Why the Allies Won (1995)

by Richard Overy

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
866	7	24,874	(3.92)	23
"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."--BOOK JACKET. "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."--BOOK JACKET. "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."--Jacket.… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

CalvinJames, historicalaircraft, mkrabach, ryoun6lc, StevenLJones, mapofeli, EmeritusAberdeen, Bunnychow

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

Best Military History Books (44)

Books bought at library sales (26)

r/AskHistorians' Recommended Books (147)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 23 mentions

▾Member reviews

English (5) Italian (1) All languages (6)

date ▼ | votes

Showing 5 of 5

Richard Overy makes some interesting points in this book beyond what most histories give for winning the war. I thought the most compelling were the Allies having the moral high ground and what he calls the de-modernization of the Axis powers. While the book and points were well organized and systematically discussed, I didn't feel like there was much of a common thread running throughout his supporting arguments.

Overy is British so Americans reading this book will experience the occasional odd turn of phrase, spelling or sentence construction. His writing is very readable however, not like John Keegan's style at all.

Well worth reading for history buffs as it gives food for thought when reading other histories of the second world war. As is usually the case, a well written history magnifies current events and shows that even though the cast of characters has changed, human nature remains the same. (

)

WEPhillips | Oct 20, 2022 |

Áhugaverð tilraun til að rannsaka hvort sigur Bandamanna var jafn sjálfsagður líkt og oft er látið í veðri vaka.
Overy fullyrðir að árið 1942 hafi Möndulveldin í raun verið með yfirburða stöðu og hefði getað knúið fram sigur áður en Bandamönnum tókst að snúa stríðinu sér í hag. Hann fer yfir nokkra lykilþætti s.s. tækni, efnahag, leiðtoga og hernað í lofti, láði og legi.
Það er skemmtilegt að lesa rit sem greinir svona lykilspurningar og gerir tilraun til að svara þeim. Mér finnst Overy gera það að mestu leyti vel þótt ákveðnar veilur megi greina í forsendum hans. (

)

SkuliSael | Apr 28, 2022 |

2998 Why the Allies Won, by Richard Overy (read 2 Aug 1997) Some chapters of this book I found worthwhile: the chapter where the incredible story of the battle of Midway was recounted was a thrilling account; the chapter on Stalingrad and Kursk was relatively new to me (I do remember hearing much about the Kursk battle while it was going on) ; the chapter on bombing (he demonstrates that bombing of Germany was effective in preventing increase in German production}; and the chapter on the Normandy invasion. In general, though, I did not think the book particularly well-written or exciting. (

)

Schmerguls | Dec 31, 2007 |

There is no better book in print for those interested in understanding World War Two. (

)

Winomaster | Jan 21, 2007 |

A one-of-a-kind book that asks and answers the deceptively simple question implied in the title. The answer ranges over technology, tactics, strategy, leadership, economics, politics, and ideology. A tour-de-force, and essential reading for serious students of the war. (

)

ABVR | Dec 4, 2005 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 5 of 5

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (6 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Richard Overy	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Ferrer, Jordi Beltrán	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

▾Awards and Honors

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Why the Allies Won

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1995

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Why did the allies win World War II?

Quotations

Last words

Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Pimlico

Blurbers

Original language

Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

Inglese

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (14)

American propaganda during World War II

Battle for Caen

British propaganda during World War II

Defence of the Reich

German–Soviet Axis talks

Japanese propaganda during World War II

List of air operations during the Battle of Europe

Nazi–Soviet economic relations (1934–41)

Oil Campaign chronology of World War II

Propaganda in the Soviet Union

Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission

SS Robert E. Peary

Wikipedia:Paris/Sandbox

Wikipedia:Paris/Sandbox2

▾Book descriptions

"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."--BOOK JACKET. "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."--BOOK JACKET. "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."--Jacket.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary