, it would be interesting to know how close they were to Moscow. Or in the Ardennes offensive, it would be useful when following Peiper's progress, to determine how close he was getting to the Meuse River.

In general the atlas is great but there are two areas that disappoint; First area is in the Aachen-Roer River sector when Collins was trying to advance in the last quarter of 1944. There is a map of the area but it lacks details of towns, terrain etc to be really helpful when trying to follow a book you're reading. I've checked four other notable atlases and their coverage of this area and time is also lacking. The second area concerns Hoth's advance in the Abganerovo region, south of Stalingrad in Aug - Sept 1942. There is a map of this area but greater detail would be nice. This is the exception; generally these maps have more data points than other general purpose atlases.
There are more towns, cities, rivers, and other terrain features displayed on these maps than on other atlases. There are also many double page maps rendering huge displays, making it easy to study a heavily populated environment.

Its 254 pages has a wealth of information and nearly 400 maps plus illustrations and charts. Lets make one comparison. This atlas has twice the number of maps than in Chris Bishop's "The Military Atlas of World War II". In the reviewed volume, it has 48 maps of the Russo-German War as compared to 28 to Bishop's atlas. An example of what this Atlas does that many don't provide is a time sequence or series that separate the overall campaign into key ingredients. The period is Feb 43 - June 43. Operation Little Saturn is being covered. The primary map covers the southern half of Russia showing the big picture of the campaign but accompanying it is a series of four small scale maps of greater detail showing the progress of the Russian Army as it pushes the Germans from Stalingrad to Kharkov. This practice of providing a series of maps occurs at other key offensives as well.

There is a running dialog throughout the entire book describing the key events of the war which is useful for new students. It covers all theaters as well: Pacific, Russia, Europe, Africa, Burma and China. It even includes several sea battles.

The other features of the atlas are also well thought out. The table of contents, the six column chronology, the glossary of key events and personalities and a extensive index. It also contains a Bibliography. I strongly reccommend this atlas to assist in better understanding the other titles you are reading.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atlas is Terrific, July 9, 2003

By 

Jerry C from Charlotte, NC (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atlas of the Second World War (Hardcover)

I bought my copy in Border's Books and Music JUST RECENTLY on sale ...and our family has used it for reference. If AlexM from MI sees this comment, Borders had stacks of them and going fast. I, too, think this is a very good Atlas especially for anyone reading history.

Collins has also published other great Atlas' on the "Bible" and one called "Past World", which I also bought [it] from Borders. After researching on Amazon, I noticed they had quite a few from Collins on various topics at very good prices. ...