Customer Reviews

The Oxford Companion to The Second World War

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

A book with the word "Cambridge" or "Oxford" in the title is guaranteed to be authoritative, written by top-notch scholars, contain excellent maps and charts, and be as dryasdust. The "Oxford Companion to World War II" is no exception. Within these 1,000 pages is an enormous amount of information on countries, people, events, and battles of WW II.

One can, for example, look up "Riom Trial" and get a two paragraph description of a trial of those held responsible for the fall of France. Or a 4-line description of "Force Viper" a small British marine force in Burma. Unfortunately, the selection of the topics worthy of a separate entry was more than a little Anglo-centric. The US Marine Corps Raiders were far more important that "Force Viper" but for information about them one is referred to a section of the article on the USA. Likewise, the Soviet Union is slighted. The Raid at Dieppe gets 2 columns of attention; the Battle of Stalingrad gets less than 4 columns. Was Stalingrad more than twice as important as Dieppe? Yes! It was a thousand times more important.

The space devoted to description of battles often seems arbitrary rather than rational. The Normandy invasion gets 12 columns of attention; the second largest amphibious operation of the war, Okinawa, gets one column. That's a travesty. Midway -- the crucial turning point in the war for for the United States -- gets one measly column of attention. Another travesty. India, a British colony, gets eight pages; the battle of Iwo Jima only one column.

The most valuable parts of the book are the numerous charts illustrating nearly every facet of the war. For example, on page 480 is a chart of Japanese production during the war including tanks, planes, and ships. On page 306 is a list of the aggregate strength and equipment of a US infantry divison: 14,253 men, 2,012 vehicles, 58 band members, 13 chaplins, 157 30 caliber machine guns, etc. On page 117 is described and illustrated "the corkscrew maneuver," a defensive strategy for bombers under attack by fighters. These are samples of the gems of information found in this book that would be difficult to find elsewhere.

The above complaints notwithstanding "The Oxford Companion to World War II" is a superb reference book and every serious student of WW II should have it on his bookshelf.

Smallchief

I'm a fan of the first edition (1995) of this fine book: I'm a World War Two buff, and this is the best one-volume reference book on World War Two that I know of. So why would I give only four stars to the revised edition of 2005? Here's why. Prospective purchasers of the revised 2005 edition might like to know that it is 1,039 pages long, whereas the first edition of 1995 was 1,343 pages long. That's a loss of 304 pages, representing 23% of the material in the first edition---a considerable loss.

In the case of The Oxford Companion to Music, there was a beautiful, lavishly illustrated edition of 2,017 pages of 1983; it was replaced by a revised edition in 2002 that had 1,434 pages---a whopping loss of almost 600 pages of material. In this case I know what I'm talking about, because I have both editions: the 2002 edition represents a substantial abridgement and cheapening of the 1986 edition; I doubt that anyone who had the chance to compare the two would choose the newer edition.

I don't know if the same thing is going on with this Oxford Companion to World War Two (I don't have the new edition at hand to compare the two), but the loss of 23% of the material in the first edition, and my experience with The Oxford Companion to Music described above, would incline me to approach the new edition with caution.

This book is without question the most useful and comprehensive reference book on the Seond World War to appear in a single-volume, paperback format. It presents data ranging from amazing weapon specifications to wonderfully detailed biographies. Along with the many facts and dates of WWII, the book also includes information that while not common knowledge, is vital to a complete understanding of the conflict. For example, the book explains the strategies, theories, and the complex organization of the axis and allies. In addition, this wealth of information is presented in an easily accessible manner. While it can be read like a book, it is most useful as a quick reference. When I'm reading a book and come upon something I'm not familiar with, I just look in the Oxford Companion for a concise, yet complete explanation. It truly is a superb book.

This book is one of the most resourceful world war two books that I have purchased so far. It is full of facts dealing with every aspect of the second world war ranging from political issues of the war to information on weapons used to information on all of the battles and important areas and people having to do with the war.

