This book, first published in 1989, combines the broad themes of diplomatic, political and military events with the human dimensions to form a major global analysis of the second world war.

1. The World on the Brink of War 2. The European War of 1939-41 3. The East Asian and Pacific Wars to 1942 4. The Home Fronts 5. The Axis' New World Order 6. Resistance 7. The Grand Alliance Through 1943 8. War on Other Fronts: Science, Intelligence and the Arts 9. The Defeat of the Axis in Europe, 1943-45 10. Towards the European Order of 1945 11. Ending the Asian War: From Guadalcanal to Nagasaki 12. The World Transformed