Description

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This work provides a comprehensive and balanced analysis of the Second World War in all its aspects - military, diplomatic, political, economic, social, and ecological. It explores the complex origins of the conflict in Europe and in the Far East as well as its lasting impact on the postwar world. It pays special attention to the fighting in Russia and China. It also examines the ideological struggle at the heart of this war between autarkic fascism and militarism on one side and liberal, democratic capitalism on the other. The author recounts the ideas and actions of political leaders and generals as well as the experiences of soldiers, sailors, POWs, defense plant workers, sex slaves, and other ordinary people caught up in the horror of war. He examines World War II as a total war that required the total mobilization of societies and economies to achieve battlefield success. The reader is also introduced to debates among historians concerning key aspects of the war including appeasement, the fall of France, and the impact of strategic bombing, the Holocaust, the role of Emperor Hirohito and more. Each chapter includes a number of thought provoking questions to enhance the reader's understanding and stimulate discussion.

About the Author

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Teddy Uldricks, PhD, has taught college-level courses on the Second World War for over forty years. He is an Emeritus Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Asheville. Dr. Uldricks now teaches a variety of courses on World War II at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has written extensively on Russia and the origins of the Second World War, including an earlier book, Diplomacy and Ideology: The Origins of Soviet Foreign Relations. He is widely regarded as a leading authority on Soviet foreign affairs in the interwar years. His current research project focuses on the appeasement of aggressors in the 1930s as a global phenomenon.