The Storm of War Lib/E: A New History of the Second World War

The Second World War lasted for 2,174 days, cost $1.5 trillion, and claimed the lives of more than 50 million people. What were the factors that affected the war's outcome? Why did the Axis lose? And could they, with a different strategy, have won? Andrew Roberts's acclaimed new history has been hailed as the finest single-volume account of this epic conflict. From the western front to North Africa, from the Baltic to the Far East, he tells the story of the war--the grand strategy and the individual experience, the cruelty and the heroism--as never before. In researching this magnificently vivid history, Roberts walked many of the key battlefields and wartimes sites in Russia, France, Italy, Germany, and the Far East, and drew on a number of never-before-published documents, such as a letter from Hitler's director of military operations explaining the reasoning behind the Führer's order to halt the Panzers outside Dunkirk--a delay that enabled British forces to evacuate. Roberts illuminates the principal actors on both sides and analyzes how they reached critical decisions. He also presents the tales of many little-known individuals whose experiences form a panoply of the extraordinary courage and self-sacrifice, as well as the terrible depravity and cruelty, of the Second World War. Meticulously researched and masterfully written, The Storm of War gives a dramatic account of this momentous event and shows in remarkable detail why the war took the course it did.

About the Author :
Andrew Roberts is the author of Masters and Commanders and A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900. His other books include Napoleon and Wellington, Eminent Churchillians, and Salisbury, which won the Wolfson History Prize. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a Ph.D. in history from Cambridge University and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal and the Daily Beast. Andrew lives in New York City. Christian Rodska has worked in theaters all over the United Kingdom and in the West End, and he has recorded hundreds of radio plays and poetry programs. Over the last thirty years he has worked regularly in television, from early programs such as Follyfoot and Doomwatch, to Taggart, Sharpe, and Wycliffe. He has recorded over one hundred audiobooks and has won several awards, including fourteen AudioFile Earphones Awards. Christian Rodska has worked in theaters all over the United Kingdom and in the West End, and he has recorded hundreds of radio plays and poetry programs. Over the last thirty years he has worked regularly in television, from early programs such as Follyfoot and Doomwatch, to Taggart, Sharpe, and Wycliffe. He has recorded over one hundred audiobooks and has won several awards, including fourteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Review :
Roberts gives [listeners] a new, well-written retelling of the spectacular ebb and flow of World War II.-- "Library Journal Starred Review"