The Teach Yourself History series offers an alternative to academic historical books, its content being extensive yet extremely accessible and the approach refreshingly different. The books are informative and compelling, and engage the reader from beginning to end. They assume no prior historical knowledge, and are full of anecdotes and details that provide a very personal appeal. Teach Yourself The Second World War is an accessible introduction to one of the most important, tragic and costly events in history. Some 55 million people died in the conflict, which devastated much of Europe and Asia and had huge consequences for the second half of the 20th century. This book will help you to understand how one of the most important events in history developed, charting the main military campaigns, and examining the path to Allied victory and its impact on the countries involved. Learn about the main characters involved in the Second World War, the actions and decisions that were taken, the resulting consequences and the reasons behind the final outcome.

 

This book is part of a book series called Tyh .

This book is aimed at children in secondary school.

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published 2004 by John Murray Press .

Alan Farmer is a widely published academic on modern American, European and British history. He taught history to students of all ages for all his working life. He was Head of History at the University of Cumbria until retiring in 2006.

This book has the following chapters: 01 - Introduction; The main causes of World War 11 / Who was most to blame for the War? 02 - The European War: 1939-40; Why did Germany triumph? / Why did France collapse so quickly? 03 - Britain Alone: 1940-1; Why did Britain survive? / The strength of Britain's position in 1941? 04 - Operation Barbarossa; Why did Hitler launch his attack on the USSR in 1941? / Why did Barbarossa not succeed? 05 - Pearl Harbor; The attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan / Why did Hitler declare war on the USA? 06 - The Turning of the Tide: 1942-3; How close to success were the Axis powers in the summer of 1942? / Turning the tide; 07 - The Home Fronts; The impact of the war on Axis and Allied societies / Why did the Allied powers out produce the Axis powers? 08 - Resistance and Collaboration; To what extent did occupied countries collaborate with the conquerors? / The strength of the resistance; 09 - The Holocaust; Why did it happen? / Who was most to blame? 10 - War at Sea and in the Air; The Allies victory in the Battle of the Atlantic / How effective was Allied bombing? 11 - Allied Advance: 1943-4; The Russians' success in the east / How successful were the Allies in the west? 12 - Leadership; The effectiveness of the main leaders / Who was the most effective leader? 13 - The Defeat of Germany; The success of the Allies in 1944-5 / Should American and British strategy have been different? 14 - The Defeat of Japan; Why was the USA successful in the Pacific War? / Should the USA have dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? 15 - Conclusion; Did the Allies win or the Axis lose? / The main consequences of the War