The Second World War: A Complete History Revised Edition

by Martin Gilbert (Author)

95 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0805076233

ISBN-10: 0805076239

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[This is Part 2 of a 2-part Audiobook CASSETTE Library Edition in vinyl case.]

[Read by Bernard Mayes]

Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill, here offers a complete history of World War II.

It began with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. By the time it came to an end on V-J Day --August 14, 1945 -- it had involved every major power and become global in its reach. In the final accounting, it would turn out to be, in both human terms and material resources, the costliest war in history, taking the lives of forty million people.

With unparalleled scholarship and breadth of vision, Gilbert weaves together all of the war's aspects -- the political, the military, the diplomatic, and, not least, the civilian -- charting an almost day-by-day account of the terrible progress of the war's juggernaut of death and destruction. Through it all, his aim is to show what happened, not from the point of view of any one of the warring nations but from a global perspective. The result is the first total history of this global war, a work that is both a treasure trove of information and a gripping dramatic narrative.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Second World War: A Complete History

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Product Details

Paperback: 928 pages
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; Revised edition (June 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805076239
ISBN-13: 978-0805076233
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.6 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #744 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military
- #2566 in Books > History > Military > World War II

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Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars

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4 star		24%
3 star		12%
2 star		4%
1 star		6%

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A Terrific Overview Of The Second World War!

By Barron Laycock HALL OF FAME on August 6, 2000

Format: Paperback

No one has been more acclaimed or prolific in writing about the total scope of twentieth century history than British author and historian Sir Martin Gilbert, who sometimes seems to represent a kind of one-man revival in British historical publication. Here he focuses impressively on the total scope of World War Two, from the opening shots fired in Poland to the surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo Bay. He brings impressive credentials to the task; as the foremost biographer and authority on Winston Churchill (with an 8 volume biography already published), he is obviously well versed on the particulars of the European theater of the conflict, and in this volume he displays how comprehensive his knowledge of the other theaters of wars, especially the Pacific campaign, is as well.
Readers looking for specific orders of battle or "blow by blow" detailed accounts of particular engagements are likely to be disappointed, but even die-hard military huffs like me sometimes tire of such endlessly specifics, and it is refreshing to have an approach like Gilbert's which concentrates more on the context and connections of such engagements to use to get a better and perhaps more complete appreciation for what was happening in the same time or in the local area that materially affected the progress and eventual outcome of a particular battle. After all, this war was indeed global, and it is indeed useful to recognize that events transpiring in Stalingrad were materially affected by the dispositions of troops and airplanes dedicated to other Nazi commitments in the Mediterranean theater or to defend the skies of Berlin against British and American air raids.Read more ›

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a disappointment

By Michael Spertus on August 13, 2000

Format: Paperback

I started this book with high hopes. Martin Gilbert is a famous historian and has done much to educate the world about the holocaust. I also feel the idea of a strictly chronological blow-by-blow history of World War II is a promising premise. However, the book provides little more than a collection of facts arranged chronologically.
There is absolutely no historical or political context--the invasion of Poland starts on page 1 and he never backtracks to fill it in. There is very little analysis, usually just a listing of what battles occurred each month and how many tanks, planes, and/or casualties on each side. Instead of forming an arresting narrative, it just becomes a mind-numbing list of events that are never tied together. The format could lend itself to a discussion of global strategy, being organized by time rather than region. However, this is never pursued.
The only reason I would look at this book again is if I needed to reference it for facts or dates. A great deal of scholarship was clearly involved in assembling these and, as such, it might be a useful reference, but from such a book I would expect much more.
Instead of reading this book, for a truly excellent history of WWII, read Weinberg's "A World at Arms".

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ouch, ouch, ouch ...

By David A. Baer VINE VOICE on July 15, 2006

Format: Paperback

The great Churchill scholar Martin Gilbert's 'complete' history of the Second World War can perhaps be faulted on only one count: plodding.

