A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II

This is the first general history of World War II to be based both on the existing literature and on extensive work in British, American and German archives. It covers all the theaters of war, the weaponry used, and developments on the home front. Taking a global perspective, the work deals with all belligerents and relates events in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific to each other. The role of diplomacy and strategy, of intelligence and espionage, and the impact of war upon society are all dealt with, often on the basis of hitherto unknown material. New light is shed on the actions of great and small powers and on topics ranging from the beginning of the war to the dropping of the atomic bombs; the titanic battles on the Eastern Front are fitted into the war as a whole; the killing of six million Jews and millions of others is placed into context; and the fighting at sea and in the air is included in a coherent view of the great conflict.

Beginning with the German invasion of Poland and concluding with the Japanese surrender, this majestic overview of WW II concentrates on the tactical decisions made by Allied and Axis leaders and the interrelationship among the various theaters. Weinberg ( The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany ) depicts the struggle to control the oceans, the effort to halt the German and Japanese advances and the development of postwar plans which influenced the course of battle. In his well-documented study, Weinberg shows the linkage betwen grand strategy and diplomacy, highlights intelligence gathering and tactics. He describes how the conflict affected the economies and morale of the countries involved and offers a revised estimate of deaths and casualties suffered by the belligerents. Rich in content and sharply interpretive, Weinberg's book is a stunning achievement. History Book Club main selection; BOMC dual selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

At once accessible, concise, and comprehensive: a masterful overview of WW II. Drawing on previously unavailable archives as well as standard sources, historian Weinberg (Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany, etc.; Univ. of North Carolina) begins his chronicle of the great conflict with an analysis of the post-WW I events that led to a second world war. Getting down to business, he documents the fundamentally different intentions of latter-day belligerents like the Axis partners, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan, whose objectives encompassed a total reordering of territory, resources, and populations, while by contrast their WW I counterparts had fought mainly to preserve traditional balances of power. In pursuing his enormous theme, the author focuses on the strategic why rather than the tactical how of major clashes, leaving the details of such landmark engagements as the Battle of Britain to others with less lofty ambitions. This isn't to say that Weinberg shortchanges his readers in any substantive way. In addition to assessing the global implications of big-picture campaigns, for example, he offers short-take perspectives on action in hitherto neglected theaters. Cases in point range from the Allied seizure (from the Vichy French) of Madagascar on to so-called sideshows in Burma, Eastern Africa, and Iraq. Covered as well are the roles played by intelligence operatives, diplomats, Wehrmacht bureaucrats responsible for the Holocaust, civilians in scores of countries, and scientists recruited to develop the atomic bombs that helped hasten V-J Day. Weinberg's chronological narrative occasionally verges on the kaleidoscopic, but, this cavil apart, the author offers an authoritative survey of a huge conflict that, he suggests in an affecting afterword, might just have saved a weary world from even more destructive hostilities. The text has over 20 helpful maps. (Book-of-the-Month Dual Selection for March; Main Selection of the History Book Club) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Weinberg's unrivaled command of archival sources combines with a smooth writing style to produce a definitive one-volume history of World War II. Weinberg balances well his coverage of the western theater and the Russian front; Europe and the Pacific; and land, sea, and air operations with equal facility. The focus of the work, however, is on the war's human factors. Weinberg is particularly critical of German and Japanese leaders for lacking a global perspective for a global war. Allied generals and leaders had significantly broader visions, which contributed significantly to their success in producing large, efficient citizen armies. Weinberg's conclusion that World War II demonstrated humankind's potential for organizing constructive programs and policies, as well as establishing its capacity for self-destruction, makes this work a signpost to the future as well as a guidebook to the past.
- D.E. Showalter, U.S. Air Force Acad., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.