The History of World War II

Fülszöveg

THE HISTORY OF
WORLD
WARD
The full story of the world's greatest conflict
by Lt-Colonel E. Bauer Consultant Editor: Correlli Barnett
Lieutenant-Colonel Bauer's history of World War II is a classic work. Of all the great histories, Bauer's is unique in its combination of wide-ranging scholarship with a rare objectivity — for the author's background as a Swiss historian has undoubtedly enabled him to survey dispassionately the claims and controversies, arising out of nationally centered histories, that have tended to dominate so many accounts in the past. However, this detachment in no way detracts from the force of the work; the conclusions which Bauer reaches, having scrupulously weighed all the evidence, are always incisive and illuminating, and may well appear controversial to Anglo-Saxon readers.
Nowhere are Bauer's gifts more evident than in his ability to explore the motives of the various combatant nations within the context of the narrative itself. Although the book... Tovább

Fülszöveg

THE HISTORY OF
WORLD
WARD
The full story of the world's greatest conflict
by Lt-Colonel E. Bauer Consultant Editor: Correlli Barnett
Lieutenant-Colonel Bauer's history of World War II is a classic work. Of all the great histories, Bauer's is unique in its combination of wide-ranging scholarship with a rare objectivity — for the author's background as a Swiss historian has undoubtedly enabled him to survey dispassionately the claims and controversies, arising out of nationally centered histories, that have tended to dominate so many accounts in the past. However, this detachment in no way detracts from the force of the work; the conclusions which Bauer reaches, having scrupulously weighed all the evidence, are always incisive and illuminating, and may well appear controversial to Anglo-Saxon readers.
Nowhere are Bauer's gifts more evident than in his ability to explore the motives of the various combatant nations within the context of the narrative itself. Although the book is immensely detailed, the reader never loses sight of the broad issues—the relationships between the various theatres or the war aims of the countries involved. Since Lieutenant-Colonel Bauer's death in 1972, there have, of course, been new discoveries, and more information has come to light. In order to amplify certain areas of the book, special sections have been contributed by a group of distinguished American scholars (under the guidance of Brigadier General James L. Collins) and a number of British historians, including Brigadier Michael Calvert and Lieutenant-Colonel Alan Shepperd.
As a final step Correlli Barnett, one of the leading British military historians, has incorporated the fruits of the most up-to-date research available, in particular the revelations about the "Enigma" machine. Mr Barnett has also contributed chapters on the Allied conferences at Casablanca, Cairo and Tfeheran.
This book, a work of profound scholarship and penetrating judgement, is a definitive general history of World War II.
Lieutenant-Colonel Eddy Bauer was born in Switzerland in 1902. He studied in Switzerland and Paris, and then taught history at the University of Neuchâtel. After completing his thesis on the history of Neuchâtel in the fifteenth century, he began a career as a journalist, and in 1938 went to Spain as a war correspondent. His special abilities attracted notice, and when war broke out in 1939 and the Swiss Army was prepared for imminent defensive action, he was made head of the 2nd Division's Intelligence Services. Throughout the war he worked as both a journalist and a soldier.
After World War II, Bauer combined the careers of soldier, academic and writer with remarkable success. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel (the Swiss army has no generals except in wartime), continued to work with Swiss Intelligence, and was elected Rector of the University of Neuchâtel. In the years that followed, he compiled his most important work, this History of World War II. At the time of his death in 1972 he was working on his seventeenth book, A History of the Secret Services. Vissza