Modern warfare Books

Book SynopsisClaudia Baldoli is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at Newcastle University, UK. Andrew Knapp is Professor of French Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Reading, UK.Trade ReviewThe high value [of this collection] comes from its clear division into four major chapters, which include highly empirical and analytical contributions, as well as the concise and readable introduction . . . In Bombing, States and Peoples in Western Europe 1940–1945, the editors have presented a cross-section of recent research into the “air war”, which will be useful to anyone in the academic sector. -- Jörg Arnold, University of Nottingham * H-Soz-u-Kult (Bloomsbury translation) *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The European Blitz; Part I: Bombing, States and Peoples; 1. Shelter Policy in Britain and Germany; 2. Life Under the Blackout in Britain and Germany; 3. Evacuation in Italy during WWII: Evolution and Management; 4. "Relieving sorrow and misfortune"? State, Charity and Ideology; Part II: Cultural Responses to Bombing; 5. The defence of artwork in Italy during WWII; 6. 'I feared/The photograph my skull would take': Bombs, Time and Photography in British and German WWII Literature; 7. Religion and Bombing in Italy, 1940-1945; 8. "Defend us from All Perils of This Night": Coping with Bombing in Britain, 1940-1945; Part III: Society under the Bombs; 9. The Direct and Indirect Effects of Allied Bombing on Civil Life in Germany, 1940-1945; 10. Post-bombing Evacuation and Social Solidarity in Wartime France; 11. Death and Survival under the Bombs: City and Country in Italy between Strategic and Tactical Bombing 1940-1944; 12. The Blitz Experience: British Society 1940-1941; Part IV Friend or Foe? Perception of the Bombers; 13. Anglo-American Air Attacks and the Rebirth of Public Opinion in Fascist Italy; 14. Muted Applause? British POWs as Observers and Victims of the Allied Bombing Campaign over Germany; 15. Criminals or Liberators? French Opinion and Allied Bombing of France, 1940-1945; 16 Newsreels and Bombing in WWII; Afterword: Bombing and the Human Rights Regime; List of Contributors; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisMany major world events have occurred since the last key anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War, and these events have had a dramatic impact on the international stage: 9/11, the Iraq War, climate change and the world economic crisis. This is an opportune moment to bring together a group of major international experts who will offer a series of new interpretations of the key aspects of the origins of the Second World War. Each chapter is based on original archival research and written by scholars who are all leading experts in their fields. This is a truly international collection of articles, with wide breadth and scope, which includes contributions from historians, and also political scientists, gender theorists, and international relations experts. This is an important contribution to scholarly debate on one of the most important events of the 20th century and a subject of major interest to the general reader, historians, students and researchers, policy makers and conTrade ReviewHere is modern history-writing at its very best. Frank McDonough has brought together no fewer than 30 other leading scholars to examine that most vital of historical moments - the outbreak of the Second World War - from every conceivable international aspect. Ground-breaking, fascinating, occasionally deeply revisionist and always highly readable; this sets the mark for all collaborative history from now on -- Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World WarThis is the perfect companion for the scholar and student of the origins of the Second World War. Accessible and extraordinarily comprehensive, it raises a raft of new scholarly questions, while its breadth and the standing of its contributors will without doubt make it a standard work -- Glenda Sluga, Professor of International History, University of Sydney, Australia.An international history of the origins of the Second World War at its best...Internationalizing the study of history, obviously an important objective, is easier said than carried out, but this volume shows that the ideal can become a reality when a leading scholar brings together a number of scholars from various countries who share his vision and cooperate with him in producing an insightful new volume -- Akira Iriye, Charles