Richard Overy

The use of massive fleets of bombers to kill and terrorize civilians was an aspect of the Second World War which continues to challenge the idea that Allies specifically fought a 'moral' war. For Britain, bombing became perhaps its principal contribution to the fighting as, night after night, exceptionally brave men flew over occupied Europe destroying its cities.

Half a century after their deaths, the dictatorships of Stalin and Hitler still cast a long and terrible shadow over the modern world. They were the most destructive and lethal regimes in history, murdering millions. They fought the largest and costliest war in all history. Yet millions of Germans and Russians enthusiastically supported them and the values they stood for. In this first major study of the two dictatorships side-by-side Richard Overy sets out to answer the question: How was dictatorship possible? How did they function? What was the bond that tied dictator and people so powerfully together? He paints a remarkable and vivid account of the different ways in which Stalin and Hitler rose to power, and abused and dominated their people. It is a chilling analysis of powerful ideals corrupted by the vanity of ambitious and unscrupulous men.

An examination of how the Soviet Union defeated the German invasion in World War II.

War and Economy in the Third Reich examines the nature of the German economy in the 1930s and the Second World War. When Hitler came to power in 1933 he had two aims for the economy: a rapid recovery from the depths of the Great Slump and the creation of a vast economic foundation for Germany's renewed bid for world power. He wanted to turn Germany into a military superpower in the 1940s. These eleven essays explore the tension between Hitler's vision of an armed economy and the reality of German economic and social life. Richard Overy argues that the German economy was much less crisis-ridden in 1939 than its enemies supposed, and that Hitler, far from limiting his war effort, tried to mobilize the economy for 'total war' from 1939 onwards. Only the poor organization of the Nazi state and the interference of the military prevented higher levels of military output. Many of these essays challenge accepted views of the Third Reich. They are collected here for the first time. In his substantial new introduction Richard Overy reflects on the issues they raise, and the ways in which the subject is changing. Often thought-provoking, always informed, War and Economy opens a window on an essential aspect of Hitler's Germany.

A masterly introduction to a key period in 20th Century History, this revised edition covers the interlude between WWI and WWII in Europe and the rest of the world.

The air war was won and lost not only in the skies but also in the factories and the research institutes. finally, the author dispels many popular myths and in particular reveals that although air power in the form of strategic bombing by itself did not determine the war's final outcome, its use dramatically illustrated the complexities of managing modern war."--Jacket.

A history of the Allied bombing campaigns of World War II questions the morality of British and American attacks on occupied European cities while offering insight into the course of the civilian front line of the Allied air war as it was shaped by political strategies.

It is 1942. Germany controls almost the entire resources of continental Europe and is poised to move into the Middle East. Japan has wiped out the western colonial presence in East Asia in a couple of months and is threatening northern India and Australia. The Soviet Union has lost the heart of its industry, and the United States is not yet armed. Democracy has had its day. The Allied victory in 1945 has since come to seem inevitable. It was not. In Richard Overy's incisive analysis, we see exactly how the Allies regained military superiority and why they were able to do it. Overy offers a brilliant analysis of the decisive campaigns: the war at sea, the crucial battles on the eastern front, the air war, and the vast amphibious assault on Europe. The eastern front was critical. Having lost four million men and tens of thousands of tanks and aircraft in the first six months of fighting, the Soviet Union was able to relocate its industrial base to the east, intensify its industrial production, and defeat the German forces at Stalingrad and Kursk. This was the turning point, the victory of one authoritarian system over another. . Overy also explores the deeper factors affecting military success and failure: industrial strength, fighting ability, the quality of leadership, and the moral dimensions of the war.

Half a century after their deaths, the dictatorships of Stalin and Hitler still cast a long and terrible shadow over the modern world. They were the most destructive and lethal regimes in history, murdering millions. Yet millions of Germans and Russians enthusiastically supported them and the values they stood for.