Review: WW2 Too Massive For History In An Hour Format
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 12, 2012
I've read and reviewed several "History in an Hour" books and this is the first one I felt did not work in this format.  The HIAH books are designed to give you a basic overview and understanding of various historical events in what, for most readers, would be one or two reading sessions.  The problem with this particular book is the subject matter, World War Two, is just too massive for the extremely limited scope of this series.As with other books, there is nothing but facts presented in a chronological order with very little commentary.  The book begins with the Nazi invasion of Poland and ends with the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay; no introductions, no preludes, no forwards.  There are several helpful appendices which give you individual biographies of key players and timelines.The problem is with the limitations of the HIAH format.  Events which had incredible significance like the D-Day invasion, The Battle of Britain, The siege of Stalingrad and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are discussed in an brief, almost clinical way. This is not the fault of the writer, it is the fault of the format as the idea of a one sitting overview of something just doesn't allow that much detail when the subject matter is as overwhelming as WW2.Exclusions abound. For example, Gen. George Patton is mentioned only once in the entire book and that reference incorrectly lists him as one of the primary Allied generals in D-Day.  It's not that Patton isn't important; the problem is an event like Patton's historic march to support Allied troops under siege during the German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge just isn't significant enough to make the cut in a book designed to give the overview of the entire war in a single hour.  I don't remember a single reference to people like Gen. Omar Bradley or Hermann Goering at all because the format allows for little identification beyond the major players Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Churchill, Montgomery, MacArthur, Rommel and Mussolini.It's not that I don't recommend this book.  It does what it is supposed to do. I just believe readers who want to learn more about WW2 are under-served by it.  A far more helpful series (if it doesn't already exist) would be to break WW2 down into smaller sections.  Far more interesting would be HIAH books on The Pacific War, The European War, D-Day, The Battle of the Bulge, etc.As I look at the HIAH books already available, I'm sure those listed above are on their way and I look forward to them.  The price is right and the format works when the content doesn't overwhelm the form.  My recommendation would be to invest in those (if and when they exist) if you are looking for something more than an extremely basic overview of one of the most historically significant wars ever and you like the HIAH style of book.