Finally getting around to reading this one. Being a late arrival to the war, it was easy to forget that the engineers and contractors pretty much built most of the roads and infrastructure that exists in Vietnam today. Makes sure to include the Marine engineers and Navy Seabees too. Well written and easy to read. Wayne
Just started reading this, incredible. Thought I knew all about the conflict from the US Army perspective.
About a 150 pages into this:
Parshall takes a month-by-month look at the year 1942 and covers every theater of the war in that same chronology. It’s a remarkable effort, and in doing so, he makes connections between and ties together global events in a way that makes it clear that almost nothing that was happening during the war happened in isolation.
He also makes some very compelling arguments and explanations about strategic and operational decisions by all of the Allied and Axis powers (including China as one of the major powers).
Not an “easy” or fast read (1200+ pages), but if you’ve always wondered about the thinking behind some of the decisions made by the various world political and military leaders, Parshall offers some insights that make sense from a lot decisions that might seem irrational or wrong-headed when viewed in the context of single theaters or nationalities.
Global war viewed from a global perspective…
Looks good,how is it compared to Shattered Sword,is it in the same style?
I haven’t read Shattered Sword. Parshall has mentioned it in a number of interviews that he has done to announce his 1942, and in most for a comparison he focuses on the narrow scope of Shattered Sword with the broader, global scope of 1942. I really can’t comment on the writing style question; this is the first book by Parshall that I’ve read.
I can say that I’m just starting the chapter on May 1942, and so far, I’ve been increasingly impressed with the book. Basically, each chapter (covering a single month, actually starting with December 1941) is broken into major sections: economy / strategy, Pacific / Asia, the Eastern Front, and (what will become) the Western Front (which so far has addressed, among other sub-topics, the Battle for the Atlantic and the air war over Western Europe). There is an incredible amount of detail, and it’s all covered really well (lots of maps, too). Each monthly chapter also contains an overlapping timeline with the significant, worldwide events depicted. Each month is also “tabulated” with foredge printing that clearly shows where each month begins and ends, so it would be quite easy to use the book as a reference to look up major events by opening up to just the month in question. (Overall production and printing quality is very high.)
My main interests in WWII have mostly been with the Eastern and Western Fronts (including North Africa and the Med), so I’m really appreciating the details about the Pacific and Asia. However, I’ve been increasingly interested over the last few years in the larger economic and national strategic aspects of the war. Parshall covers pretty much everything - for 1942, of course.
So, I highly commend this anyone who wants to broaden his or her knowledge and learning about aspects of the war that you might not have had interest in before or for anyone looking to understand the interrelated nature of how the various economies and national / coalition strategies influenced not only the events of the theaters and campaigns you’re already knowledgeable about, but also how the entire war can be understood in its entirety, with just about every major decision and event having some impact and influence on every other major event and subsequent decisions.
Thanks,I need to check it out.
Looks interesting. Wish they had a paperback version. May have to be a Christmas present.
Warren Hollister’s Medieval Europe: A Short History. This was the textbook we used in my college class about the subject, & felt due for a re-read (it’s been over 20 years). Anyone looking for a very readable introduction to Medieval European history would do well with this book.
Damon.