The Best 'Overall' Written Histories of WW2?

Discussion in 'Books, Films, TV, Radio' started by von Poop, May 25, 2012.

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  1. Mark_Simner

    Mark_Simner Junior Member

    To resurrect an old thread...

    I am currently reading 'The Second World War' by Antony Beevor. In all honesty I am enjoying it but at the same time feel frustrated by the lack of detail that is perhaps unavoidable when dealing with such a huge subject in a single volume. I personally do not believe there is any particularly 'great' single-volume work on WW2 but as an introduction maybe Beevor's book is reasonable.

    Just my humble opinion.

    Mark.
     
    Mark_Simner, Aug 12, 2013
    #41
  2. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    I was impressed upon to read, reluctantly, Andrew Roberts' "The Storm of War" - and was pleasantly surprised. Some critics say he neglects the Pacific too much (there is something in that, but it is not totally true).
     
    Staffsyeoman, Aug 13, 2013
    #42
  3. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Jeff - aka Slipdigit

    Meant to offer you this last year but landed on the back burner.....so if you have NOT managed to read Alanbrooke's Diaries - then I can loan you my copies..so just PM me with your address and they will be on their way for your enjoyment - and education.....

    Cheers
    Tom Canning
     
    Tom Canning, Aug 13, 2013
    #43
  4. TriciaF

    TriciaF Junior Member

    I lived through WW2 as a young child, and my father was in the RNVR and thankfully returned safe and sound.
    But I haven't read any of the overall written histories, although my husband has read the Churchill volumes. I think they're important for teaching younger generations, But otherwise I think they diminish the vast scale of the worldwide upheaval that took place. So many scattered parts of the world that were affected.
    So I tend to read about only small sections, and I'm specially interested in why there was such monumental destruction, hatred and need to kill.
    Perhaps that's more a female point of view?
     
    TriciaF, Aug 13, 2013
    #44
  5. Stormbird

    Stormbird Restless

    I started on Churchill The Second World War (abridged) but only managed the first appr 25 %.

    I also started, in high spirits, on Hastings All Hell Let Loose but only managed the first appr 40 % (judged by characteristic deployment dust marks.)

    I have elsewhere seen Len Deighton Blood Tears And Folly slaughtered and trod into the mud, but this is the one "overall WW2" book I actually got through and enjoyed and could relate to. I've lost the original, as I gave it away to a mate, and my second copy therefore is in surprisingly good condition. :)

    How did Leighton's account earn its bad reputation ?

    (Helmet and body armour donned...)
     
    Stormbird, Aug 13, 2013
    #45
  6. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    I have this sort of problem too and assumed that it was due to my 1940 fixation...So do the authors run out of steam or did the war genuinely become less interesting as it went on...at some point it becomes obvious that the good guys are going to win.;.
     
    Rich Payne, Aug 13, 2013
    #46
  7. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    By means of a footnote... the one 'overall' history which went back to the shelf and has stayed there ever since is Liddell Hart's 'History of the Second World War'. Unbearable.
     
    Staffsyeoman, Aug 14, 2013
    #47
  8. Noreen

    Noreen Member

    Noreen, Aug 14, 2013
    #48
  9. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Finally read Hastings's 'All Hell Let Loose' a week or two ago.

    Excellent.
    His usual readable style, a slight re-flowering of that 'overestimation' thing re. the Wehrmacht, but not enough to really annoy (nothing like 'Das Reich'), & he makes some good points defending his case.
    Bits and pieces of detail cause one to stop and think; a few conclusions I might dispute, but that detail's really not the point of the book.

    What it is, is a breakneck run through the timeline & main themes of WW2, with Hastings's usual decent scattering of anecdotal letters, statistics etc.
    We likely all have a reasonable grasp of the overall war's rough narrative, but it certainly did me no harm to refresh that with a book that's well-written and breaks it up into sensible chapters.
    It's so easy to become fixated on 'favourite' periods, so it felt quite healthy looking up and around a bit - my interest is now piqued about parts of the war I'd let slip by in my personal interests:
    Must read more on the Pacific.
    Must look into Finland's final turn against the Axis more.
    China! I know almost nothing of 40s china, from Chiang to Mao.
    Etc.

    Easy-to-follow Single-volume general history of WW2 with enough to interest someone with a bit of previous knowledge.
    Yep, box ticked.

    (And it was 99p on Kindle, so I certainly can't complain about the price.)
    [​IMG]
     
    von Poop, Mar 16, 2014
    #49
  10. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    After that glowing review by someone who's opinion I value, I might be forced to give him another try.

    How does it compare with Inferno? I thought that was pretty bad and put me off Hastings.
     
    Dave55, Mar 16, 2014
    #50
  11. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I've not read inferno.

    I am aware there are many professional Hastings-haters out there, but he is what he is - well-written & opinionated - he always lays out his 'opinionated-ness' from point one, and never claims to be presenting anything conforming to any particular view other than his own, and that view is usually interesting, and often, or so it seems, deliberately inviting of debate.

    I also thoroughly enjoy the squeals of outrage that accompany every book release of his, often based on no more than a tabloid splash of one single-line quote.
    Old Newspaper man knows how to generate controversy with every new sales prospect... imagine that...
     
    von Poop, Mar 16, 2014
    #51
  12. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    von Poop, Sep 20, 2014
    #52
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