Excellent one-volume military history of World War II. The author is a well-known military historian who taught at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He acknowledges learning from colleagues who were veterans of the war, and from his students; I sense the voice of someone who had a lot of experience teaching this material.

A strong point of this book is its organization, first by time, then by place, then by topic. This makes such a vast topic much more accessible. The writing is clear and readable, and at its best moments (such as the account of the battle of Kursk on the Eastern front) it sparkles and thunders. There are several good maps, and evocative photographs. Within each section, there is a high-level discussion of the strategic issues, looking by turn at the perspective of each of the commanders – Hitler, Tojo, Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt; and a focused look at a selected battle that illuminates the evolution of war-making and its machinery.

I struggled with the book’s perspective, not so much that it’s British (Keegan actually tries very hard to look from all sides of the conflict, and has some of his toughest critique for Britain’s strategic aerial bombing of German cities), but that it’s so much a military discussion, focused on strategy, military decision making, the evolution of war-making and its machinery, and battles that proved to be turning points. How can you write a book on World War II and say so little about the Holocaust? Keegan was not unaware of political and humanitarian issues; he discusses them tellingly, but not at great length or much detail here. So, highly recommended and I hope it isn’t the only book you read about this period.