The Second World War by John Keegan (PDF)

Description

Praised as “the best military historian of our generation” by Tom Clancy, John Keegan 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. An extraordinary, definitive history, The Second World War will be required reading for generations to come.”The Second World War merits the acceptance as the standard work that it will surely recieve.” -The Washington Post”If you want to know how it happened, read Keegan’s thoughtful and elegant prose.” -Los Angeles Times

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Truly magnificent . . . The best military historian of our generation.” -Tom Clancy”The Second World War merits the acceptance as the standard work that it will surely recieve . . Features the eloquences we have come to expect of John Keegan.” -The Washington Post”Analytical, concise, and coherent . . . If you want to know how it happened, read Keegan’s thoughtful and elegant prose.” -Los Angeles Times “To write history is to choose, and Mr. Keegan’s choices and preferences are as interesting and stimulating as any I have seen . . . Boldy written and fair minded.” -New York Times Book Review About the Author John Keegan, one of the most distinguished contemporary military historians, was for many years Senior Lecturer at Sandhurst, the British Royal Military Academy, and Defense Editor of the London Daily Telegraph. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Keegan is the author of numerous books including The Face of Battle, The Mask of Command, The Price of Admiralty, Six Armies in Normandy, and The Second World War (all available from Penguin). if (SYM == “BIO”) { document.writeln(“”); } else { document.writeln(“”); }

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is an excellent one volume telling of the Second World War, within its historical context, with a heavy emphasis on the strategic questions and decisions faced by the political and military high commands of the five major powers (Keegan doesn’t consider Italy a major power). A long-time instructor at Sandhurst in Britain, Keegan brings to this work an ability to link the conflict within the historical flow of Europe and modern Asia, going as far back as time of Charlemagne, but especially emphasizing how the rise of Prussia in the 1700’s led to the awful events of 1939 – 1945.The center of the conflict, for Keegan, especially to the awful nature that led all sides to jump all in the worst war in human history, was with Hitler. While German militarism and its failure after World War I was the fuel for WWII, it simply would not have happened were it not for Hitler’s fantasies of German expansion and superiority. Told in about 600 pages, the writing is tight and points, loaded with meaning are made so quickly and often so well, that the reader does not notice until later. That the Nazi’s rose so quickly and led a populace so willing seemed surprising at the time, but in the context that Keegan puts it into, does not seem surprising at all.The book is divided into five sections, with initial section chapters about the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders of the five great powers at different phases of the war. As a result, Keegan places a heavy emphasis on strategy, command and control, supply chain management and home front economics and he makes all of that very interesting. So the reader will not get a shot by shot retelling of every battle. For example, the month long blood bath on Iwo Jima gets just a couple of paragraphs, but the reader will come away with a greater understanding of why Iwo Jima was fought, and what its fall to the Americans meant to the rest of the war.Some reviewers have criticized Keegan for writing too much about the European War, in comparison to the Pacific War, and in a one volume, six hundred page book, choices did have to be made. But in this case, it seems a proportional emphasis on Europe, especially the Eastern front war between the Soviets and the Germans was right. Over 600 armed divisions fought between 1941 and 1945 in the east, with over 10 million dead. Excluding the Japanese military occupation of China, less than 20 total armed divisions fought the Pacific War, not including naval forces.For a reader wanting a well-written, one volume account of World War II, where the conflict is placed in historical conflict, Keegan’s book cannot be more highly recommended.

⭐While I do not agree that this is the single best one-volume treatment of World War Two available, I do agree it is a wonderful, eminently readable, and fascinating thematic approach that helps the reader look at the basic overarching themes to found in WWII. The introduction explaining how and why world wars became possible and attractive is worth the price of the book alone. Only Keegan could bring so much style, verve, and new perspective to such a widely covered subject as the Second World War. Therefore, understanding that the book is not an exhaustive and comprehensive history of the war on a battle by battle, theater by theater approach as one can find in other excellent one volume books such as Gerhard Weinberg’s “A World At Arm” or Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett’s “A War To Be Won”, it is still a singular tome with a unique and valuable perspective on the war that any self-respecting student of the war will not want to miss.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!

⭐Thorough summary of WWII.

⭐Being a person who is getting into history later on than most, I wanted a tome to cover WW2 from beginning to end with enough detail to educate me but not to much that I got bogged down. This book fit the bill ALMOST to perfection. Keegan does a good job of covering topics without getting tied up in minutae. If you want a solid overview of WW2 I highly recommend this.Here are a couple of things that kept it from a full 5 stars:Keegan writes in long, divergent sentences that ramble on for line after line. He links in facts in the middle of sentences and then wanders around to making his point somewhere at the end of each one. If you imagine a long-winded British gent telling you all about how a rumor got from one person to another and every twist along the way, you have an idea of how Keegan writes. The other thing that kept me from giving it five stars is the superficiality in which topics are covered. I know, I said I wanted that kind of book. But there is so much information in this book it would have been nice if he had elaborated on a few more items. Almost any chapter in the book could be developed into a 400 page book all on its own, and some of them should have been.Ultimately, I would recommend this book highly as a jump off place from which to go into other topics more deeply. Use it as that and you will be satisfied.

⭐Excellent item, support and service :)!!!

⭐Let’s be honest, is there anyone better at writing history of the world wars than Keegan? Precise, easy to follow, lots of information yet doesn’t overload you with too much minutiae. If you’re looking for a great, all around book that details the important points of WW2 than this is the book for you.

⭐Thanks!

⭐Everything about the Second World War in one book recommended reading to get things like covid into perspective

⭐This book is well written, I have other work by John Keegan and in my opinion he does a good job. Not just the facts, but you get an idea how it must have been for the people involved. I’ll give it a couple of years and then read this again.

⭐Well written and a thoroughly good read

⭐Very happy with this consise history of the war and it has been read by all the family with the younger ones being much better informed.

⭐its a book

Keywords

Free Download The Second World War in PDF format
The Second World War PDF Free Download
Download The Second World War 2005 PDF Free
The Second World War 2005 PDF Free Download
Download The Second World War PDF
Free Download Ebook The Second World War