The Storm Of War: A New History Of The Second World War (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
As relatively comprehensive as this book is, a single volume history of WWII is going to miss a LOT. Roberts is a British writer and he pretty much shortchanges much of the American involvement in the Pacific and boils it down to a handful of naval engagements. His depictions of the battles in Russia are great and I wish he had just written a book about those battles because he clearly has his heart in that area of research. This is a perfectly fine one volume treatment of WW II and I have no problem recommending it. That said, it suffered from several weaknesses. While each paragraph reads just fine, there was often a strange lack of flow between paragraphs that was distracting and occasionally confusing. It's treatment of the war in the Pacific was little better than cursory, and seemed to lack the original research found in it's consideration of the European theater. It also failed to deliver on its promise with respect to analysis of Axis strategy. This was not for lack of discussion (sometimes very interesting, but frequently repetitive) of the issue. Indeed, I learned a good deal about the inner workings of the German command structure, and found a brief consideration of Hitler's belief that he would not live long to be fascinating in its implications. But for all that, the conclusions drawn about what Germany could/should have done differently were perfectly standard, at times even when facts presented seemed to call the conventional wisdom into question. That's a lot of criticism for a book I actually enjoyed reading quite a bit. With better focus, better editing and deeper analysis it had the potential to be something much more than it was in the end.
What do You think about The Storm Of War: A New History Of The Second World War (2009)?
I am half way. An amazing account and hard to put down.
—lisa
A superb one-volume history of the Second World War.
—Rosi
Terrific one volume history of WW 2. Reccommend
—Jodijdj
