[LS]

You might find this interesting.

[Bonemaker]

“...Free men have faith in their societies and their armies. ...”

We used to...before Obama.

[yarddog]

Someone here on FR pointed out that the Russians averaged losing 5000 men a day for the entire war.

I did not think that possible but did some quick figuring and it was true!

[rlmorel]

Great book. Great book. Loved it.

[rlmorel]

I enjoy his perspective...

[nwrep]

Thanks for the critique, it was well written, and I learned from it. It is not easy to write a book on a subject that is so well covered in human history.

A recent book that covers the WWII from a unique perspective (hard to do) is "The German War: A Nation Under Arms".

[tatown]

Excellent Larry!

[Nailbiter]

ping

[mylife]

I hear it is an excellent book

[Peter W. Kessler]

Has VDH ever been asked to speak at the annual Conference and Symposium at the WWII Museum in New Orleans?

I’ve been attending these for almost 10 years. They are, generally, excellent. Mr. (Dr.?) Hanson would certainly be a welcome speaker.

Trouble is, I believe the Museum staff lean a little left; more so in recent years. I believe the majority of attendees lean in quite the opposite direction.

[mylife]

I find it strange that we fought Russia for decades and we are in a world war now with china but back then ,they were uncomfortable allies.

[TChad]

Thanks. VDH must be stretched pretty thin these days.

[Rockingham]

Despite the defects, did the book offer any valuable insights?

[San Joaquin]

Thank you for the review, Larry! My wife and I are big fans of his (she took his military history class at Fresno State) and I look forward to reading this book soon.

[volunbeer]

I will agree with you that the book was too long. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have recommended it to many people and discussed it here on FR numerous times.

I liked the approach to looking at the war a bit differently that VDH took. The economics, manufacturing base, and other demographic factors for the Allies have not been given enough attention by historians who tend to focus more on personalities and “Generals” or specific battles.

You could write 100 volumes on WWII and still not cover it all.

[GOPJ]

there is one glaring weakness and it is that the book is too long by at least 1/3. Hanson is infuriatingly repetitive. An editor should have chopped this. There are plenty of gems here, but they are buried in far too many repetitions.

Years ago some Publishers would buy books in standard sizes... writers had to meet the number of pages...which caused the puffing out effect you see in some older books. Apparently book bulk allowed them to charge more.

[Sapwolf]

I’m a WW2 buff too and I think the juice is definitely worth the squeeze on this one.

VDH takes a different look at the war from statistics/numbers perspective.

The last paragraph basically gets it.

[Falconspeed]

Thank you for the excellent review. I appreciate your analysis. You are correct to say that “World War II was actually two wars.” The American soldiers in both Europe and the Pacific were heroic and awe-inspiring.

One suggestion. I assert that it is false to state that the goal was not “to destroy the Jews as a force on planet earth,” since Hitler’s goal was to corrupt every human person on earth. Hitler’s goal was Satan’s goal: to prevent people from pleasing the Father through His Son. Proof: Hitler had a statue of Nietzsche. Thanks again. Awesome review.

[texas booster]

Good review. I know how much you respect VDH, and it shows in the review - the mild criticism from a friend.

I have listened to Dan Carlin's ‘Supernova in the East” and many of his podcasts about WWI. It does seem difficult for an avowed leftist to apologize for the West, yet Carlin does a good job on the subject.

I will be getting VDH’s book as soon as finances improve, and will gladly add it to my VDH collection.

[AllAmericanGirl44]

Thank you for sharing