The Second World War

In this major new military history, Gordon Corrigan argues what we refer to as the Second World War was in reality three separate conflicts: the Russian war, the Asian war in the Far East and Pacific, and the Mediterranean/European Theater. Each conflict had distinct causes and had to be fought in different ways against very different enemies, who rarely, if ever, coordinated their efforts. Corrigan examines the agendas of the warring nations and offers fresh and vivid interpretations. The author recounts how, long before Pearl Harbor, the United States bent the rules of neutrality almost to the breaking point in favor of the British; and when America finally entered the war militarily, it was her industrial capacity, her military commanders' ability to learn quickly, and the mobilization of her population that tilted the balance in favor of the Allies and final victory. Meanwhile, Corrigan reveals the Soviet Russia war effort as the most crucial in defeating Germany in World War II and examines how Britain emerged economically broken with the loss of her empire of virtual certainty. The Second World War is vast in its erudition and epic in its execution. It will change forever the way we think about the titanic conflicts that dominated the years from 1939 to 1945. - Jacket flap.