The Battle For History: Re-fighting World War II [Paperback]

John Keegan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1996

With the same erudition, discernment, and crisp prose that made his A History of Warfare an international bestseller, Keegan surveys the literature of World War II, identifying the works he finds most important and illuminating while examining the sometimes savage controversies raised by two generations of the war's historians.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Consider this book a means to an end: much of it is actually a bibliographic essay in which the distinguished military historian John Keegan points to what he considers the most important books on the Second World War. Anybody interested in the conflict will want to consult Keegan's list as they add to their personal libraries. Keegan also lays out the war's historiography, pointing out how much still is not known about what happened, especially on Europe's eastern front. He makes the surprising comment that the definitive history of the Second World War has yet been written. To the extent that no single person has expertise in the dozen or so languages necessary to grasp all of the essential literature on the subject--or the many years it would take to master this material--he may have a point. But has he forgotten his own one-volume book, The Second World War? In any event, this isn't the first, second, or third book on the Second World War that you will want to buy. But as your collection grows, you will find this one indispensable.

From Publishers Weekly

While there are some astute observations about the nature of historical writing here, The Battle for History is essentially a lengthy bibliography. In sections discussing general histories and biographies as well as books on campaigns, military intelligence and technology, and occupation and resistance, Keegan, a premier military historian, evaluates the books he has found most helpful and notes where work has yet to be done, as, for example, in the inner workings of the Japanese high command, Stalin as a war leader and the German-Polish war in 1939. He also looks at the evolving perspective (much aided by hindsight) on issues such as whether Britain should have sued for peace after the fall of France and whether blanket bombing was effective. Keegan never claims to be complete, and he is not-such perennial favorites as Harrison Salisbury's Nine Hundred Days, William Manchester's The Last Lion and Goodbye, Darkness aren't here, nor is Keegan's own important The Second World War. Some readers will find his choices quirky, for while he doesn't mention Joachim Fests's worthy Hitler, he does give credit to insights in David Irving's Hitler's War (prefaced by ample warning about Irving's own far right tendencies). There are also resources along the lines of Hitler's 74 war directives, or Fuhrerweisungen, which general readers won't locate easily. Ultimately, this will be of most help to amateurs of WWII who want to contextualize and expand their knowledge.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (January 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679767436
• ISBN-13: 978-0679767435
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.3 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Keegan's books include The Iraq War, Intelligence in War, The First World War, The Battle for History, The Face of Battle, War and Our World, The Masks of Command, Fields of Battle, and A History of Warfare. He is the defense editor of The Daily Telegraph (London). He lives in Wiltshire, England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Bibliographic Survey Of World War Two Titles!, December 3, 2000

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Battle For History: Re-fighting World War II (Paperback)

In a manner that will surprise few of his faithful readers, historian and writer John Keegan turns what one would expect to be a dry bibliographic survey of what this noted scholar believes to be the seminal and meaningfully works on the subject of World War Two into a fascinating and sometimes provocative survey into the subject of not only that most fateful of conflicts, but also of war itself. As has recently been proven through the edifying work of other authors such as Ian Kershaw with his brilliant two volume study of Adolph Hitler (see my reviews) as well as books by Michael Burleigh's "The Third Reich: A New History", Daniel Goldhagen's "Hitler's Willing Executioners", and Williamson Murray and Allan Millet's "A War To Be Won", the field of investigation is hardly complete.

Indeed, given the fact that the integration of all the relevant information concerning the war remains such a daunting task based on its size, complexity, and the fact that it is found in a plethora of languages and dialects, one has to admire Keegan's admission that his own work as well as that by notable others such as Sir Martin Gilbert, Gerhard Weinberg's mammoth "A World At Arms" (my own personal favorite) do not represent anything close to definitive histories of the Second World War. Instead, he insists with both energy and enthusiasm that such a definitive work is yet to be written. Moreover, as anyone familiar with works ranging from Hugh Trevor-Roper's early masterpiece on Hitler's final days in the Berlin bunker to the recent short overview by Richard Overy (see his wonderful short essay and overview in "The Origins Of The Second World War"), arguments regarding the etiology and progress of that war are hardly settled beyond the point of argument or discussion. So while one might think that some half century after the fact the dust of truth would have settled over the subject, Keegan insists the quite the opposite is the case.

In my opinion, this book is an essential read for anyone who seriously attempts to study the most amazing string of historical events we now refer to as comprising World War Two. Keegan threads his way through a pile of titles, many of which the serious student of 20th century history will be familiar with, but also including a number of titles I am now scurrying to find or order in order to further my understanding of this endlessly fascinating time period. By the way, by providing such an authoritative survey of all these works, he of necessity must provide a kind of unifying narrative that amounts to one of the most concise and immensely readable histories of the war I have yet seen, including all of Professor Keegan's other works. This may not be the first book on WWII you want to order, and in fact few of us finding this book would expect to approach it as anything like a comprehensive history. But it is at once both an engaging and entertaining read as well as an intelligent guide through the virtual briar patch of the hundreds and hundreds of titles still in print on the subject of the single most important historical event of the 20th century. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A neccessary tool for the WWII reader., August 19, 1999

By 

Matthew T. Meskill (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Battle For History: Re-fighting World War II (Paperback)

I admit it...the title is a bit misleading. Consequently, I was surprised by what this book actually is: a bibliographic essay. But what a pleasant and enjoyable surprise it was! I read this book in one day and couldn't wait to begin reading all the books that Mr. Keegan discussed.

Consider this book your road map to future WWII reading. An indispensable road map!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for WWII history buffs, July 4, 2004

By 

Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Battle For History: Re-fighting World War II (Paperback)

In this slim, but magnificent, volume, John Keegan sets forth the required reading list for all interested in WWII. It should not construed as a history of WWII in itself: it is not.

Rather Keegan compares and analyzes many of the published histories of WWII and provides a critique of the work, its author and his assessment of the biases or omissions in the works he cites. At that level, "The Battle For History" is invaluable. It is as if your studies of the subject are being guided by one of the most eminent historians of the period.

First published in 1996, even the lapse of 8 years is telling. Hopefully a revision will be forthcoming. For example, Rick Atkinson's recently published - and superb - history of the North African campaign is not mentioned here. It should be.

Jerry