The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict was Fought and Won, Victor Davis Hanson

A definitive account of World War II by America’s preeminent military historian and visiting professor at Hillsdale College, Victor Davis Hanson.

World War II was the most lethal conflict in human history. Never before had a war been fought on so many diverse landscapes and in so many different ways, from rocket attacks in London to jungle fighting in Burma to armor strikes in Libya. The Second World Wars examines how combat unfolded in the air, at sea, and on land to show how distinct conflicts among disparate combatants coalesced into one interconnected global war.

An authoritative new history of astonishing breadth, The Second World Wars offers a stunning reinterpretation of history’s deadliest conflict.

This book comes in paperback and is recommended reading for Hillsdale’s free online course, “The Second World Wars“

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“The Second World Wars by Victor Davis Hanson is breathtakingly magisterial: How can Mr. Hanson make so much we thought we knew so fresh and original?”—Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal

“The Second World Wars is an outstanding work of historical interpretation. It is impossible to do justice to such a magnificent book in a short review. Given the vast quantities of ink expended on accounts of this great conflict, one would think that there was not much more left to say. Hanson proves that this belief is wrong. His fresh examination of World War II cements his reputation as a military historian of the first order.”—National Review

“In his exposition of this thesis, displaying a depth of knowledge of the period that is often simply astounding, Hanson has written what I consider to be the most important single-volume explanation of World War II since Richard Overy’s Why the Allies Won (1996)-that is, for a generation.” —Andrew Roberts, Claremont Review of Books

“Victor Hanson’s comprehensive account of World War II is a wonder. Where others have supplied a narrative, he provides analysis. He explores the war’s origins; the role played in its conduct by airpower, sea power, infantry, tanks, artillery, industry, and generalship; and the reasons why the Allies won and the Axis lost. This is an eye-opener and a page-turner.”—Paul A. Rahe, Hillsdale College