The Second World War by John Keegan

From the Publisher

Praised as "the best military historian of our generation" by Tom Clancy, John Keegan here reconsiders his masterful study of World War II, The Second World War, with a new foreword. Keegan examines each theater of the war, focusing on five crucial battles and offering new insights into the distinctive methods and motivations of modern warfare. In eloquent, perceptive analyses of the airborne battle of Crete, the carrier battle of Midway, the tank battle of Falaise, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa, Keegan illuminates the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole.

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.

Library Journal

In contrast to Martin Gilbert's broader The Second World War ( reviewed in this issue, p.101), Keegan's work is more a battle campaign. His strength as a military historian ( The Face of Battle, The Price of Admiralty ) is in his ability to synthesize the order of battle without getting bogged down in minutae. The mighty German-Russian struggles are well covered, as is the war in the Pacific. While Robert Leckie's Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II ( LJ 9/1/87) is nearly twice as long as Keegan's book, integrates biographical material into the narrative, and is less analytical than Keegan's, Keegan's is extremely well written; the reader can almost visualize the movement of an army without looking at the maps. On another level, however, Keegan tends to be simplistic (e.g., in his discussion of the causes of World War II, in his view that the war would have come even without Hitler) and skim over many topics. Nevertheless, academic and larger public libraries will find this in demand. Recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/89.-- Robert Jordan, Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City

Booknews

Keegan examines each theater of the war, focusing on five crucial battles (the airborne battle of Crete, the carrier battle of Midway, the tank battle of Falaise, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa) as well as the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole. First published in Great Britain (Hutchinson) and Canada (Key Porter) in 1989. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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