Gail L. (divine-ms-m) reviewed The Battle For History: Re-fighting World War II on + 312 more book reviews
A MUST FOR WWII HISTORY BUFFS!
In this slim, but magnificent, volume, John Keegan sets forth the required reading list for all interested in WWII. It should not construed as a history of WWII in itself: it is not.
Rather Keegan compares and analyzes many of the published histories of WWII and provides a critique of the work, its author and his assessment of the biases or omissions in the works he cites. At that level, "The Battle For History" is invaluable. It is as if your studies of the subject are being guided by one of the most eminent historians of the period.
In this slim, but magnificent, volume, John Keegan sets forth the required reading list for all interested in WWII. It should not construed as a history of WWII in itself: it is not.
Rather Keegan compares and analyzes many of the published histories of WWII and provides a critique of the work, its author and his assessment of the biases or omissions in the works he cites. At that level, "The Battle For History" is invaluable. It is as if your studies of the subject are being guided by one of the most eminent historians of the period.
My husband and I have read many books about WWII. This book introduced us to many more that we were not aware existed. However, the proofreading done on the book was abominable. The books Keegan mentioned in the text were cited in the notes at the end of the book, with information as to name, author, etc. However, the citation numbers in the text did not always align with the numbers attached to the books cited. In at least one case, there was no book listed in the notes, despite its citation in the text. At least one book listed in the notes had an incorrect name for the author. This book opened the door for us to find books that we have not read before, but was very frustrating because of the errors in it.