The Second World War by Antony Beevor

I have always been fascinated with any and all things to do with World War II. From the rise of Hitler, to the bombing of Hiroshima, this is perhaps the richest time in the history of the world. Due to the staggering scale of this time period, most books, both fiction and nonfiction, choose to focus on specific events or characters. In this hugely ambitious work, Antony Beevor attempts to provide a narrative overview of the entire war.

In the book, Beevor effectively introduces the early onsets of the war for each nation that was involved. Spanning from the German invasion of Poland in 1939 to the end of the war in 45, Beevor manages to provide a research filled account without ever straying from his strong narrative flow. He finds a convincing balance between broad tellings of significant battles, military strategy, and intimate insights into the main personalities of the war.

At nearly 900 pages, this book is no small undertaking. I'll admit, I read bits of the volume between other novels over the course of three months. Despite the length, I felt like Beevor never sacrificed the telling of the story in favor of dry facts, so the book maintained a consistency that easily places it above other historical works. Overall, WWII enthusiasts, history buffs, and any lover of large scale stories are sure to enjoy this book.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(week 51, book 46)

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22, 2012 and is filed under Battle,Book Review,Government,History,Hitler,Military,The Second World War by Antony Beevor,USA,WWII. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.