There are so many ways in which the second world war may be viewed and therefore of how it can, or should, be understood. It may be approached from the angle of the battles and campaigns that composed it, in which case decisive moments such as the Battle of Britain or of Stalingrad then emerge as the salient determinants of history. It may be seen through the eyes of those who conducted it, such as the memorialists Churchill, Eisenhower or Montgomery, who invite judgments as to who was right and who was wrong, or at least who was righter and who wronger. Then there is the view that the second world war was not an identifiable entity but part of a continuous world war of 1914-45. After all, the second world war, by and large, was conducted by those who had fought in the first, Hitler and Churchill, for example.

Blackwell Bookshop

Purchase your copy here, 10% off RRP