2/6/23

all-encompassing account of Europe during World War II. Focus is not solely on describing the combat and political events, but includes chapters on the economic, psychological, and scientific dimensions of the war. The military history is wonderfully concise; the chapters on the German role in the occupied countries and on resistance movements make this material more accessible than do other broad studies. Wright also discusses psychological warfare and scientific dimensions (omitting the more lurid). Extensive (40pp) and well organized bibliographic essay. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gordon-wright/the-ordeal-of-total-war...

A study of how the war reflected and affected the course of European history.
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 book goes far beyond the usual military chronicle. It is a splendid synthesis of a tragic phase of recent European history.
Contents
I. Europe on the Brink
II. The Expansion of German Power
III. The Broadening Scope of War: The Economic Dimension
IV. The Broadening Scope of War: The Psychological Dimension
V. The Broadening Scope of War: The Scientific Dimension
VI. German Rule in Occupied Europe
VII. Europe's Response to Conquest: The Resistance Movement
VIII. The Resurgence of Allied Power
IX. The Dislocation of the Nazi Empire
X. Preparation of the Postwar Era
XI. The Impact of Total War