The Second World War

Also, given Mr. Keegan's mastery of the written word and his way with a phrase, this is a book one lets drag on as you read it slowly, stopping to think about what he has just written in a particular paragraph and what it means. This is indeed great stuff! The book is organized chronologically but devotes specific chapters in the general narrative to particular important factors influencing the progress and direction of the war effort, such as the nazi bombing campaigns, the Allied war air over Germany, war production, organized resistance in occupied countries, and the various types and relative successes associated with espionage.

Keegan's ability to marshal a stirring and articulate argument is unparalleled, and he relates the opposing forces' war strategies with an authority no one else can match. He also appreciates the many different levels of contribution to the overall war efforts ranging from unique leadership characteristics of specific individuals such as Montgomery, Patton, Eisenhower, and Marshall, but also pays attention to the massive contributions of ordinary soldiers, sailors, and war production civilians who made important efforts aiding ultimate victory. This is a very well-written and meticulously researched and documented book, and one I am glad to have on my World War Two bookshelf!


Perhaps the best one-volume critical history of WWII   January 1, 1997
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

There has been too much written about World War II; it was not the only war in history, though the most destructive. Why, then, another volume on this over-examined period? Because, in short, this one treats the period with a critical eye that few other authors have summoned. Keegan, formerly a lecturer at Sandhurst and now a correspondent with the Daily Telegraph, brings to the subject an eye that questions heroism, jingoism, cliches and old assumptions which have been reinforced in retelling. His chapter on resistance movements during the war is chilling and depressing, but a needed anti- dote to the Hollywood renditions of "French Underground" history that tells lies and half-truths. Keegan blends all aspects of the war in a superb mixture of tactics, strategy, logistics, industry, horror and humanity. The book is divided into chapters which pick up topics of the war, such as the naval war, war industry production, air wars, background, etc. These topics are arranged in such a manner as to meld the chronology of the war into these topics. The result could sometimes be less satisfactory for a person who wants a straight "What-happened-when" treatment, but those can be found elsewhere. This book will question many of the assumptions we all hold about the war, and look them directly in the eye. Perhaps, after all, more does need to be written about the Second World War. But it needs to be written by authors who are more like John Keegan.


second only to Churchill   June 7, 2000
Mark Goode (San Diego, CA USA)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful

The Second World War was the greatest single event in human history. It contained more drama and urgency, and altered the reality of the world more than any war before or since. In "The Second World War," John Keegan describes in thorough, but not overwhelming, detail every aspect of the war, including the military, political, and economic realities facing the combatants. He divides the war into six sections, by geography and chronology, and begins the sections with a chapter on the strategic decisions facing the leader who had the initiative at the time, which sets the table perfectly for the events that unfold in the rest of the sections. The book also includes examples of five specialized types of battle that took place in the war. This is a very good read, especially if you are interested in all aspects of warfare.


Superb overview   April 22, 2001
J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

What Keegan's excellent "The Second World War" lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in breadth. The author does a superb job of condensing literally tons of sources, and a host of viewpoints, to capture the essence of the war.

He does so by focusing on strategy; more specifically, the strategic dilemmas facing the major combatants. For example, how the U.S. could maintain a "Germany first" strategy after Pearl Harbor. He then goes on to capture the revolution in combat by considering the different kinds of battles fought in WWII. e.g. amphibious, airborne, urban, etc.

Overall, "The Second World War" is an excellent volume, whether for someone new to the field, or an old hand. While the book is weighted towards the strategic/tactical aspects of the war, it is in these areas that Keegan truly shines. He is, after all, the world's foremost "military historian" not "economic", or "politcal" historian. Even so, this work is still an excellent "one-volume" history of WWII.

Two final notes, one positive, one negative. The bad first; for a work that focuses largely on strategy the maps are entirely inadequate. Significantly more, and better, are required to capture the action being described. On a positive note, Keegan does an excellent job of making use of combat photography to supplement his work. While many authors of "serious" histories seem to shun illustration, Keegan realizes that a picture really can speak a thousand words...especially when it is capturing the horror of combat.


Informed, balanced, riveting, brilliant.   February 4, 2000
Richard Tarling (London, UK)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

A couple of points. Whatever the imbalance in number of pages between the war in the east and that in the west (which started two years earlier, of course), Mr Keegan leaves the reader in no doubt about the horrific casualty rates and the attrition, barbarism and suffering on the Eastern Front. Nor for that matter, does he fail to stress that it was this campaign that broke the back of Nazi Germany. And he does not "sneer" at the efforts of the resistance movements, but points out that their overall impact was small, especially when set against the terrible retributions they provoked. I think this is a brilliant book; its scope is huge, and to cram this much information into such a readable text is a considerable achievement. It whets the appetite of the reader for more details of events which it can (by necessity) only briefly survey. Buy.