One of Britain's most distinguished historians offers a comprehensive reassessment of World War II, arguing that this was the "last imperial war" and advocating for a more global perspective that looks beyond the typical focus on military conflict between the Allied and Axis states.
Mr. Overy’s imperial emphasis does, at times, play down the role of ideology ... Blood and Ruins is a monumental work; it is hard to imagine that a more comprehensive study of World War II could possibly be contained between two covers. Richard Overy has given us a powerful reminder of the horror of war and the threat posed by dictators with dreams of empire. And, despite his emphasis on the combatants’ hunger for territory and the supposed prestige it could bring, Mr. Overy does not neglect the awful human suffering of the war, particularly on the Eastern front.
Putin has proved the experts wrong. Still, let’s praise Overy’s stupendous achievement. Anybody interested in the why and how of boundless violence in the 20th century should make space for Blood and Ruins on his or her shelf. It will help you to grasp and revisit the carnage of 1931-45 as the largest event in human history. No continent, no ocean was spared, and Overy deftly weaves all the subplots into one planetary tapestry of merciless ideology and industrialized extermination. This book is not Eurocentric, but truly geocentric ... Blood and Ruins dissects the sinews of war with the sharpest of scalpels. With myriad facts, it is not for the night stand, where it must compete with Netflix. But it is history at its best, down to the finest points culled from a dozen archives around the world ... While watching the talking heads on CNN, keep this masterly work by your side.
In his latest book, Overy reprises, updates and expands his coverage of the war. His masterly synthesis of the war’s vast literature and sources has never been bettered. The text may be long but it is unflagging and consistently illuminating. Overy’s narrative is enlivened by personal accounts of the wartime experience and the book’s many statistics tell their own story ... Since no war’s consequences were more devastating or far-reaching than the second World War the idea the conflict must have had equally profound causes is intuitively appealing. But Overy provides abundant evidence that both world wars were the result of chance, contingency, accident and personality.
