Written under the direction of two distinguished historians, The World War II Desk Reference explains in clear prose, backed by rosters of statistics, timelines, and maps, the global cataclysm that was World War II. But this volume is not a typical almanac. With material ranging from battlefronts to important military commanders to armaments, among the backdrop of all the necessary political, social, and economic factors, Douglas Brinkley and Michael E. Haskew’s reference will prove invaluable to readers. Photographs, lists, timelines, tables, glossaries, and maps encapsulate many pieces of complicated information, making The World War II Desk Reference immensely browsable. The book also includes a helpful resource on national World War II monuments, organizations, and museums.

The book contains oral histories culled from several sources, including the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, which holds the world’s largest repository of valuable letters, journals, and other war-related records. Excerpted from those who fought on both sides, these accounts add a deeply touching, profoundly personal dimension seldom found in other books on World War II. For Word War II enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone interested in our nation’s history, this is the one book to own.

More than 12 million American men and women entered the U.S. armed forces during World War II, and millions more worked and sacrificed at home to help the Allied cause to defeat the Axis powers. At the close of the war, America had become the leading nation on the global stage, and its veterans returned home to forge a vibrant postwar society. Written under the direction of two distinguished historians, The World War II Desk Reference explains in clear prose, backed by rosters of statistics, timelines, and maps, the global cataclysm that was World War II.

But this volume is not a typical almanac. With material ranging from battlefronts to important military commanders to armaments, among the backdrop of all the necessary political, social, economic factors, Douglas Brinkley and Michael E. Haskew’s reference will prove invaluable to readers. Photographs, lists, timelines, tables, glossaries, and maps encapsulate many pieces of complicated information, making The World War II Desk Reference immensely browsable. The book also includes a helpful resource on national World War II monuments, organizations, and museums.

Throughout the book, you’ll find oral histories culled from several sources, including the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, which holds the world’s largest repository of valuable letters, journals, and other war-related records. Excerpted from those who fought on both sides, these accounts add a deeply touching, profoundly personal dimension seldom found in other books on World War II.

In a modern world plagued by terrorism, dictators, and weapons of mass destruction, Brinkley and Haskew’s seminal work reminds us that America’s role in World War II led to a truly monumental victory. For World War II enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone interested in our nation’s history, this is the one book to own.

Publisher

Castle Press

Published

May 15th, 2008

Formats and Editions

Hardback
Paperback

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Praise for The World War ll Desk Reference:

“This brisk, original, state-of-the art reference on that most important epoch of the twentieth century will satisfy both the scholar and general reader.” — Michael Beschloss

“This who, what, when and where of World War ll is an invaluable tool that will provide a quick answer for casual questions as well as supply the needed facts for military historians.” — Gerald Astor, author of Terrible Allen and The Greatest War

The World War ll Desk Reference is both amazingly comprehensive and extraordinarily accessible, putting the essential information right at your fingertips. The combination of timelines, sidebars and tables enable veteran editors Douglas Brinkley and Michael Haskew to pour a ton of information into a pound of readable pages.” — Walter Boyne, former director, National Air and Space Museum