Paperback edition of Hastings's magisterial history of WWII, which shows the impact of the conflict upon hundreds of millions of people around the world: soldiers, sailors, airmen, housewives, farm workers, children and more. Researched over 35 years, it describes the course of events, but focuses chiefly upon human experience, which varied immensely from campaign to campaign, continent to continent. 'No other general history of the war amalgamates so successfully the gut-wrenching personal details and the essential strategic arguments.' }The Times{