From 1937 to 1945 the world witnessed a succession of savage military strategies and actions on land; in the seas; and in the skies that resulted in the slaughter of more than 50 million people. Incorporating the most recent scholarship on the military history of the Second World War; this study offers a chronological and geographical examination of the most destructive event in recorded human history. Annihilation argues that World War II evolved into a war of annihilation--a total war--that engulfed militants and civilians alike. The book challenges the "good war" thesis by showing that the "strategy of annihilation" was employed by all sides in the conflict. Moving from the onset of hostilities to the final days of battle; the narrative provides a global perspective that links all theaters of the war. Ideal for undergraduate courses on World War II; this uniquely organized text is the first to allow instructors to assign chapters according to time periods or by region.
#104189 in Books Oxford University Press UK 2014-05-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.20 x 1.80 x 9.10l; #File Name: 0199651922784 pagesOxford University Press UK
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. LOVE ME SOME ANCIENT HISTORYBy Timothy SalesI got the book for a class and I loved this class0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. There are better books.....By Lildog002I had this as a textbook for History-325; it was able to answer maybe 5% of the questions posed by the syllabus; Freeman is opinionated; shows his leanings early in the book and hard to follow as he jumps out of chronology for literary effect. Freeman also makes comparisons outside out fields of expertise as he tends to draw ties to the past with studies he is not trained in. Its a good read if you are not pressed for time; I wasn't impressed the kindle version's; limited "copy and paste" abilities; when trying to quoted or cite the textbook. If you're not required to purchase this; I would recommend a pass on it.7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. A thoroughly enjoyable and comprehensive overview of ancient western history!By Australian (Brisbane) readerIt is surprising Charles Freeman's Egypt; Greece; Rome; now in its third edition; has not yet (09.07.15) received a review so this is but a stopgap till someone does it full justice.Freeman's EGR may be confidently recommended to lovers and readers of ancient (western) history as the currently best first time overview. The subtitle should be noted: "Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean". It does not really give a fully adequate history of Persia; the Middle or Near East; or peripheral regions that interacted with or influenced the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean (about 127pp to Roebuck's 170pp); but it does have a wonderfully succinct account of ancient Egypt. It is up-to-date with the best contemporary scholarship and historical judgements in its fields esp. archaeology but perhaps not in philosophic scholarship as I explain below. It is readable; well proportioned; and equipped with excellent maps and photographic plates; list of events etc. His historical judgement on men and measures are mostly well balanced and fair minded given the available evidence.Granted the limitations of space; sometimes I felt a bit more explanation might have been appropriate e.g. to make it clear that Stilicho and Aetius did the best the could in the circumstances; given what they had to work with; to preserve the western Roman Empire. Even JC himself (that's Julius Caesar!) could not have saved the western Roman Empire without sufficient loyal citizen-soldiery (versus effectively foreign mercenaries of late Rome's armies) to do the fighting and money (or booty) to pay them.EGR has competitors in the field of comprehensive histories of the ancient western world in; amongst others; Nagle's The Ancient World; Mathieson's Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean; and Starr's A History of the Ancient World. Out of print are Sinnigen and Robinson's Ancient History; an old classic (way out of date!) Breasted's Ancient Times; and lastly Roebuck's The World of Ancient Times which is definitely still worth reading. Sound judgements on the major political and military actions are probably the most important feature on an introductory educational work like this. In this Roebuck is just as good despite its age (pub. 1966). If some rising scholar could put out a modern revised edition of Roebuck's classic textbook it would run Freeman very close as the premier recommendation for their target audience.Freeman's EGR (at 681pp) is also approaching the maximum length such an overview can profitably be without becoming too large and dissuading readers from seeking more expert single civilization history books. (I would suggest about 750-850pp as that mark - Roebuck's is 726pp of text.) Such books might include older well written "popular" histories such as Aldred on Egypt; Burns on Greece; Grant on Rome (and now Potter; Mackay or the forthcoming Beard) as well as older and longer classics such as Bury on Greece and Cary and Scullard on Rome etc. These are unfortunately omitted from the recommended reading despite proven educational merit; presumably on grounds of space or antiquity (and therefore out of date scholarship). This is unfortunate as they are very readable and hit many of the key points that first time learners (and deeper readers too!) need to know.The one serious omission in this latest revision I would rate to be that of esotericism in philosophy and literature. This is fully explored in Melzer's "Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing" (perhaps because our British author tends to defer to the contemporary Oxbridge orthodoxy in philosophy as well as in classics and ancient history).In sum; a thoroughly enjoyable read (and reread) for the first time and review reader of a comprehensive overview of ancient western history.
