The Second World War by John Keegan

Rare to say an author wastes not a sentence in a 600-page book, but historian John Keegan manages it in the re-printing of his 1989 masterwork, “The Second World War.”

The compact pages detailing World War I, the charting of the rise of industrialized societies and the 10-fold increase in European military forces in the 1800s, the words detailing Japan’s 19th century push to become a modern society to confront the incursion of the Western world into its culture — none are a waste as Keegan brings to bear their impact on the forces leading to World War II.

Keegan details the leadership personalities of Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. He exposes the often frayed relationships between the leaders and their generals in the field. He infuses the advantages and disadvantages of the weapons of both Allied and Axis forces. He chronicles the battles of both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. He delves into the politics, economics and cultural impact of a world at war.

All are offered with thoughtful insight, often sandwiched within powerful photographs and illustrative maps of military movements.

As the tightly cropped portrait of Adolf Hitler on the cover suggests, “The Second World War” is far more interested in the European-related fronts than the war in the Pacific with Japan. Not surprising either given Keegan’s British heritage, the book is Euro-centric throughout. The United States doesn’t really enter the pages until nearly halfway through the book.

Overall, Keegan examines the many complexities of the war. A world encyclopedia of fascinating information.