World Almanac of World War II: The Complete and Comprehensive Documentary of World War II

by Peter Young (Editor)

Features a month-by-month chronology of the war, discussions of weapons and equipment, and biographies

Genres: History, Reference, World War II, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, American History, Military History

615 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Brigadier Peter Young, DSO, MC & 2 bars was a British soldier & WWII veteran. He served with the Commandos during that war, ultimately commanding a Brigade. After the war, he commanded a regiment on secondment to the Jordanian Arab Legion. After his retirement from the army, he became a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and eventually also a well-respected author of books on Military History, particularly with reference to the Second World War, the English Civil War & the Napoleonic Wars.

Reviews

[Shawn Deal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant day by day resource of World War 2. It was a great read and I used it as a supplement to whatever other world war 2 book I was reading. It was an excellent guide when I needed a quick reference.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find myself at the end of a long "project read" of this well-done almanac of World War II. Starting in 2009, I kept up on the daily events that occurred on that date seventy years earlier. Accompanying the almanac are detailed summaries of the weapons used by the major combatants, and excellent capsule biographies of the key figures of the war, written by British historian, the late John Keagan. Everything is in a pretty abbreviated form, so if you're looking for a lot of detail, you need to read (probably several) of the many, many histories of the war. But this is an excellent source for both novice and experienced historian alike.

It's been on my nightstand now for six years, and I'm reluctant to give it up. But hey, we're already in the thick of the 75th anniversary of the war's events, so maybe I'll keep it there!

[Niilo Kalakoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice chronology section, but concise weapons and equipment sections are especially useful.

[Mark Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful but somewhat dated reference work on the Second World War.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indispensable day-by-day chronology of the war, plus detailed encyclopedia of personalities and materiel. One of my favorite research resources.

[Inknscroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This is an excellent source and reference.)