Download or read book Europe at War 1939 1945 written by Norman Davies and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conventional narrative of the Second World War is well known: after six years of brutal fighting on land, sea and in the air, the Allied Powers prevailed and the Nazi regime was defeated. But as in so many things, the truth is somewhat different. Bringing a fresh eye to bear on a story we think we know, Norman Davies.Davies forces us to look again at those six years and to discard the usual narrative of Allied good versus Nazi evil, reminding us that the war in Europe was dominated by two evil monsters - Hitler and Stalin - whose fight for supremacy consumed the best people in Germany and in the USSR . The outcome of the war was at best ambiguous, the victory of the West was only partial, its moral reputation severely tarnished and, for the greater part of the continent of Europe, ‘liberation’ was only the beginning of more than fifty years of totalitarian oppression. ‘Davies writes with real knowledge and passion.’ Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard ‘Punchy and compelling' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

Download or read book The Second World War written by Antony Beevor and published by Back Bay Books. This book was released on 2012-06-05 with total page 829 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterful and comprehensive chronicle of World War II, by internationally bestselling historian Antony Beevor. Over the past two decades, Antony Beevor has established himself as one of the world's premier historians of WWII. His multi-award winning books have included Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin 1945. Now, in his newest and most ambitious book, he turns his focus to one of the bloodiest and most tragic events of the twentieth century, the Second World War. In this searing narrative that takes us from Hitler's invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939 to V-J day on August 14, 1945 and the war's aftermath, Beevor describes the conflict and its global reach -- one that included every major power. The result is a dramatic and breathtaking single-volume history that provides a remarkably intimate account of the war that, more than any other, still commands attention and an audience. Thrillingly written and brilliantly researched, Beevor's grand and provocative account is destined to become the definitive work on this complex, tragic, and endlessly fascinating period in world history, and confirms once more that he is a military historian of the first rank.

Download or read book The German War written by Nicholas Stargardt and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2015-10-13 with total page 761 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking history of what drove the Germans to fight -- and keep fighting -- for a lost cause in World War II In The German War, acclaimed historian Nicholas Stargardt draws on an extraordinary range of firsthand testimony -- personal diaries, court records, and military correspondence -- to explore how the German people experienced the Second World War. When war broke out in September 1939, it was deeply unpopular in Germany. Yet without the active participation and commitment of the German people, it could not have continued for almost six years. What, then, was the war the Germans thought they were fighting? How did the changing course of the conflict -- the victories of the Blitzkrieg, the first defeats in the east, the bombing of German cities -- alter their views and expectations? And when did Germans first realize they were fighting a genocidal war? Told from the perspective of those who lived through it -- soldiers, schoolteachers, and housewives; Nazis, Christians, and Jews -- this masterful historical narrative sheds fresh and disturbing light on the beliefs and fears of a people who embarked on and fought to the end a brutal war of conquest and genocide.

Download or read book Women at War 1939 1945 written by Carol Harris and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2000-10-20 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long before the outbreak of the Second World War, official calculations showed Britain would be short of the manpower needed to fight the enemy and keep up production of weapons, food and other essentials. It was hoped that women volunteers would full the gaps and so they volunteered as workers in Civil Defence, the Women's Land Army, munitions factories and non-combatant roles in the Forces.But by 1941, the Government had to face facts: any effective response would have to involve conscription of British women. All females between the ages of fourteen and sixty-four were registered and soon the vast majority had work to do. They collected tons of salvage, knitted and sewed, and raised money for warships and weapons. Women ran fire stations and drove makeshift ambulances while cities burned and enemy bombs exploded around them. They kept their families going, often as single parents while their husbands were away for years in the armed forces.By the end of the war, some of the most experienced rat-catchers in the country were female; others were accomplished engineers, carters, rail workers and bargees.When it was over, these wartime roles were not commemorated in films and books. There has been little official acknowledgement of the enormous and crucial contribution those British women made to the lives we live now. Many are getting on in years and their precious first-hand memories will go with them. Their stories are worth telling now for that alone. But they are also tales of love, death, sacrifice and romance, of humour and horror, and of an extraordinary time, when ordinary women did extraordinary things.

