Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife 49'

Advantages: Very emotional and truthful book - with accounts, extra context and pictures
Disadvantages: Can get very emotipanl and rather painful to read at times - the truth can hurt

...I am currently studying history at A level and am very interested in the two world wars and have bought so many different information and text books with information on these wars. These have all been useful to not only my studies, but also in my own personal research and interest in the subject, one that is very emotional and important to me and the history of not only this country, but the whole world. However this book is very different and recounts the war as it was - it is basically a collection of diary extracts from hundreds of different people who were alive and involved in the war - either fighting on the front line or helping on the home front. This book is therefore far more truthful and revealing about the truth and is extremely emotional and shocking. Forgotten voices of the great war: A history of ww1 in the words of men... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Unbiased, lively and interesting account.
Disadvantages: There are various editions, each giving a different reflection of Anne as a person.

...The Diary of Anne Frank has reached universal acclaim. Written by a thirteen year old Jewish girl while she and her family hid in a secret annexe in Amsterdam, to avoid being captured by the Gestapo, the diary provides an interesting, lively and straight forward account of life for the young girl during the first few years of World War Two. However, as there are varous different editions of the diary it is not only the content of the diary which is questionable, but also the authenticity of the account. This surely allows Holocaust Revisionists to strengthen their argment, namely that the Holocuast did not take place? I believe that, for those truly interested in The Dairy of Anne Frank, the Critical Edition of the diary provides most interest. This incorporates all three editions and allows the reader to compare the alterations... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Interesting, engaging, generally good analysis
Disadvantages: A little more detail in some places would be welcome

...---------------------------------------------------------------- In the course of the twentieth century, no war looms as profoundly transformative or as destructive as World War II. Its global scope and human toll reveal the true face of modern, industrialized warfare. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Thus begins the volume 'A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War' by Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett. Murray, a fellow at the Institute for Defense Analysis, and Millett, professor of Military History at Ohio State University, has collaborated to produce a volume that looks at the World War II in almost exclusively military terms, with detailed (if not always precisely accurate) analysis of battlefield plans and progresses, logistical situations and problems, and (to a lesser extent) political... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful