Struggle for Survival: The History of the Second World War - Softcover

Parker, R. A. C.

3.76

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9780192891129: Struggle for Survival: The History of the Second World War

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019289112X ISBN 13: 9780192891129

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1991

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From the rise of the Nazi party, through the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to the ultimate defeat of the Axis nations and the first chills of the Cold War, this widely acclaimed history offers a completely comprehensive overview of the Second World War in one readable, compact volume. Parker deftly explores the causes of the war and why it lasted so long, how it was won and lost, and its consequences for humanity. He traces the key events in both the European and Far Eastern theaters, outlining the strategies of the participants and the strengths and weaknesses of their fighting forces. As he examines each decisive battles and its outcome, Parker conveys a vivid picture of the features that distinguished the Second World War from any war that preceded it, including mobile warfare, widespread forced migration, the Holocaust, and strategic and nuclear bombing. Parker also provides a clear summary of the aftermath, examining the rise of the Cold War from before the fall of Berlin to the start of the Korean War.
Struggle for Survival presents an unprecedented one-volume history of the Second World War, offering a sweeping survey of events that omits none of the drama that filled the years between 1939 and 1945. With intriguing photographs and a number of helpful maps, it is a fascinating and objective look at the central struggle of our times.

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About the Author:

About the Author:
R.A.C. Parker is Fellow, Tutor, and Praelector in Modern History at Queen's College, Oxford. He is the author of Europe 1919-1945.

From Publishers Weekly:

In a comprehensive, instructive overview of the causes of World War II, the decisive incidents that determined its outcome and the postwar consequences, Parker analyzes unfolding grand stategies, explaining, for instance, how America's precision bombing of oil refineries and communications networks weakened the German war effort more effectively than British area bombing. He also shows how the Allied bombing campaign ironically strengthened German morale and why American B-29 raids over Japan had the opposite effect. The military campaigns are described straightforwardly, but Parker ( Europe 1919-1945 ) gives equal weight to the economic structures of the Allied and Axis powers, illustrating, for example, that Russian fighting strength was rooted in an economy greatly underrated by the Germans. There is a separate chapter on the Holocaust in which the author addresses the "uniquely important historical question" of how a handful of Nazis managed to turn irrational racial theories into mass murder on an unprecedented scale. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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