Download or read book Finland at War 1939 45 written by Philip Jowett and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-07-20 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the face of Soviet invasion in 1939–40, and once again in 1941–44, the armies raised by Finland – a tiny nation of only 4 million people astonished the world by their effective resistance. At the end of both these campaigns – the Winter War, and the Continuation War – the fiercely patriotic defiance of vastly stronger Soviet forces by Marshal Mannerheim's soldiers won their country a unique prize: although forced to accept harsh terms, Finland was never occupied by the Red Army, and retained its independence. This book explains and illustrates, for the first time in English, the organization, uniforms, equipment and tactics of Finland's defenders.

Download or read book A World Gone Mad written by Astrid Lindgren and published by Pushkin Press. This book was released on 2016-10-27 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A civilian, a mother, and a writer's unique account of a world devastated by conflict 'A rare glimpse of life in neutral Sweden and an insight into the dark setting that created her best-known work' FT Before she became internationally known for her children's books, Astrid Lindgren was an aspiring author living in Stockholm with her family at the outbreak of The Second World War. In these diaries, Lindgren emerges as a morally courageous critic of violence and war, as well as a deeply sensitive and astute observer of world affairs. Alongside political events, she includes delightful vignettes of domestic life, moments of personal crisis, and reveals the origins of Pippi Longstocking - soon to become one of the most famous and beloved children's books of the twentieth century.

Download or read book Louisiana During World War II Politics and Society 1939 1945 written by Jerry Purvis Sanson and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Second World War written by Christine Hatt and published by Evans Brothers. This book was released on 2006 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Second World War, 1939-45' examines the causes of the war and details the course of conflict in Western Europe, the USSR, Africa and the Pacific. It also describes the experiences of civilians, resistance fighters, prisoners of war and Holocaust victims.

Download or read book War Economy and Society 1939 1945 written by Alan S. Milward and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1979 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This remarkable book should be the standard work for a long time. A true comparative study, it relates the experience of all the main countries (and sometimes others) to a series of key issues that are deftly analyzed and not just described. In addition to the basics--production, consumption, food, finance and organization--the book deals with such famous themes as war as the bringer-of-growth and stimulus-to-technology, and such special questions as the exploitation of occupied areas and economic warfare. Throughout, Professor Milward of Manchester relates economics to strategy in an illuminating way."--Foreign Affairs "An admirable state-of-the-arts report on what we know about how agriculture, population, technology, labor, industrial production, and public finance were affected by the war. He also sets out some highly challenging findings concerning the rationale and effectiveness of economic strategy as applied b the main powers. And he has tentatively advanced some large concepts about the nature of advanced economies as revealed by the manner in which they strove to cope with the war. His approach is broadly comparative: he gives us an account not only of the relative economic performance of individual European powers, but also of the Japanese and American war economies, plus a few observations on the situation in many smaller countries from Australia to Yugoslavia. The book is a mine of information and arresting concepts."--American Historical Review "Milward displays an impressive mastery of his material, both from a historical and economic point of view. He uses quantification effectively, but the book can be read with ease and pleasure by those who are neither trained in nor interested in econometrics. Lucidly written, this superb work deserves a much wider audience than merely specialists."--Journal of Economic Literature "Milward's portrayal of events operates on the proposition that strategic deicions cannot be understood apart from the economic considerations which each leader or government had to take into account. . . . a permanent contribution to our understanding of World War II. Henceforth it will be hard to escape his contention that the big battalions that counted were those on the production line."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Download or read book Cairo in the War 1939 1945 written by Artemis Cooper and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an account of life, attitudes and events in Cairo during World War II. It describes the historical background of the events of the Desert War, as well as stories and descriptions of personalities gleaned from the Ambassador's diaries and those of her grandparents, Duff and Diana Cooper.

Download or read book German Infantryman at War 1939 1945 written by George Forty and published by Ian Allan Pub. This book was released on 2002 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "German Infantryman at War 1939-1945 tells this story using many unpublished photographs taken by Gerhard Sandmann, a typical infantryman. Born at Vlotho on the River Weser on 25 June, 1918, he joined the German Army at Northeim in September 1939 and served as an infantry soldier until he was captured in 1944. The major difference between him and so many thousands of his compatriots was that he survived and so did his photographic record of the places he went." "Backing up the photographs are reminiscences and battle accounts from individual soldiers and official wartime reports. These examine every aspect of the daily life of a soldier - the bad times and the more fleeting good ones - the moments of sheer terror and those of comradeship. This book is not a tribute to war, but an honest attempt to explain what it was like to be a German infantry soldier during World War II."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Albania at War 1939 1945 written by Bernd Jürgen Fischer and published by Purdue University Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Second World War in Europe has generated more literature than perhaps any other event in modern history. Much of the interest has focused on military history, occupation policy, puppet governments, and resistance movements in Europe's principal states. Often ignored in this flood of material, however, are the small nations of southeastern Europe. Yet in the small states the human suffering was no less profound, the destruction no less devastating, the heroism no less laudable, the treachery no less despicable, and the impact no less profound. Albania at War reviews the most important developments in Albania from the Italian invasion of the country in 1939 to the accession to power of the Albanian Communist Party and the establishment of a "people's democracy" in 1946. Fischer analyzes in great detail Italian goals and objectives in Albania and explains the eventual failure of Rome's policy, the subsequent German invasion of the country against the Axis Powers. This unique path breaking book provides a vigorous and thought-provoking analysis of competing external interests in Albania and explores the great obstacles that the Albanians faced in regaining their independence at the end of the war. Albania at War, 1939-1945 thoroughly covers the developments in Albania during that turbulent period. It is essential reading for all students of Albanian history.

Download or read book Instruments of Darkness written by Alfred Price and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Previous ed.: London: Macdonald & Jane's, 1977.

Download or read book Inferno written by Max Hastings and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 1091 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From one of our finest military historians, a monumental work that shows us at once the truly global reach of World War II and its deeply personal consequences. World War II involved tens of millions of soldiers and cost sixty million lives—an average of twenty-seven thousand a day. For thirty-five years, Max Hastings has researched and written about different aspects of the war. Now, for the first time, he gives us a magnificent, single-volume history of the entire war. Through his strikingly detailed stories of everyday people—of soldiers, sailors and airmen; British housewives and Indian peasants; SS killers and the citizens of Leningrad, some of whom resorted to cannibalism during the two-year siege; Japanese suicide pilots and American carrier crews—Hastings provides a singularly intimate portrait of the world at war. He simultaneously traces the major developments—Hitler’s refusal to retreat from the Soviet Union until it was too late; Stalin’s ruthlessness in using his greater population to wear down the German army; Churchill’s leadership in the dark days of 1940 and 1941; Roosevelt’s steady hand before and after the United States entered the war—and puts them in real human context. Hastings also illuminates some of the darker and less explored regions under the war’s penumbra, including the conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland, during which the Finns fiercely and surprisingly resisted Stalin’s invading Red Army; and the Bengal famine in 1943 and 1944, when at least one million people died in what turned out to be, in Nehru’s words, “the final epitaph of British rule” in India. Remarkably informed and wide-ranging, Inferno is both elegantly written and cogently argued. Above all, it is a new and essential understanding of one of the greatest and bloodiest events of the twentieth century.

Download or read book The People s War written by Angus Calder and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-07-31 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Second World War was, for Britain, a 'total war'; no section of society remained untouched by military conscription, air raids, the shipping crisis and the war economy. In this comprehensive and engrossing narrative Angus Calder presents not only the great events and leading figures but also the oddities and banalities of daily life on the Home Front, and in particular the parts played by ordinary people: air raid wardens and Home Guards, factory workers and farmers, housewives and pacifists. Above all this revisionist and important work reveals how, in those six years, the British people came closer to discarding their social conventions than at any time since Cromwell's republic. Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys prize in 1970, The People’s War draws on oral testimony and a mass of neglected social documentation to question the popularised image of national unity in the fight for victory.

Download or read book The Crucible of War 1939 1945 written by Brereton Greenhous and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 1148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The RCAF, with a total strength of 4061 officers and men on 1 September 1939, grew by the end of the war to a strength of more than 263,000 men and women. This important and well-illustrated new history shows how they contributed to the resolution of the most significant conflict of our time.

Download or read book Batman The War Years 1939 1945 written by Roy Thomas and published by Chartwell Books. This book was released on 2015-10-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Presenting over 20 classic full length Batman tales from the DC Comics vault!"--Cover.