World War II

Intended as a student encyclopedia, this is the third reference book of its type by editor Priscilla Roberts (history, U. of Hong Kong). This one focuses on the history of World War II. The book is competently written throughout. Most entries are short and designed for general-knowledge readers with no particular background. The book begins with an overview of events of the war, an essay on the causes of the war, and another essay on its consequences. The next 300 pages are alphabetical entries on the people, places, groups, and events of the war. There are another sixty pages of primary source documents, which range from the Wannsee Protocol and Hitler's decision to invade Russia to a Roosevelt Fireside Chat, popular articles, and oral accounts by soldiers and civilians on all sides of the war. These last are carefully chosen, and include the goodbye letter of a kamikaze pilot, the account of a horrified German pilot attempting to report a massacre of Jews, and a poem by W.H. Auden. The book ends with a short section of historical dilemmas: questions about conduct in specific issues of the war, such as whether the use of the atomic bomb against Japan was justifiable. In each, a short narrative section gives background on the problem, and then two or three contributors argue on various sides. Afterwards, the book offers a full chronology of the war and an index. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Priscilla Roberts, PhD, is associate professor of history at the University of Hong Kong. Her published works includeThe Cold War; Window on the Forbidden City: The Beijing Diaries of David Bruce, 1973–1974; andBehind the Bamboo Curtain: China, Vietnam, and the World Beyond Asia.