Warren Research Professor of American History, Harvard University, USFrank McDonough has managed a tour de force with this splendid collection on the origins of the Second World War. The gathering together in one volume of twenty-eight distinguished historians from half a dozen countries is itself a remarkable achievement. The exhaustively researched, lucid essays addressing the long-term causes of the war from a wide variety of perspectives represent a model of what international history should be. The book is the most comprehensive treatment of this complicated historical topic and will be of interest not only to scholarly specialists but to the reading public as well -- William R. Keylor, Professor of International Relations and History, Boston University, USProfessor Frank McDonough has edited an important book of essays by no fewer than 30 distinguished historians... which sheds fresh light on that fascinating and febrile period. -- The Sunday Telegraph: One of the historian Andrew Roberts' selections for his 'books of the year'‘This collection of 29 short essays will be useful to any reader interested in the origins of WWII...The most valuable chapters for scholars will probably be those based largely on unpublished primary sources...Various other essays incorporate original research into a general discussion of a topic.'—Choice Magazine‘This collection of 29 short essays will be useful to any reader interested in the origins of WWII...The most valuable chapters for scholars will probably be those based largely on unpublished primary sources...Various other essays incorporate original research into a general discussion of a topic.'—Choice Magazine‘This collection of 29 short essays will be useful to any reader interested in the origins of WWII...The most valuable chapters for scholars will probably be those based largely on unpublished primary sources...Various other essays incorporate original research into a general discussion of a topic.'—Choice Magazine Table of Contents1. The origins of the Second World War: the historical debate - Professor Anthony Adamthwaite; 2. Italy and the origins of the Second World War - Professor Richard Bosworth; 3. Neville Chamberlain: guilty or innocent - a critical assessment - Professor John Charmley; 4. A war mentality? Public opinion and foreign policy in the Third Reich - Professor Thomas Childers; 5. The war that Hitler won: the Wehrmacht, military operations and the German way of war - Robert Citino.; 6. The role of the USA in the international relations of the inter-war period - Professor Patrick O.Cohrs. 7. Guilty men? Three British Foreign Secretaries of the 1930s - David Dutton.; 8. The failure of detente? German foreign policy from Locarno to German rearmament - Professor Conan Fischer; 9. The role of the Middle East in the global crisis of the inter-war years - Professor Thomas G. Fraser; 10. The Czech crisis of 1938 - Professor Milan Hauner; 11. German foreign policy, military strategy and the coming of war - Professor Jurgen Forster; 12. The League of Nations: why did it fail? - Baroness Dr Ruth Henig; 13. Japanese foreign policy and the road to the Asia-Pacific war - Professor Haruo Iguchi; 14. Politics, strategy and economics: a comparative analysis of British and French 'appeasement' - Dr Talbot Imlay; 15. The role of US isolationism - Professor Manfred Jonas; 16. The role of the neutral European powers - Professor Efraim Karsh; 17. The role of the 'Jewish Question' in international affairs in the inter-war years - Dr Mark Levene; 18. Was Chamberlain's appeasement a viable policy to cope with the Nazi threat in the 1930s? - Frank McDonough.; 19. The international implications of the Spanish Civil War - Professor Enrique Moradiellos; 20. The role of economic factors in the origins of the Second World War - Professor Richard Overy; 21. Poland, the 'Danzig Question' and the outbreak of war - Professor Anita Prazmowska; 22. Appeasement reconsidered: reflections on the road to war - Professor Jeffrey Record; 23. The Soviet Union and the road to war - Professor Geoffrey Roberts; 24. The Versailles settlement: a critical assessment - Professor Alan Sharp; 25. An ideological genealogy of Imperial Japanese-era militarism - M.G.Sheftall.; 26. The missing dimension? The role of British intelligence - Dr Calder Watson; 27.Poland and the road to war - Professor Piotyr Wandycz; 28. Neutral Europe and the road to war - Dr Neville Wylie; 29. French foreign policy and the road to war - Professor Robert J. Young.

