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Book: A scholarly view of WWII
By Vincent Bosquez, For the Express-News : February 21, 2013 : Updated: February 22, 2013 5:03pm
World War Two: A Short History
By Norman Stone
Basic Books, $25
From the German invasion of Poland in 1939 to the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945, World War II continues to serve as a heart-wrenching touchstone in our nation's storied history and a ghastly reminder of the global-wide brutality of war.
While most of us are familiar with the major military campaigns of the war, and some have actually specialized in distinct battles, how many can truly recall what set the wheels in motion on what would become the bloodiest conflict in world history?
“World War Two: A Short History,” by Norman Stone, an amazingly concise but seam-busting account of a war that defined America's greatest generation, will fascinate the novice historian and satisfy the WWII scholar. Stone, the Wolfson Prize-winning author of “The Easter Front, 1914-1917” solidifies his reputation as a British academic, author and celebrated chronicler of military history with this succinct work.
In the book's opening chapter, Stone provides an overview of the period between the two world wars and examines the series of events, beginning with the conditions for armistice and France's demands for reparations from Germany, which laid the foundation for the start of the Second World War.
Within a few pages and without missing a beat, the reader moves from the ascension of Germany to the invasion of Poland and the tragic fall of France. At the helm was Adolf Hitler, who at the end of WWI was a 29-year-old corporal recuperating in a military hospital from a gassing that had temporarily blinded him.
Hitler came to power in-between the two world wars with a bit of luck that always seemed to be on his side after WWI. With the world in financial distress after 1929, and the fall of Germany's last real parliamentary government at the same time, Hitler became chancellor amid the chaos of a Germany searching for fiscal survival and renewed national identity.
This is not an Americanized version of WWII written from the Allies' point of view. Instead, Stone takes a scholarly and reverent approach to the subject, swiftly analyzing critical events ranging from Hitler's attack on Soviet Russia to the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor, from the heroism displayed during the Battle of Guadalcanal to the shocking horrors of the Holocaust, and ending with the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Critics may be quick to point out that this small volume cannot adequately sum up the war from beginning to end in 200 pages, but just like one should not judge a book by its cover, nor should they judge it by its size. Stone masterfully dissects his subject and puts it back together in a concise and straightforward approach that will give readers a firm foundation.