A Quick History of World War Two (Quick Histories)

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World War Two is the single most important war in human history: the largest, the deadliest, it unleashed unprecedented destructive force on people across the globe, and fundamentally shifted the political landscape of almost every continent on Earth. It directly involved hundreds of millions of civilians and soldiers in over 30 countries and resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million deaths. Death squads, concentration camps, fire-bombing, atomic bombs: its shocking events made World War Two a war without comparison.

As the war came to an end, the full nature of its brutality became clear. Up to 40 million people were dead in the devastated Soviet Union, and another 15-20 million in China, alone. The great cities of Europe were broken, blackened, bombarded shells. Arriving Allied troops discovered, horrified, the true nature of the Nazi project. It also led to one of the fastest military arms races of all time. After the war, the world was unrecognisable. Fascism and imperialism collapsed. A decades-long standoff known as the Cold War began. The world was transformed. Quite simply, World War Two created the world we live in. This book will help you understand how the war started, how it was fought, and what were its extraordinary outcomes.

Quick Histories give you all the main points in a particular historical subject, big or small, in understandable but serious language, facts you can retain and remember. All our books can be read in an hour or two, either in one sitting, or over a few days. Quick Histories are just long enough for a plane or train journey.