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Book SynopsisExceptionally moving' Independent For many of those who lived through it, the Second World War was the most exciting, dynamic and frightening time of their lives. This wonderful collection of contemporaneous letters tells their stories - from the battlefields of Europe to the bombed out back streets of London, from the conflict in the skies to the hardships of the home front. Last Letters Home doesn't show just one side of the war. By concentrating on different themes - lovers, siblings, separation and reunification - Tamasin Day-Lewis paints an unparalleled picture of the daily lives of men and women at war. Through letters and interviews, we learn the true story of the war, the story of lives transformed by loss, bombing, internment and the horror of battle. These are letters of hope and defiance; of love, loneliness and courage. They are an extraordinary testament to an extraordinary generation of men and women. It is difficult to thi

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Book SynopsisEvan Mawdsley is former Professor of International History at the University of Glasgow, UK. He has written extensively on 20th-century Russia and World War Two.Trade ReviewThe historiography of the Nazi-Soviet war has changed radically over time leading to a confusing array of competing narratives on many issues. Capturing this vast war in a single condensed, accessible and even-handed volume has eluded most attempts until relatively recently and Mawdsley’s Thunder in the East is without doubt the best. This new edition is brilliantly comprehensive and delightfully rich in German, Russian and English source material. The narrative is engaging, the analysis remarkably perceptive and Mawdsley’s conclusions are, as always, well-reasoned. This is the book to own on the Nazi-Soviet war. * David Stahel, The University of New South Wales, Australia *On the cutting-edge of recent scholarship, militarily and in other vital respects, this thoroughly-researched and well-written study remains one of the finest and most accessible single-volume studies of the Twentieth Century's most terrible war. A must read for historians and the general reading public. * David Glantz, Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies *Thunder in the East is an already classic birds-eye view of the German-Soviet war of 1941-1945. This new edition takes into account the growing literature published in the decade since the original publication. In contrast to most other accounts, Thunder in the East gives equal space to both sides in this conflict. At its core a military history, it benefits greatly from Evan Mawdsley's deep knowledge of the economic and social history of the Soviet Union as well as the diplomatic and political history of this war. Making short work of many popular misconceptions, it asks and answers the big questions about the Nazi-Soviet clash. Nobody interested in the Second World War, in the history of Nazi Germany or of the Soviet Union, can afford to miss this book. * Mark Edele, University of Western Australia *When Evan Mawdsley's Thunder in the East first appeared in 2005, it was a tour de force, the best single-volume history of the German-Soviet war, combining a mastery of the Russian and German sources, equal facility in discussing strategy, operations, and diplomacy, and balanced judgments. In this very welcome second edition, Mawdsley updates his classic work, incorporating the mountain of new literature that has appeared in the last ten years. If you read one book on this most terrible of all military struggles, it should be Thunder in the East. * Rob Citino, U.S. Army War College *Even Mawdsley's account of the Russo-German war became a standard work as soon as it was published. The new edition is a welcome update on a subject which continues to invite debate and controversy. Mawdsley is a sure guide through the new literature of the past decade, securing the volume's enduring reputation. * Richard Overy, University of Exeter, UK *The best overview of the war balancing both the German and Soviet perspectives.(War in History, of the first edition) -- David Stahel, University of New South Wales, Australia * War in History *Table of ContentsSeries Editor's Preface Preface Part I: The Nazi Onslaught, 1941-42 1. Hitler's War 2. Preparations and Perceptions 3. Operation BARBAROSSA, June to September 1941 4. Moscow and the End of BARBAROSSA, October to December 1941 5. The First Soviet Offensive, December 1941 to May 1942 6. Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, June 1942 to January 1943 Part II: The Soviet Victory, 1943-45 7. Total War I: Wartime Arms and Armies 8. Total War II: Occupation and Diplomacy 9. The Turning Tide, January to September 1943 10. The Ukraine and Leningrad, August 1943 to April 1944 11. To the Soviet Frontiers, June to October 1944 12. The March into Eastern Europe, July 1944 to May 1945 13. The Destruction of Nazi Germany, October 1944 to May 1945 14. Conclusion Chronology of Events, 1939-45 Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisKaushik Roy is Reader in History at Jadavpur University, India, and Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway.Trade ReviewA volume in the Bloomsbury series "Studies in Military History," edited by Jeremy Black, Roy’s The Army in British India is an excellent overview of the history and character of the Indian Army, stripped of much of the colonial fiction. -- A. A. Nofi * StrategyPage *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Uprising of 1857-59 2. 'Small War' on the Indus Frontier 1859-1913 3. Counter-insurgency in North-East India 1859-1913 4. The Army in India in World War I 5. Modernisation and Nationalism in the Inter-War Era 1919-38 6. The Armed Forces of British India and World War II 7. Demobilisation and Decolonisation 1947-49 Conclusion

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Book SynopsisJohn Gilmour is Honorary Fellow in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is the author of Sweden, the Swastika and Stalin (2010).Jill Stephenson is Professor Emeritus of Modern German History at the University of Edinburgh, UK. She has published widely on modern German history, including Hitler's Home Front: Württemberg under the Nazis (2006), Women in Nazi Germany (2001), The Nazi Organisation of Women (1981) and Women in Nazi Society (1975).Table of Contents1. Editors' Introduction John Gilmour (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Jill Stephenson (University of Edinburgh, UK) 2. Scandinavia in the Second World War Richard Overy (University of Exeter, UK) 3. The Nordic Countries and the Second World War: A British Perspective Patrick Salmon (University of Newcastle, UK) 4. The Obsession with Sovereignty: Cohabitation and Resistance in Denmark 1940-45 Niels Wium Olesen (University of Aarhus, Denmark) 5. Closing a Long Chapter: German-Norwegian Relations 1939-45: Norway and the Third Reich Tom Kristiansen (Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, Norway) 6. The Case of Sweden Kent Zetterberg (Swedish National Defence College, Sweden) 7. Janus of the North? Finland 1940-44: Finland's road into alliance with Hitler Oula Silvennoinen (University of Helsinki, Finland) 8. 'The Five Evil Years': National Self-image, Commemoration and Historiography in Denmark 1945-2010: Trends in Historiography and Commemoration Claus Bundgård Christensen (University of Roskilde, Denmark) 9. Hitler's Norwegian Legacy Ole Kristian Grimnes (University of Oslo, Norway) 10. Realism and Idealism: Swedish Narratives of the Second World War: Historiography and Interpretation in the Post-War Era Johan ?stling (Lund University, Sweden) 11. Two Shadows over Finland: Hitler, Stalin and the Finns Facing the Second World War as History 1944-2010 Juhana Aunesluoma (University of Helsinki, Finland) 12. Conclusion Allan Little (University of Edinburgh, UK) Index