The book is set up in an encyclopedia form that is easy to follow and makes it easier to quickly find what you are looking for. I have been purchasing books on World War Two for the past few years, and this is the most informative one yet. This is truly a great book for anyone who is greatly interested in learning much about the second world war.

I have both the current and first edition of this book (in hardcover). As far as I can tell, the new edition is only shorter because it uses a smaller typeface, allowing several more words per line.

However, the new edition is also a bit easier to read despite the smaller size, because the new edition uses a glossy paper and the text seems more sharply defined on the page. This is particularly noticeable in the text of the maps, which I have struggled to read in the first edition, but seem clearer in the new edition.

As an aside, I agree with the general view that this is the single best reference book on World War II. I can't really tell what is changed in the new edition, although it may just be minor corrections, since the several longer articles I have compared seem identical.

This compilation of World War Two information is incredibly useful for all purposes. It has in-depth information that breaks down every aspect of the war, including detailed charts and statistics, historical biographies, and provides articles on countless subjects that a person may have regarding World War II. I used this as a major reference source during the preparation of my history class presentations I do each day about World War II. The charts and stats tables used throughout the book make it indispensable, and well worth the cost.

The most comprehensive book on the Second World War that I have ever read, and most likely ever will. This is a must have for any serious student's library. The sheer depth and coverage of all the war's major battles and powers is staggering, and presents it all in a clear, concise and encyclopedic format. Without a doubt one of the best of its kind

One of the definitive histories of World War II. As you would expect from a book published by Oxford, it is as complete as was possible to make it, some examples:

Number of minor landing craft produced in the US -- 42,524
Number of Dutch forced laborers -- 174,358
What was Force J -- amphibious assault force used in the Dieppe raid
Number of US Aircraft carriers -- 152

The book is in dictionary or encyclopedia format with entries arranged in A to Z format. It has some 1750 entries. Virtually every aspect of the war is covered: political, strategic, forces, campaigns, battles, equipment and many more.

If there is any single complaint about the book it is its British centric view. Some rather minor British operations, for instance, are given as much space as some fairly major US operations in the pacific. You may also want to have an American encyclopedia on your book shelf.

The books major strength has to be the completeness of its entries. There is material here that simply has not been printed anywhere else that I can find.

The sheer volume of information this reference book presents under one cover is indeed staggering, but it is even more laudable for its ease of use and a clear, concise, and cogent writing style. Together those qualities make for hours of enjoyable reading and do much to make both the commonly known and the more remote history of World War II accessible to a wide range of readers.

Longer articles are robust without becoming oppressive. Entries are cross-referenced and the narrative flow of each is palpably audible - insightful and often imbued with a twinkle of humor.

"Like several other lesser powers caught in the crush of the war, the Philippines became a battlefield between Axis and Allied forces. Besides being small and inconveniently located (for the peace of mind and body of their inhabitants), the Philippines laboured under the additional disadvantage of being neither entirely independent nor wholly under the control and protection of a great power....

As soon as Japanese forces took control of Manila, the Japanese C-in-C in the Philippines, Lt. General *Homma, ordered the Filipino civilian officials to remain at their posts and to carry on their duties as before. Failure to do so would be punishable by death. An inclination to avoid such a fate, as well as a desire to mitigate the harshness of the *occupation, prompted a number of prominent Filipinos to meet Japanese officers for the purpose of establishing a new government...."
[pp. 684-85]

One need not be daunted by its width of spine nor fineness of print (and that is the one criticism I have of it; although surely a necessity, the small print may be an obstacle for some readers). The paperback binding on my copy has remained firm and straight, but at 1000+ pages I would still recommend getting the hardcover edition for durability's sake.

This is BY FAR the best book I have ever seen on World War II. It is a fact crammed encyclodedia that will please both the serious scholar and the casual reader. I cannot recommend it highly enough.--Greg Klebanoff