A comprehensive account of the Second World War. The author, a specialist in military matters, emphasizes this aspect without overlooking other areas. He follows a clear chronological and geographical order that facilitates understanding. The abundance of names and data is sometimes an obstacle to fluent reading.
Although many names are mentioned, three stand out: one is Hitler; the book accurately reflects his ideology and his way of governing; his personal decision-making was an obstacle. He never allowed retreats on the war fronts and ignored the opinions of others. Sometimes people did not give him their opinions out of fear, and on other occasions he rejected them. Churchill is a familiar figure to the author, who has written his biography. His greatest achievement was clearly perceiving the danger of Nazism before it became obvious and maintaining the determination to resist, especially during the Battle of Britain, when everything seemed to be against him.
Stalin had a long-term and highly pragmatic vision, which led him to resist and ultimately prevail at the cost of many human lives. The difference between the Russia that was attacked and the weapons it used in the counterattack is striking. What is surprising about Japan is the ferocity of its troops, more than the strategic ability of its leaders, except in specific cases.
The Allied supremacy in the second half of the war must be viewed alongside the ability, especially of the United States, to turn its economic potential into an economy geared towards military victory. It supplied large quantities of weapons to the Allies.
Despite several gaps and inaccuracies in the text, it offers an overall view. A close look at the battles of late 1942 makes questions about what might have happened if... unnecessary. Victory might have taken more or less time, but it would have come.
Other important aspects of the war are also addressed, such as the Holocaust, the causes of the weak French resistance, the atomic bombing of Japan, and total war, in which populations with a majority of civilian inhabitants were bombed. Sixty million deaths call for reflection on the causes of the conflict and the prevailing ideologies, etc. If the reader is not well acquainted with the subject, they can first read a simpler text that will help them follow the content of this book.