Product Description

The conventional narrative of the Second World War is well known: after six years of brutal fighting on land, sea and in the air, the Allied Powers prevailed and the Nazi regime was defeated. But as in so many things, the truth is somewhat different. Bringing a fresh eye to bear on a story we think we know, Norman Davies.Davies forces us to look again at those six years and to discard the usual narrative of Allied good versus Nazi evil, reminding us that the war in Europe was dominated by two evil monsters - Hitler and Stalin - whose fight for supremacy consumed the best people in Germany and in the USSR . The outcome of the war was at best ambiguous, the victory of the West was only partial, its moral reputation severely tarnished and, for the greater part of the continent of Europe, ‘liberation’ was only the beginning of more than fifty years of totalitarian oppression.

‘Davies writes with real knowledge and passion.’ Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard

‘Punchy and compelling' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64142 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Mail on Sunday
'Davies challenges the myths of good and evil that colour popular perceptions of war'

About the Author

Norman Davies is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of Europe: A History; The Isles: A History and Rising '44 . He is also the author of the definitive history of Poland, God's Playground, and several books on European history. He lives in Oxford and Krakow, Poland.

Customer Reviews

A battle for the truth.
This book addresses a basic but to date un-remedied defect consistently present in most books written about World War Two. Now that in excess of sixty years have passed since the war's end fresh, un-biased books on this most complicated and emotional of subjects are still few and far between. In particular from an English speaking perspective, one is still given the strong impression that Nazi Germany was beaten in equal measure by the combined efforts of Britain, America and the Soviet Union together with its associated allies such as the Poles, French and others. The reality is a good deal more surprising than such an orthodox view would suggest and to this end Norman Davies comprehensively and in a very readable manner dispels such myths. The book is also multifaceted in its perspective giving a comprehensive view of the war as fought in Europe, (the book is not an account of the Pacific conflict). It is rare for one book to cover the catalogue of World War Two issues documented here, it is rarer still to find such matters written about in a compelling, accessible yet scholarly way. In this regard, the book is a towering achievement and must have presented a massive task to compile. As you progress through the book, Davies repeatedly demonstrates that in essence the lion's share of fighting was done in the Eastern Front where both sides employed the most barbaric of practices to destroy their enemy and to compel their men (and women)to fight under the most grisly and inhuman of circumstances; and where on balance the Soviet Union under Stalin was prepared to go further than anyone else to gain the upper hand. One is therefore faced with accepting that World War Two whilst perceived by most people as a battle between good and evil was in reality a battle between an extreme and criminally culpable Nazi Germany and an even more extreme and more criminally culpable Stalinist Soviet Union that ultimately resolved the conflict. The contribution of others, such as Britain and the US whilst significant was not ultimately decisive. As a result of secrecy, clever propaganda, an unwillingness to criticise an ally and a general naivete of those in positions of influence in Britain and the US, Soviet criminality remained unexposed for decades and even to this day is not properly appreciated. Such revelations when properly explained as they have been by Davies simply take your breath away. On a rare occasion a book deserves something more than five stars. This is one such rare occasion.

How to demolish a lot of myths ..
I put this book down with a sigh because it completely explodes the myth of a good and bad side to WW2
I'd always been told that this was a war against the evil Nazis - but in fact a) we didn't do the majority of the fighting against the Nazis
b) the methods of our premier ally in the war was every bit as bad as what we fighting against (I clear case of 'they may be ********, but they are our ...'

Stalin may well have been right, in that England bought the time, the US the money and the USSR the blood' to the fight but the whole book just leaves you with a very nasty taste in your mouth, not just about the war but the methods used by the protagonists in pursuit of their aims

The image of two sides in the European war is demolished - there were qute clearly three on this evidence and the Allies had very different aims.
Its also quite clear that the battles that destroyed the German ability to attack were not fought by the US and UK - the USSR are shown to have destroyed that capability at Kursk and we should acknowledge that effort for the turning point that it was

The worst part of this book is not the campaigns but all the associated activity around the occupation of countries , police , summary justice, race murder and so on.

The Germans needed to be stopped - I still think that is a fact
But it was the USSR that did most the work in Europe and what the UK and US were unable to stop was the partition of Europe after the war that took another 50 years to change.

In fact the most chilling part of the book is the suggestion that the second world war was just the second military phase of a power struggle in Europe that lasted from 1914 to 1990

An excellent read with some uncomfortable conclusions

For those who THINK they know all about the war.
This is not a dry and dusty tome full of statistics and minute detail, and as such is probably not a good first port of call for students. However, it is a very fine overview with particular emphasis on context, delving into usually unconsidered aspects of this calamitous conflict. Social, economic and human aspects are well covered. The military aspects are somewhat briefly addressed. This is not a criticism as there are numerous other sources for the nitty gritty of campaigns, strategy, tactics and weapons. The strongest point that this book makes is that despite our acquired memory of of the apparent dominance of the war in the west, in reality the contribution of the western allies was relatively small. The war was largely won and lost in the east and at its close it left almost as many unresolved matters as the First World War had. In reality it was the central conflict of a long European war that lasted from 1914 until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. For those seeking a fresh outlook on what they think they know about the war, this book meets that need. It is well written in an open and readable style and is organised into small bite sized chunks for those who wish to dip in and out. Read it, you won't be disappointed.