TOTAL WAR: A People's History of the Second World War

This impressive pictorial history puts Britain's World War II in a global context, starting with the fact that a total of 60 million died, the majority civilians. Stanley Baldwin, the prime minister between the wars, said that "if you want to save yourselves you have to kill more women and children more quickly than the enemy". The Blitz is central to British perception of the war, yet the Allied combined bomber offensive against Germany inflicted far more damage. The people who worked and fought for the Allied war effort were more diverse than is remembered today, with Punjabis, Nigerians and Canadians playing a key role, to name a few. The book starts with several pages of notes and maps explaining the Japanese push to expand its empire, which already included the Chinese province of Manchuria. This section is followed by the creation of Mussolini's empire, the rise of Nazism in the Weimar Republic, and the effective death of German democracy as Hitler assumed the dictatorship. An antisemitic kindergarten book and a photo of the 1934 Nuremberg rally underline the inter-war menace, while a die-cast Hurricane in the Dinky Toys range is a sign of Britain's growing defences. Although Jews could leave Germany they were unable to take money and possessions, which meant other countries were unwilling to admit them. Celia Horwitz, a Kindertransport girl, receives a letter from "Papi" whom she will never see again. The invasion of Norway found the Allies without adequate resources, and a photo of Rommel in the Battle of France shows that the Germans themselves were using Czech tanks. There are thumbnail features on individuals throughout, including Muhammed Akbar Khan, seen here in a fine portrait, who led his force of Muslim Punjabis and Pashtuns to safety in the evacuation of Dunkirk. A grim chapter on the Holocaust gives the locations and numbers exterminated at the different camps. Quality Thames & Hudson heavyweight 288 pages in conjunction with the IWM. Photos in colour and black and white on every page.