A short history of World War II /

When you locate the origins of World War II in the aftermath of World War I, as Stokesbury (History, Acadia Univ., Canada) does, a one-volume treatment becomes indeed a short history of a long war. But despite the temporal challenge--and the spatial one--he manages to pull it off. Stokesbury maintains a difficult balance between battles, strategy, technical issues, and summit meetings to keep his narrative moving; and he keeps an eye on social issues and domestic politics as well. Key campaigns help to structure the material--from the invasion of Poland and the fall of France to the Battle of Britain, the fall of Singapore, the African campaign, etc.--but Stokesbury also includes chapters on the bureaucratic wrangling among German administrators in occupied Europe, the emergence and effectiveness of the European resistance movements, and the controversy surrounding Allied strategic bombing. On the overall American role in the war, Stokesbury concludes that a small number of Americans actually bore the brunt of the fighting (a smaller percentage than any of the other major participants), and that for most Americans, ""it was a good war, if there can be such a thing."" Fortunately, the rest of his book is a firm reminder of the devastation elsewhere. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.