The Second World War

by John Keegan (Author)

773 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0140113419

ISBN-10: 014011341X

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Share <Embed>

Buy used

$6.92

Condition: Used - Very Good

In Stock. Sold by Jenson Books Inc, Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

135 Used from $1.29

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Turn on 1-Click ordering

More Buying Choices

6 New from $23.82 135 Used from $1.29 4 Collectible from $3.99

145 used & new from $1.29

See All Buying Options

There is a newer edition of this item:

The Second World War
$17.14
(55)
In Stock.

Free%20Two-Day%20Shipping%20for%20College%20Students%20with%20Amazon%20Student

Much more than a mere chronological narrative, the history of World War II is recounted both periodically and thematically. Keegan analyzes five crucial battles, each characteristic of a distinctive kind of warfare ofthe period. Photographs, maps, diagrams.

The Second World War

Available from these sellers.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

John Keegan

393

Paperback
$13.36
John Keegan

167

Paperback
$11.22
John Keegan

56

Paperback
$11.48
Stephen E. Ambrose

1,209

Paperback
$10.45
Christopher R.…

234

Paperback
$14.00
John W. Dower

84

Paperback
$13.33

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

The Second World War Paperback

John Keegan

55

$17.14
The First World War Paperback

John Keegan

393

$13.36
The Guns of August Mass Market Paperback

Barbara W. Tuchman

1,329

$7.19
A History of Warfare Paperback

John Keegan

114

$12.19

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The best one-volume treatment available, The Second World War by John Keegan is an outstanding synthesis of an enormous amount of material on "the largest single event in human history." The book proceeds chronologically through the war, but chapters appearing at appropriate moments focus on particular themes, such as war production, occupation, bombing, resistance, and espionage. Keegan's ability to translate the war's grand strategies is impressive, and the battle descriptions are superb. Generals obviously play a key role in this narrative, but ordinary soldiers also receive proper credit, as do the often-overlooked merchant marines whose heroic efforts to supply Great Britain made the Allied victory possible. Keegan, author of the landmark book The Face of Battle, is without doubt one of our greatest military historians, and here his analytical powers and skilled writing are on full display.

From Publishers Weekly

"This account of WW II, though controversial, is rich in fresh perception, interpretation and opinion. In addition to penning a fast-paced campaign chronicle, Keegan makes a convincing case for the prime motivations of Allied and Axis leaders, pinpoints the practical results of Allied summit conferences and defines the war's geopolitical dimensions," reported PW. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 608 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books (September 1, 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 014011341X
ISBN-13: 978-0140113419
Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 773 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2769 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military
- #9262 in Books > History > Military > World War II

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Customer reviews

773

4.6 out of 5 stars

5 star		72%
4 star		18%
3 star		4%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Military History

4.1 out of 5 stars

Children's Books

4.4 out of 5 stars

Asian History

3.9 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Top customer reviews

Written by the master:

Bycitizen fact checkeron July 16, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The writing/literature of all six volumes is superb, but the technical aspects of the Kindle editions are absolutely shameful in the sense of their being replete with numerous typos. This does great damage to the volumes, because I would like to see all six volumes being required reading for high school students. But how on earth would the students know that parts of the volumes are so filled with mistyped words and phrases that the shame of inaccuracies renders these digitals useless for our kids to read? Shame on the publisher of the digital editions!

0Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Prepare for Months of Reading

ByLarry Davison January 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

These books are in great condition considering they are over 65 years old. My set did not come with dust jackets as shown in the photo. However, they what I have searched for years.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

In this book and "Their Finest Hour" Sir Winston is candid about his own (few) ...

ByAmazon Customeron October 15, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An outstanding book. More than just a history, it engages the reader on many levels. In this book and "Their Finest Hour" Sir Winston is candid about his own (few) missteps during this period. The book has a lot to teach about leadership, crisis management, maintaining morale, and many other dimensions of life in trying times. I found about 2 or 3 typos, but the correct word was clear from the context. The book was so compelling that I plan to read Manchester's 3-volume Churchill biography (The Last Lion) next.

The maps do not fare too well in the Kindle format, but my small smartphone screen may be to blame for that. This problem was not a real barrier to understanding, the text was so good. I ordered the paperback first (the Mariner Books edition, ISBN 039541055X) and thus got a big discount on the Kindle version,

Churchill's prose is scholarly, but clear and absorbing as well. I only ran across one word (limitrophe) that was a total stranger to me, and the good old Google search window solved that. (Hint: that word is not in either English dictionary for Kindle - US or UK).

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Winston Churchill at his abrasive best

ByJ. W. Wolteron November 4, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is history in real life. Mr. Churchill obviously had an enormous ego, but how else would he have accomplished what he did? This book is not an old man's faulty memory writing history as it "should" have been. Actual speeches and letters provide a running bibliography, providing a glimpse into the anguish, uncertainty, and sometimes feet of clay of the movers and shakers of Great Britain in the mid war period. The really frustrating (to me) thing about the book was how seemingly "easy" it would have been to halt the rise of Hitler had the WW1 victors built on their victory instead, according to Mr. Churchill, who proved ultimately correct, Hitler was allowed to bully governments who were unwilling to look to the future.
If you are looking for a lot of U.S. history here, this is not the book for you as the U.S. is mentioned only in passing.
I am the furthest person from an anglophile as you will ever meet, but if you are interested in history at all, this book is a must read.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Great book... crummy editing

ByP. Houtzon September 6, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Like the first book - The Gathering Storm - this is part a wonderful history of the Second World War. Other reviews of this Kindle edition have remarked about the typos. Believe them! The typos are great in number and just plain foolish. They are as if the book was copied from a handwritten manuscript by someone who was not entirely familiar with the english language. I love these books, and will finish them. I am, however, considering purchasing hard copies rather than push through this sludge of typos. In truth, I have only completed a third of this second book. The Gathering Storm had no typos to speak of. This one's a wreck. It does diminish the experience.

0Comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Displays well on my Kindles

ByAmazon Customeron October 23, 2011

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

We all know that this is one of the great books in the English language, so its basic quality is scarcely a matter of reasonable dispute. There are some minor problems with the Kindle edition of the text, but they are not (as some have suggested) the fault of Amazon, nor are they particularly disconcerting.

There are indeed some minor typos in the text--clearly the result of OCR errors when the physical text of the book was scanned. The publisher, Rossetta Books, is guilty of failing to catch and correct these errors. They are not, however, so numerous or so heinous as to make the book difficult for me to read with pleasure. A typical error, for example, is that the word "ministers" is routinely transliterated as "ministen." This is perhaps due to the fact that in some mid-century typefaces the "rs" combination was turned into a single connected character which would look like an "n" to OCR software. One's brain does need to be a bit agile to tune out these typos. They are a problem, but not a big one.

Some reviewers have complained about the quality of the illustrations. I agree that one or two maps are too small to be useful, but the vast majority of them (particularly the battle maps) display quite well on my K3. Do remember that you can enlarge any illustration by moving your cursor onto it and then clicking. Having the Kindle edition of the book is actually preferable to trying to consult the maps in a small paperback. Since one can download the book onto multiple Kindle readers at one time, I find it best to display the relevant map on one device while reading the text on another. This makes it very easy to follow the movements of the various forces.

Finally, several reviewers complain that the book causes their K2 to crash. Happily, that has not been my experience. It is every bit as readable on my K2 as on my K3.

At its current price of $2.99, Winston Churchill's "Their Finest Hour" is a very sweet deal indeed.