An in-depth history of the global upheaval of 1939-1945, exploring both the technological and the human impact of the greatest war of all time. This book is profusely illustrated, and the illustrations are carefully tied into the text. The text itself tells what happened and when, but is also expanded to cover what other activities might be going on at that time. It also relates how that particular incident ties into the rest of the war. Keegan examines each theater of the war, focussing on five crucial battles. In knowledgeable, perceptive analyses of the airborne battle of Crete, the carrier battle of Midway, the tank battle of Falaise, the city battle of Berlin, and the amphibious battle of Okinawa, Keegan illustrates the strategic dilemmas faced by the leaders and the consequences of their decisions on the fighting men and the course of the war as a whole.