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Causes, Course and Outcomes of World War Two
John Plowright presents the war as two distinct but overlapping conflicts (one European, the other Far Eastern), considering neither as merely a prelude to the Cold War, but critically examining their general impact and their relationship with that phenomenon. This timely textbook represents an approachable synthesis of the literature relating to the causes, course and outcomes of the Second World War, and is ideal for all those seeking a succinct introduction.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 2, 2017
At the author of this book, the reader of this review should obviously treat my 5-star rating with caution, although I genuinely believe that for its size it represents a very good summary of the causes, course and outcomes (I wonder why neither the publisher nor I said 'consequences'?) of the Second World War. I would be the first to admit that there are better books, such as John Keegan's history of the conflict, for those who want or need to go deeper. This is more of a pocket battleship than an aircraft-carrier.
I'm deeply honored that the United States Holocaust Memorial museum recommend this book, along with four others, in their suggestions for Further Reading on World War II in Europe.
Moreover, I was very pleased by this review of my book by Martin Thornton (now Senior Lecturer in International History and Politics at Leeds University), published in ‘History’, The Journal of the Historical Association, Volume 93, Issue 310, April 2008, page 305. It strikes me as a very fair summary of both its strengths and limitations:
"I am much the same age as John Plowright and share his general reasons for an interest in the subject matter of this book. It has been commissioned in a ‘Histories and Controversies’ series that appears to have a low word limit that would be difficult to achieve if only one of the three areas (causes, course or outcomes) were being analysed. It is thus a brave man who has undertaken a summary of such large, established and broad areas of scholarship. Given that the book is an introductory textbook suitable for sixth-form students it would be churlish to want more or, rather oddly in some cases, less included. However, there is no reason why my personal preferences should not be put forward.
The military history incorporated in this book is a clear strength of the author and delivered with useful statistics, technical information and intriguing comments. This was summarized with great aplomb, particularly given that single-volume military histories of the Second World War struggle to come in short of 400 pages. The diplomatic history appears slight in places and the appeasement chapter is made up of short essays that students might often be set as examination questions, including: ‘Why did Chamberlain pursue the policy of appeasement, and was there an alternative?’ The answer is only slightly longer than a page in length, and will not serve as the model for a very long student answer.
Other areas that are very briefly looked at are African Americans and women in America. In these areas the author is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. In covering what is predominately a white male history of the origins and development of the Second World War, it appears that the author makes an effort to mention the importance of women and African Americans to the consequences of the war, yet it is mentioned so fleetingly that it is unlikely to placate advocates of social, cultural and gender history.
Sources and references are from available books, articles and websites, and I am sure accessibility was a factor in the recommendations made by John Plowright. The book has not gone in for recommending large tomes of published documents, research library references or unpublished manuscripts. The text is a summary of general areas that may encourage students to pursue history as both discipline and entertainment. In this respect, the book is a remarkable achievement in summarizing such a complicated area of world history and the author illustrates his broad knowledge of the period."
I'm deeply honored that the United States Holocaust Memorial museum recommend this book, along with four others, in their suggestions for Further Reading on World War II in Europe.
Moreover, I was very pleased by this review of my book by Martin Thornton (now Senior Lecturer in International History and Politics at Leeds University), published in ‘History’, The Journal of the Historical Association, Volume 93, Issue 310, April 2008, page 305. It strikes me as a very fair summary of both its strengths and limitations:
"I am much the same age as John Plowright and share his general reasons for an interest in the subject matter of this book. It has been commissioned in a ‘Histories and Controversies’ series that appears to have a low word limit that would be difficult to achieve if only one of the three areas (causes, course or outcomes) were being analysed. It is thus a brave man who has undertaken a summary of such large, established and broad areas of scholarship. Given that the book is an introductory textbook suitable for sixth-form students it would be churlish to want more or, rather oddly in some cases, less included. However, there is no reason why my personal preferences should not be put forward.
The military history incorporated in this book is a clear strength of the author and delivered with useful statistics, technical information and intriguing comments. This was summarized with great aplomb, particularly given that single-volume military histories of the Second World War struggle to come in short of 400 pages. The diplomatic history appears slight in places and the appeasement chapter is made up of short essays that students might often be set as examination questions, including: ‘Why did Chamberlain pursue the policy of appeasement, and was there an alternative?’ The answer is only slightly longer than a page in length, and will not serve as the model for a very long student answer.
Other areas that are very briefly looked at are African Americans and women in America. In these areas the author is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. In covering what is predominately a white male history of the origins and development of the Second World War, it appears that the author makes an effort to mention the importance of women and African Americans to the consequences of the war, yet it is mentioned so fleetingly that it is unlikely to placate advocates of social, cultural and gender history.
Sources and references are from available books, articles and websites, and I am sure accessibility was a factor in the recommendations made by John Plowright. The book has not gone in for recommending large tomes of published documents, research library references or unpublished manuscripts. The text is a summary of general areas that may encourage students to pursue history as both discipline and entertainment. In this respect, the book is a remarkable achievement in summarizing such a complicated area of world history and the author illustrates his broad knowledge of the period."
November 17, 2024
I felt tempted to give this a full five stars, a score I try to reserve for books that are not only abstractly good but that spoke to me personally. I decided against it, but only just. This is an ultimately rather dry, academic summation of WWII into its most essential elements, but that's why I loved it. In the span of just 195 pages, I learned more about WWII than I have from some 500+ page tomes, and what I learned was what I've been most interested in learning! Great stuff.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews