The Second World War

The Second World War began in August 1939 and ended exactly six years later with the Soviet invasion of northern China. With its truly global reach, this greatest disaster in history has dominated succeeding generations and their perceptions more than any other conflict. Moral choice forms the basis of all human drama and no other period in history has presented greater dilemmas both for leaders and ordinary people, nor offered such examples of individual and mass tragedy, ideological hypocrisy, unbelievable sadism and unexpected kindness.
Antony Beevor's The Second World War never loses sight of the fate of the ordinary people whose lives were crushed by the titanic forces unleashed in this, the most terrible war in history.