In a new edition featuring a new preface, A World of Arms remains a classic of global history. Widely hailed as a masterpiece, this volume remains the first history of World War II to provide a truly global account of the war that encompassed six continents. Starting with the changes that restructured Europe and its colonies following the First World War, Gerhard Weinberg sheds new light on every aspect of World War II. Actions of the Axis, the Allies, and the Neutrals are covered in every theater of the war. More importantly, the global nature of the war is examined, with new insights into how events in one corner of the world helped affect events in often distant areas.
Contents
1. From one war to another; 2. From the German and Soviet invasions of Poland to the German attack in the West, September 1, 1939 to May 10, 1940; 3. The world turned upside down; 4. The expanding conflict, 1940–1941; 5. The Eastern Front and a changing war, June to December, 1941; 6. Halting the Japanese advance, halting the German advance; keeping them apart and shifting the balance: December 1941 to November 1942; 7. The war at sea, 1942–1944, and the blockade; 8. The war in Europe and North Africa 1942–1943: to and from Stalingrad; to and from Tunis; 9. The home front; 10. Means of warfare: old and new; 11. From the spring of 1943 to summer 1944; 12. The assault on Germany from all sides; 13. Tensions in both alliances; 14. The halt on the European fronts; 15. The final assault on Germany; 16. The war in the Pacific: from Leyte to the Missouri; Conclusions: the cost and impact of the war.
Prize Winner
Gerhard L. Weinberg is the winner of the 2009 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing
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Reviews
"This is an extraordinary book. Moral and human feelings underpin his copious scholarship at every point, giving admirable depth and dimension to this monumental intellectual performance." Paul Fussell, The Washington Post
"...a coherent--in fact, hypnotic--narrative offered up in a single, handsome volume... surely the finest one-volume history we have of the most important event of the century." American Heritage --
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