Inventory ID 657613. Hardcover Cloth Vol 1 published 1948 784 pages. Condition Very Good Dust Jacket Very Good. First edition printing from The Riverside Press with W on colophon. Nice clean, tight, square copy with no marks or highlights. Slight shelf wear with minor signs of wear and/or age. Spine is stained. The usual yellowing to edges and pages. Unclipped dust jacket protected by mylar cover with the usual fading, scuffs, tears and chips. Not an ex-library or remainder copy. 'The Second World War' is one of my best selling titles, for a reason! It's a superbly written, carefully researched set with deep insights into the conduct of WW2. The definitive, Nobel Prize-winning history of World War II, universally acknowledged as a magnificent historical reconstruction and an enduring work of literatureSeldom, if ever, has history endowed a statesman with both singular ability to make history, and singular ability to write it. As with so much of what Churchill wrote, The Second World War is not "history" in the strictly academic, objectivist sense, but rather Churchill's perspective on history. In his March 1948 introduction to the first volume, Churchill himself made the disclaimer, "I do not describe it as history... it is a contribution to history..." Nonetheless the compelling fact remains, as stated by Churchill himself, "I am perhaps the only man who has passed through both the two supreme cataclysms of recorded history in high Cabinet office... I was for more than five years in this second struggle with Germany the Head of His Majesty's government. I write, therefore, from a different standpoint and with more authority than was possible in my earlier books." Certainly The Second World War may be regarded as an intensely personal and inherently biased history. Nonetheless, Churchill's work remains essential, iconic, and a vital part of the historical record. Richard Langworth calls the six-volume epic "indispensable reading for anyone who seeks a true understanding of the war that made us what we are today."While most historians are removed from their subjects, Winston Churchill composed most of The Second World War as the war unfolded, while he was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Churchill intended to write a history of the war from the time he took office in 1940, often saying, "I will leave judgments on this matter to history-but I will be one of the historians." Throughout the war, Churchill compiled important documents weekly and wrote out his opinions on the significance of each.From Britain's darkest and finest hour to the great alliance and ultimate victory, the Second World War remains the most pivotal event of the twentieth century. Winston Churchill was not only the war's greatest leader, he was the free world's singularly eloquent voice of defiance in the face of Nazi tyranny, and it's that voice that animates this six-volume history. Remarkable both for its sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it begins with The Gathering Storm; moves on to Their Finest Hour, The Grand Alliance, The Hinge of Fate, Closing the Ring, and concludes with Triumph and Tragedy. Winston Churchill was not only a statesman and leader of historic proportions, he also possessed substantial literary talents. These two factors combine to make The Gathering Storm a unique work. The first volume of Churchill's memoirs, this selection is broken into two parts. The first, From War to War, consists of Churchill's critical observations on the settlement of World War I and its place in the causes of the Second World War. The second volume contains letters and memoranda from the British government--of which Churchill was part--as the country plunged unprepared into war.
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