The Second World War by Antony Beevor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book took my literary Stockholm Syndrome to a whole new level. After nearly three years by my bedside, I am finally done with this agonizingly long tome. Agonizing in a good way I suppose. But if your looking for a quick refresher on WWII, Beevor shouldn’t be your first choice.
The depth of this book’s coverage of the European theater is extremely impressive. But it does give rather cursory attention to the war in the Pacific. The books rather quick coverage of the atomic bombings and surrender of Japan (one of its shortest chapters) makes me wonder if this particular book should have been split into two volumes, so the author could give it the attention it deserves. This is the one glaring criticism that Asian history buffs might have in an otherwise excellent piece of scholarship.
Beevor meticulously showcases the chain of command within the Western powers and does an excellent job of breaking down each major offensive. There are moments where a reader might get overburdened by the military language and the extended German vocabulary (Oberggruppenfuhrer…), and keeping track of the names and attributes of each unit is a bit daunting, but the devil is in the details. Readers will indeed find numerous jumping off points to further their research, and easy access to Wikipedia is a must if you want to get through this book with more clarity.
Overall, a book well worth considering if you are serious about WWII, especially if the European front is your interest. For an in- depth look at the Pacific theater, one should look elsewhere.