The Library of Congress World War II Companion [Hardcover]

Margaret E. Wagner (Author), Linda Barrett Osborne (Author), Susan Reyburn (Author), Staff of the Library of Congress (Author), David M. Kennedy (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

The noted historian John Keegan called World War II "the largest single event in human history." More than sixty years after it ended, that war continues to shape our world. Going far beyond accounts of the major battles, The Library of Congress World War II Companion examines, in a unique and engaging manner, this devastating conflict, its causes, conduct, and aftermath. It considers the politics that shaped the involvement of the major combatants; military leadership and the characteristics of major Allied and Axis armed services; the weaponry that resulted in the war's unprecedented destruction, as well as debates over the use of these weapons; the roles of resistance groups and underground fighters; war crimes; daily life during wartime; the uses of propaganda; and much more.

Drawn from the unparalleled collections of the institution that has been called "America's Memory," The Library of Congress World War II Companion includes excerpts from contemporary letters, journals, pamphlets, and other documents, as well as first-person accounts recorded by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. The text is complemented by more than 150 illustrations. Organized into topical chapters (such as "The Media War," "War Crimes and the Holocaust," and two chapters on "Military Operations" that cover the important battles), the book also include readers to navigate through the rich store of information in these pages. Filled with facts and figures, information about unusual aspects of the war, and moving personal accounts, this remarkable volume will be indispensable to anyone who wishes to understand the World War II era and its continuing reverberations.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David M. Kennedy is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University. He is the author of several books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1008 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743252195
• ISBN-13: 978-0743252195
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #930,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent illustrated survey, December 20, 2007

By 

L. Wyman - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Library of Congress World War II Companion (Hardcover)

This is a very attractive and extensive survey of World War II. It should be invaluable to the student of the period, enlightening to the history enthusiast, and an important reference work for scholars. It has an emphasis on the American experience overall, but adequately covers the relative involvements of all the major national powers (and many minor ones) from the level of private citizens and front-line soldiers, to the generals and leaders of states. There are discussions of individual combat weapons and machines as well as the composition, strategy and movement of entire armed forces. Topics are liberally illustrated with photographs and artwork, and supported with many letters, personal experiences (such as those collected from the Veterans History Project), maps, charts, statistics, and quantitative analyses to help the reader absorb the information.

The text is concise and easy to read, and includes a 35 page index and well organized chapter headings to help the reader search out topics of interest. At the end of each chapter, the authors have compiled principle sources and further reading.

Overall, this is quite a comprehensive survey (at 942 pages of text), of a topic of profound importance. Highly recommended.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Resource, April 12, 2008

By 

Chris G. (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Library of Congress World War II Companion (Hardcover)

I find this book to be a very good resource. In addition it is very vell organized and easy to read. A very good book for students and people with a general interest in the subject.

(One error I did find was that Albert Speer's name was left off the list of defendants at the first Nuremberg trial on pages 927 and 928)

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A companion for those who want to know the war beyond the fighting, November 23, 2008

By 

Kenneth Hamburger "Soldier" (BELLVALE, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Library of Congress World War II Companion (Hardcover)

This is a companion that tells a lot about the war that has to do with the non-military aspects of the war -- homefront, media, politics, aftermath -- than the military aspects. Leaders, weapons and operations comprise less than one-third of the book. There are no index citations for the Battle of the Atlantic [although it is briefly mentioned in the portion of the book covering submarines], Matthew Ridgway, or James Gavin. The operations that are covered have a useful format of Primary Objective, Forces, Commanders, Military Losses, and Result, as well as a short synopsis of the operation.

The Companion is more useful as a secondary reference work than as a primary. There is similar information in greater detail in Wikipedia entries.