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Book SynopsisBo Stråth is Professor Emeritus at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has written widely on conceptual history and the history of European integration. His recent publications include States and Citizens: History, Theory and Prospects (2003), The Political History of European Integration (2010) and A European Memory? Contested Histories and Politics of Remembrance (2013).Trade ReviewThe book impresses with an amazing literacy, a masterful overview of the current status of research and committed commentaries. * H-Soz-Kult (Bloomsbury translation) *This is a major and wide-ranging history of Europe from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 through the Versailles Treaty of 1919 to the Schumann Plan of 1950. Strath masterfully reconstructs the history of Europe around how these utopias of peace sought to overcome the legacy of war. It is a significant study that shows how the post-second world project of European integration must be understood in the context of modern European history since the French Revolution. He shows with great acumen how new designs for political economy emerged around plans for international peace. * Gerard Delanty, Professor of Sociology, University of Sussex, UK *Stråth’s detailed and well-documented book argues a strong case … By isolating the concept of utopia, giving it thorough attention, and describing its evolution, Stråth has made a significant contribution to the historical literature on peace. * Journal of Modern History *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: Utopia, History and Teleology: The Bicentenary European Search for a Political Economy for Welfare and Warfare, and Struggle with Nationalism and Democracy 1. The Vienna Peace Utopia of 1815 and the World of Trade 2. Welfare: The Dissolution of the Vienna Peace Utopia from Within 3.Warfare: The Dissolution of the Vienna Peace Utopia from Without 4. Versailles: the Utopia of Peace through Democracy 5. The Great Depression and the Collapse of the World Order 6. After World War II: From the Utopia of Peace for the Cold War to the Euro-Crisis and the Search for a New Narrative Epilogue: The Bicentenary European Struggle with Nationalism and Democracy, and Search for a Global Political Economy Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis"The Verdict of the VERSAILLES TREATY that Germany and her allies were responsible for the War, in view of the evidence now available, is historically unsound. It should therefore be revised." These are the words of Sidney Bradshaw Fay, noted revisionist historian, on the concluding page of his magisterial Origins of the World War, published in 1928. We now know more about the Great War than merely its origins. We now know that Great Britain''s first act of war on 4 August 1914 was to cut the two trans-Atlantic cables that connected Berlin to New York City. We now know that America''s professed neutrality in the early years of the conflict was a hoax. We now know that the Cunard passenger liner RMS Lusitania doubled as a munitions ship, and purposefully steamed into harm''s way in May 1915. We now know that the alleged atrocities by the German army in Belgium were all lies. We now know that the British organized a massive, covert propaganda apparatus with the goal of dragging America into the war on the side of the Allies. And we now also know that America''s involvement in 1917 as a belligerent in Europe was a tragic misstep by anglophile Woodrow Wilson, that had profound implications not only for the United States but for Europe as well, ensuring an even more catastrophic reprise in 1939. Wilson himself declared, "We all know that this was a commercial war," in September 1919. In April 1937, on the 20th anniversary of America''s entry into the war, a Gallup Poll found that 70 percent of respondents thought "it was a mistake for the United States to have entered the Great War." Dr. George Gallup himself declared that "this conviction has been the great master principle of the post-war period in the United States". The lesson is forgotten, propaganda for war repeats, and history repeats. The majorities supporting an invasion of Iraq in 2003 turned two years later to 60 percent opposition to the war. . . a lesson learned too late again.

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Book SynopsisIt all started because of a rifle. The Rifle is an inspirational story and hero’s journey of a 28-year-old U.S. Marine, Andrew Biggio, who returned home from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, full of questions about the price of war. He found answers from those who survived the costliest war of all -- WWII veterans. It began when Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand Rifle, the most common rifle used in WWII, to honor his great uncle, a U.S. Army soldier who died on the hills of the Italian countryside. When Biggio showed the gun to his neighbor, WWII veteran Corporal Joseph Drago, it unlocked memories Drago had kept unspoken for 50 years. On the spur of the moment, Biggio asked Drago to sign the rifle. Thus began this Marine’s mission to find as many WWII veterans as he could, get their signatures on the rifle, and document their stories. For two years, Biggio traveled across the country to interview America’s last-living WWII veterans. Each time he put the M1 Garand Rifle in their hands, their eyes lit up with memories triggered by holding the weapon that had been with them every step of the war. With each visit and every story told to Biggio, the veterans signed their names to the rifle. 96 signatures now cover that rifle, each a reminder of the price of war and the courage of our soldiers.

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