The Ordeal of Total War 19391945 Author:Gordon Wright The Second World War's destructive impact on the continent of Europe probably exceeds that of any previous disaster in the modern era. This volume is concerned with a brief six-year period. Wright, having mastered a vast amount of diffuse literature on WWII, has put his own stimulating interpretations on a difficult and complicated subject. The ... more »book goes far beyond the usual military chronicle. It is a splendid synthesis of a tragic phase of recent European history.« less