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73rd out of 557 books
—
658 voters
The Second World War
by
John Keegan
Classic Penguin World War II Military History
Paperback, 608 pages
Published
September 1st 1990
by Penguin Books
(first published 1989)
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This book has sometimes been viewed as the best one volume history of World War II. It might be, though I’m not qualified to say. There is no doubt, however, that Keegan is one of the best military historians of the second half of the last century, particularly in the area of “accessible” books. He avoids writing thousand-page tomes in which every other sentence is foot-noted, instead using a style which is appealing to those readers, like me, who are more interested in the big story than in the...more
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Keegan's knowledge of military subjects and insights are always exceptional. In this book he avoids most of the political discussions and social issues which distract historians of this period and focuses upon command, generalship, and tactics. This makes the book rare among reasonably accessible histories of the war.
Keegan readily admits his own viewpoints and prejudices, which are among the book's flaws:
More attention to the European war in the west than a book of this scope would warrant; ev...more
Keegan readily admits his own viewpoints and prejudices, which are among the book's flaws:
More attention to the European war in the west than a book of this scope would warrant; ev...more
Usual Keegan, which is not a bad thing, but this seemed a weaker (or perhaps just more hurried?) effort than his other books. The first couple of chapters are amazing in setting a broad scope for exactly how a terrible event such as the second World War can come about in civilization. The rest was a good overview of the conflict in general. While some subjects, either ignored or poorly reviewed in other works, were covered in satisfying detail (although still brief given the overall scope of the...more
This book's a brick but Keegan gives the heavy matter readability with clear prose and the right amount of jargon for non-war buffs such as myself. It is a great, balanced, one-volume description of WWII which provides enough material for the reader to understand the events and gives plenty of ideas for further reading on the subject.
It was exactly what I was after: a comprehensive history of the war with details of the political strategies of the heavyweights and details of indicative battles,...more
It was exactly what I was after: a comprehensive history of the war with details of the political strategies of the heavyweights and details of indicative battles,...more
Good one-volume account of World War II, from the legacy of World War I and the rise of Hitler and Stalin, through the major battles and effects on populations, to the aftermath. Keegan starts each section describing strategic dilemmas, from Hitler's decision to invade Russia through Roosevelt/ Truman's considerations on whether to use the atom bomb. He also discusses various kinds of battle, many of which employed new forms of technology (tanks, aircraft carriers, etc.) Keegan provides scope an...more
Feb 03, 2013
Cheryl Jindeel
added it
Recommends it for:
WWII enthusiasts or those just starting on WWII
Recommended to Cheryl by:
Eric Johnson
Shelves:
world-war-ii
Keegan provides an excellent overview of WWII leadership and military strategy, which gives the reader an understanding of why events happened and the reasoning for the outcomes. Likewise, the use of photos and maps were useful in impressing the humanizing side of the conflict as well as illustrating the geographical elements of the war. Unfortunately, the details of the military movements and battles slows the reading a little. And, although the omitted footnotes made it easier to read (and les...more
This is a 600-page summary of the most important conflict in modern history, so it's bound to disappoint some. Iwo Jima and Okinawa are dealt with in a few pages; The Battle of the Bulge gets five. But the opening chapters describing the factors leading up to the war are an invaluable synopsis. My biggest complaint is that Keegan spends too much time on less interesting, and arguably less important theaters of war, like North Africa, and too little on topics like the Manhattan Project and the Ho...more
All right. I now know much more about WWII than I did previously. What is really interesting about this book is how unromantic it is for the most part--a lot of the rhetoric about WWII is uber-romantic, and perhaps deservedly so, but Keegan hammers home again and again (and again) that won is really won by the cold hard realities of who has the most men, the biggest guns, the best tanks (there is a LOT of writing about tanks in this book) and the best strategies. Reading about the strategies was...more
A good military history of the war that concentrates on different aspects than Martin Gilbert's book of the same name (for interest, the detail in Keegan's book about the paratroopers landing on Crete was far superior than the two paragraphs devoted to the same subject in Gilbert's book). Still, the Holocaust is barely mentioned, and the individual stories are kept to a bare minimum.
I usually find the biographical side of history books dull (I admit to "skimming" the later years of presidential...more
I usually find the biographical side of history books dull (I admit to "skimming" the later years of presidential...more
World War II from 20,000 feet.
The bulk of popular WWII histories are written with a narrow scope. Memoirs or other you-are-there narratives are the usual means of describing a particular battle or campaign. And no wonder - a full accounting of a single battle would easily overwhelm your average mass-market hardcover.