This weakness in rhetorical strategy is also the virtue that sets this history of the Second War apart from others. A glimpse at the dated chapters in the table of contents is barely enough to prepare the reader for the cumulative impact of marching month by month through this great conflagration. One skips from one military theater to the next, always aligned with the same dates.

Thus, Gilbert allows the crushing burden of *world* war to settle upon the careful reader with devastating effect. One wonders how the world survived.

Survive it did, thanks in part - with apologies to doctrinaire oponents of 'great men' history-making - to decision-makers and opinion-shapers like Gilbert's beloved Churchill. Still, the bulk of this work's attention falls upon the generals. How could it be otherwise in a theater-movement-and-strategy approach? One follows the bloodied paths of armies who follow, to some degree at least, the edicts of generals who see dimly through their glasses and on their HQ maps. This, too, is a reality of war.

I highly recommend this book. It is not the view of the man in the foxhole or the nurse in the dressing station. It is, however, a bird's-eye view of how the world tore itself to pieces and then stopped just before there was nothing left.

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One of the Best Treatments of WW II

By T. Parry on December 9, 2000

Format: Paperback

Martin Gilbert's volume on the Second World War is truly a complete history. It is not just a story of battles and great men, but also a story of unparalleled suffering. The Second World War was the most destructive conflict ever to afflict our planet, and Gilbert makes the reader realize this, with his relentlessness in reporting death. In an almost day by day account, Gilbert informs the reader that while all the great battles were taking place, while generals were winning fame, the people of Europe, especially the Jews, were suffering unimaginable horrors. This is the true legacy of World War Two, and Gilbert gets the point across well. As you read the book, you cannot help but feel sick at the awesome loss of life taking place in Hitler's concentration camps. The vivid descriptions of gassings, and the ovens working 24 hours a day, made me put the book down more than once.
Gilbert also talks about the battles, and his descriptions of these are just as vivid if not as detailed. You can imagine what it was like to be there, but don't know everything that happened. In the end you get the sense that Gilbert's focus was definitely not on the military aspects, but on the overall cost of life. He does not glorify this conflict in anyway, and he leaves you believing that maybe no one really won the war.
This is not a book I would tackle all at once, but maybe keep it by your bedside for those restless nights, although you may find you will not be able to put it down once you pick it up. I reccommend this for someone who knows a bit about the war and wants a good general overview. Someone who has done a lot of background reading may not find it as stimulating, but it is still worth reading.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Day-by-day horror and suffering

This a day-by-day account of suffering, horror, and atrocities. To those readers who have obviously felt offended that the author focuses so much on the mass-murder of the Jews,... Read more

Published 9 days ago by sid1gen

he spend to much time on medal winners and the ...

he spend to much time on medal winners and the leaders and there family, and not enough on what was happening and why.

Published 20 days ago by John M Thompson

An good overview, not a reference book.

It is impossible to cover WWII in less than 800 pages. 100,000 pages seems like a more likely venue. Nevertheless, Mr. Gilbert has done it remarkably well. Read more

Published 25 days ago by carrollk

Sad

Unconventional day by day recital of atrocities not a fun to read book

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

All WW2 easily explained

Great story of WW2. Gilbert does a great job of covering the war on all fronts. His book helps you understand the strategic battles, the logistics that supported each side, the... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Philip S. Auchincloss

History of Holocaust

Literally every single page segueways from the battles to indicate how many Jews were killed around europe. Read more

Published 2 months ago by lee brian lapeyrouse

British view of WWII

Good book from British view.

Published 5 months ago by Grady E. Mccright

He's a brilliant historian, no doubt

He's a brilliant historian, no doubt, but the book is mainly a memorial to people murdered by the Nazis and the Japanese. Read more

Published 5 months ago by David Almond

Good Read but Deficient--Could have been better....

This is a very readable book. However, I found several faults. First, there seems a lot of holocaust stuff. I kept reading about all the horrible things that were done. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Robert Jay

Disappointing, for a WWII book

I found that there wasn't much mention of battles that Americans were in. General Patton was mentioned 5 times in total. Russian generals were mentioned numerous times. Read more

Published 5 months ago by rickyice

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