I haven't posted for a while because of this review. I had to finish this monster of a book in order to write about it. It was long but it was well worth all 747 pages of it and add another 99 pages of maps, bibliography, and an index. As indicated in the title the book is about World War 2. The title and author are: The Second World War, by Martin Gilbert. I bought the book after learning that Martin Gilbert is Sir Martin Gilbert and was knighted for his historical writing.
As a World War 2 history buff I always look to expand my knowledge and while authors such as Stephen Ambrose, John Keegan, and Antony Beevor have done that, I have always been looking for fresh materiel from other authors. Max Hastings was good but his style of writing was overwhelming and getting lost in a book should happen with fiction books. Gilbert does a great job to not overwhelm you and he makes sure to add in maps and other small bits of information that are relevant.
Gilbert starts right at the beginning in 1937 with explanations of what was happening and how the previous war and peace talks had helped breed Hitler into what he became. Stalin is also touched on briefly along with a focus on Roosevelt and Churchill. He discusses the political landscapes and the elections in Britain. He devotes a chapter to the Japanese system and the rise to power of Tojo along with a focus on Mussolini and his rise to the top. After his political environment and nationalistic examinations he moves on.
Gilbert makes sure to cover his bases by explaining what was going on all over. America had ships getting sunk only miles off the coast but refused to enter the war although he pulls up letters that Roosevelt wrote where the president seriously debated entering the war and attacking Germany in the Atlantic because thousands of American lives were being lost due to the U-Boats.
Gilbert also talks of the Holocaust, the ways which Germany used to kill the Jewish people and the psychotic hate that drove Hitler. I learned that the 6 million dead figure was inaccurate, that the true number could never be known due to bad record keeping and the incinerated bodies could not be counted accurately. The number is estimated at 7 to 8 million Jewish people murdered by the Nazis.
While Gilbert was brilliant in the history he didn't focus on the war in the Pacific very much. He focused on the European Theater and he also didn't focus on Allied defeats very much. It was disappointing in his chapter about Battle of the Bulge. If you read only that chapter and based everything on that chapter, you would wonder why it got its name. His account doesn't recall it as bad as some other authors do. It wasn't inaccurate, he just left some things out of the story.
All in all, it was a good book, it opened up my knowledge a lot more it gave me much of what I need to know, what I knew, and I learned a lot from it.
Review
Grade-Harvest It!
Highs-Lots of information provided well and never complex. Maps, and time periods given that will allow almost anyone to learn more
Lows-Things left out and the Pacific Theater is left out much of the time
Genre-History
Kid Friendly?Depends on the child, it can be a bit graphic, history is though
Overview-Good book, I paid a whooping $34.95 for it but it was worth it
-Rezler
Heads up! The grading system has changed.
New Grading System
Harvest It!- Get this book! It is awesome! No time to waste!
Let It Ripen- It's good, get it, it can wait though
It Could Grow- The book isn't too bad, but you have to like that type
Needs Some Cultivating- Don't even get it, it is a waste
Let The Bugs Eat It- Why was it published? Who at the company signed off?
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