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226th out of 555 books
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645 voters
A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II
In a new edition featuring a new preface, A World of Arms remains a classic of global history. Widely hailed as a masterpiece, this volume remains the first history of World War II to provide a truly global account of the war that encompassed six continents. Starting with the changes that restructured Europe and its colonies following the First World War, Gerhard Weinberg...more
Paperback, 1208 pages
Published
March 28th 2005
by Cambridge University Press
(first published January 1st 1994)
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Offering up a single-volume history of WW2 is a daunting task that has sunk many a would-be historian. Do you focus on diplomacy, niche yourself to cover naval battles of the Southwest Pacific, or limit yourself to cartoon images of the ultimate graphic novel? Weinberg took the unusual approach of going big and broad. There's no real history of the Nazi party, Japanese bushido, or the Holocaust here. Instead, he uses a thousand-some-odd pages to discuss how the war looked from every odd corner o...more
A World At Arms is a masterful scholarly work. At nearly 1,000 pages, it takes on the War in all its nuances. From a geographical viewpoint, it deals with events in countries not normally referenced in most works; i.e. Brazil and India. This single volume book also deals with all aspects of this global war including politics, finance, manufacturing, construction, medicine, military strategy and combat operations.
It is an ambitious endeavor, which covers up its very few warts with a deep and inte...more
It is an ambitious endeavor, which covers up its very few warts with a deep and inte...more
Valuable at least for the discussion of the origin of the second world war and the colour of the new order.
Weinberg asserts, convincingly from my point of view, is that the war was seen by the Axis as solution to various problems involving their rightful place, control if not occupation of countries populated by less worthy people, and the transformation of their own societies into thoroughly materialistic and warrior casts.
Exposing infants on Mt Parnussus ? Far too inefficient for the Third Rei...more
Weinberg asserts, convincingly from my point of view, is that the war was seen by the Axis as solution to various problems involving their rightful place, control if not occupation of countries populated by less worthy people, and the transformation of their own societies into thoroughly materialistic and warrior casts.
Exposing infants on Mt Parnussus ? Far too inefficient for the Third Rei...more
Over 1,000 pages and around 100 footnotes per chapter, one of the experts in English who writes on German foreign policy and German diplomatic history wrote this book. A juggernaut of academic work produced this book that could be easily weaponized by dropping it one someone; yes it is large! Do not fear its size, only is erudition, and the excellent connections it makes between diverse theaters. Now, it is weak on operations, tactical and the military analytically areas; however, one cannot acc...more
This is an incredibly thorough, global look at the entire timeline of World War II, from what led to the war through its conclusion.
There are several things which are really excellent about this book. The first is that the author looks through tremendous volumes of (often primary) source material to discuss the reasons that actors made decisions--that is, based on what they did or didn't know at the time their decisions were made. In particular, he focuses on how Stalin's understanding of Hitle...more
There are several things which are really excellent about this book. The first is that the author looks through tremendous volumes of (often primary) source material to discuss the reasons that actors made decisions--that is, based on what they did or didn't know at the time their decisions were made. In particular, he focuses on how Stalin's understanding of Hitle...more
This book is a tome (about a 1000 pages), but it covers almost every aspect of World War II. It was very thorough in explaining the events, politics, economics, personalities, and everyday life during this time period. The one thing this book does not do so well is go into detail about the battles. They are described in a very global or general fashion. So if you want to read about battles, you may want to try another source, but if you want to know EVERYTHING else, I found this book very entert...more
An interesting dissection of the political and military drama of WWII, with its focus more sharply on the political. I found the most interesting aspect of the book to be its careful analysis of the periphery combatants including Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, etc., their motivations, desires, and, ultimately, disasters. At the outset, I had hoped the book would focus more closely on the strategic and tactical aspects of the military engagements but Weinberg rarely delves into those issues...more
This was a wonderful read. Though it is heavy enough to use in any gym to get a workout it is actually a fast and easy read. Weinberg describes World War II in an easy manner which lets the reader learn about the war without being overcome with the enormity of the war.
Reading the old edition, not the new one. Superb ability to reflect the global nature of WWII and illustrate the way various theatres affected other ones. Not an in-depth military history (will have to read Lidell Hart for that) but very strong as a diplomatic history and as an economic one (at least to the extent necessary to provide understanding of diplomatic motivations.) Does not hide from the issue of atrocities and genocide, and skilfully weaves them into the overall narrative. Devotes a...more
This book is fantastic. Instead of the usual battles it examines the political and commercial machinations. It's a huge book but don't be put off by that; it's an easy read. And the bibliography makes up for a lot of its bulk.
Freakishly long and detailed history of WWII from a global perspective. Really made me see how interconnected World War II actually was because we usually tend to think of the action in terms of theater.
In a new edition featuring a new preface, A World of Arms remains a classic of global history. Widely hailed as a masterpiece, this volume remains the first history of World War II to provide a truly global account of the war that encompassed six continents. Starting with the changes that restructured Europe and its colonies following the First World War, Gerhard Weinberg sheds new light on every aspect of World War II. Actions of the Axis, the Allies, and the Neutrals are covered in every theat...more
The definitive single-volume history of the Second World War, expertly rendered by one of the preeminent scholars of the 20th Century.
Quite simply the best one volume history of World War Two ever written. Its over a 1000 pages, and I've read it now 8 times.
Feb 20, 2010
A.pauling
is currently reading it
detailed yet engrossing- makes you feel good by shooting down a bunch of preconceptions so you can feel smug
You need to read this to have a truly global perspective of WWII
A great book for anyone with a deep interest in WWII.
Read as part of my World War II study.
Excellent book.
This is the definitive one volume work putting forth the global perspective and impact of WWII. It took me a very long time to read but it was worth it. You could read every last bit of it, or use it as a reference (I chose the former). This book is well-written and gives tremendous detail. Its only failing, in my view, is that it was hard to stick with it enthusiastically the whole time because of its length.
This is can probably be considered the seminal book on the history of the second world war. I was turned on to this book by one of the history professors at Dartmouth. Besides the depth of this book it is unique in that it explains and examines all the players involved in the war and how their actions were shaped by the other players.
I have read hundreds of books on WWII and this is by far the best.
I have read hundreds of books on WWII and this is by far the best.
I'd need to read it a few more times to absorb all the information, but there's a reason this book is considered one of the standards of WWII literature.
Really found the book interesting, for an overview of some of the major global events in WWII. Skimmed some of the last parts, but worth the time reading, especially for someone like me who knows next to nothing about the war, and the global events surrounding it.
A monolith about the history of World War II. Now to begin with, I'm not WWII history buff or even expert, but I do find this book as decent entrance point. Suffice it to say, the author did good job covering as many events as possible without leaving too much details.
Superb over view of WWII, rather lengthy to the point it became a chore to read, 920 pages. Excellent insights. MacArthur does nor come out well. a very global perspective of the war. The connections between Japan and Germany were closer than I had imagined.
Thus far I love this book. In the intro, Weinberg outlined the differences between War World I (The Great War) and War World II (The Greatest War). If you are looking for a sweeping, global, chronological unwinding of War World II this is your book.
Can definetly tell this was written by a professor and that this guy added his voice to his writing. In this case, I definetly didn't mind that. Good book about WW11
Amazing piece of work, brings to light every aspect of The Second World War, no one could have done better than Weinberg!
This book is wonderful, but dense. I'm making slow progress but it's totally worth it.
One of the best books on WWII.
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Dec 29, 2012 02:54pm
Dec 29, 2012 04:58pm