I've read roomfuls of such books and it wasn't until I read Keegan that I appreciated what I'd missed: the overall story of the war. Reading excellent books like Richard B. Frank's...more
The bulk of popular WWII histories are written with a narrow scope. Memoirs or other you-are-there narratives are the usual means of describing a particular battle or campaign. And no wonder - a full accounting of a single battle would easily overwhelm your average mass-market hardcover.
I've read roomfuls of such books and it wasn't until I read Keegan that I appreciated what I'd missed: the overall story of the war. Reading excellent books like Richard B. Frank's...more
This is an excellent one volume telling of the Second World War, within its historical context, with a heavy emphasis on the strategic questions and decisions faced by the political and military high commands of the five major powers (Keegan doesn't consider Italy a major power). A long-time instructor at Sandhurst in Britain, Keegan brings to this work an ability to link the conflict within the historical flow of Europe and modern Asia, going as far back as time of Charlemagne, but especially e...more
John Keegan is a much better historian than this book would suggest. It seemed to me as if it had been thrown together in a weekend to catch the 50th anniversary of WW II celebration and sales bonanza. It is a tired rehash of every bit of conventional wisdom and popular legend about the war, many of which have been discarded by the historical community for decades. It's disheartening that Keegan didn't notice that.
An excellent, readable and accessable history of world war 2, essentially this book does what it says on the tin. Interestingly, it takes the war from the point of view of the main wartime leaders, allowing for national priorities. Thoroughly absorbing, in fact I'm tempted to read it again after reviewing it from a gap of a few years since I read it.
Can't say I'm a huge fan of Mr. Keegan. The book was nice and . . . mostly complete. Mr. Keegan has a distinctively Anglocentric to this work. For example, the Battle of the Bulge consists mostly of British action while giving a feel of, 'Oh, the Americans and Canadians were there too, I think.'
Extremely detailed history of WWII that dives into the strategic and tactical moves made during the war, so much so that it is somewhat difficult to read at times. Does a decent job of explaining how the war came about and that it was basically an extension of WWI.
How can that topic me covered in one book? It cannot. Keegan grinds out a very very thin outline. A decent novice read for someone beginning to show some interest it that era. For the serious student of WWII this would be a waste of time and shelf space
Good strategic overview of the entire war. It also has a good opening chapter covering the events leading up to the war including the changes in European civilization that helped make both World Wars possible.
The author has a good writing style and he isn't afraid to stretch an overview book to 600 pages because that is what is needed. I spotted a few mistakes but overall it's pretty darn good.
The author has a good writing style and he isn't afraid to stretch an overview book to 600 pages because that is what is needed. I spotted a few mistakes but overall it's pretty darn good.
A seminal work about WW2 that brings to life not only the political and military aspects of war, but also the very personal by bringing to light what the Germans did to the Jews and Russians. Must read if you are a WW2 buff.
Excellent book, but in true British fashion, he focuses mostly on the European theater of operations and gives the Pacific broad brush strokes. Well written, of course. I teach WWII history and use it as a textbook.
an excellent reference book on such a complicated subject such as this greatest conflict the world has ever known, again written in a concise and prefessional manner like no other can....
When my one high-school teacher started the course off, the teacher used this book. Although the teacher told us that he used this book when he was in college, he copied off chapters for us to read. But before the end of the 2nd week's assignment with the book, he dropped these assignments. However, I later picked up another copy of this book for myself and decided to read it. Although the author is a bit wordy, if you enjoy military terminology and most battles of World War 2, you might actuall...more
I liked this book.
It was solid.
It gave a great structural overview to WWII.
And it had military analysis.
But it didn't pull me along.
It was solid.
It gave a great structural overview to WWII.
And it had military analysis.
But it didn't pull me along.
A tightly written history of the 1935-1945 War. If you wished to read a WWII history, this book is the most accurately condensed version I've read.
Difficult to read but well worth the effort. I have read it four times and still find new information that escaped me in earlier reads.
Well written - allows the reader to move through history like it is a story and not a chore.
The classic book on WWII. Every WWII historian uses it, the commands use it. Must have.
If you´re only going to read one book about WWII, this is it.
a very strategic approach to explaining WW II
Very good overview of the entire conflict.
Same caliber as his history of World War 1.
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Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan OBE is a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. He has published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime and intelligence warfare as well as the psychology of battle.
-Wikipedia
More about John Keegan...
-Wikipedia
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