- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: W&N; illustrated edition edition (9 Feb 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297816683
- ISBN-13: 978-0297816683
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,233,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"Christopher Sommerville reminds us in Our War... with pictures and eyewitness stories, has been reissued to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war." SOLDIER MAGAZINE
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Christopher Sommerville reminds us in Our War... with pictures and eyewitness stories, has been reissued to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war." (SOLDIER MAGAZINE )
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Most accounts of the Second World War written in English focus on the American or British forces. This superb volume looks at the conflict through the eyes of commonwealth servicemen and women from both the white settler countries and the 'new' Commonwealth. The author's research is exhaustive and his writing is engaging. His account of racism in the South African forces is educative.
Format:Hardcover
Hello.
This is a fantastic read, well-researched and gives an excellent insight into the commonwealth contribution to WWII. Wish there were more books like this out there.
Peace
This is a fantastic read, well-researched and gives an excellent insight into the commonwealth contribution to WWII. Wish there were more books like this out there.
Peace
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Three and a Half Stars---Good but Flawed
12 Nov 2001
Format:Hardcover
Aimed at a popular audience, this book both entertains and informs, though perhaps more the former than the latter. Americans interested in learning about Great Britain in World War II tend to undervalue the contributions of the British Empire, which provided a large proportion of the manpower of the "British" Army and the resources supporting it. "Our War" improves our understanding of those who struggled and sacrificed to win that epic conflict.
The book has three main merits. It's written in an accessible style, and is in fact engaging reading. Second, its scope is truly inclusive with thorough coverage of nonwhite residents of African, Asian and West Indian colonies as well as the better-known Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa---though this last country fits in both categories). This makes it a truly "multicultural" work, in an unforced way. Lastly, it contains solid chunks of oral and written evidence in the words of veterans, both men and women, letting them speak for themselves. This latter feature points directly to one of the book's flaws. In seeking a broad readership, the author eschews direct references to his sources. This weakens the book for research purposes, even for school and college papers. It also has some easily-avoided factual errors, such as on p.329 where the author cannot give the proper colonial-era names for independent Zambia and Malawi. Finally, the numerous maps are well-geared toward the various theaters of war in which Commonwealth-men and -women served, but are less helpful for locating their places of origin. The bibliography is sadly skimpy considering how much material is available.
In sum, "Our War" is comparable to Studs Terkels' American counterpart, "'The Good War.'" Though Somerville does not match that masterpiece of oral history, his work is better supported with photos, maps, an index and his own text. Narrative flow and powerful personal testimony strongly commend this book as an introduction to its subject, but for fuller detail and deeper analysis readers should also look at, among other works, T. Parsons, "The African Rank and File;" D. Killingray & R. Rathbone eds., "Africa and the Second World War;" and P.W. Fay, "The Forgotten Army" (on the thousands of East Indians who fought with Japan AGAINST Britain). Overall, the recent historiography of the French Empire in World War II is better developed, though now there is also N. Lawler, "Soldiers, Airmen, Spies and Whisperers," on wartime Ghana.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Different view of the Second World War
8 May 1998
Format:Hardcover
This book offers a refreshing and different view of the Second World War. For most people of the British Commonwealth be it Australians like myself or from the far flung reaches of Africa most accounts concentrate on England, America, German, Japan or Russia. I would think that many people who read this book would be surprised at the number of Countries of the old Empire/Commonwealth who supplied men and women to help in the war effort. The author also attempts to show how racism reared its ugly head at times and the effects on the men involved. I throughly enjoyed this book, it had accounts from sailors, airmen, soldiers and female volunteers from many varied and different countries of the Commonwealth. I was surprised by some of the nations who supplied men to fight in Italy and in the skies above England and Europe. The book also made me sad at times, for the lives lost and wasted in this terrible conflict. I would recommend this book for anyone of the old Commonwealth who would like to see what their country-men did for their nation during WW2 or for any reader who enjoys a good book on the Second World War. An excellent account!
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