Why War?

A richly absorbing book... Overy is unquestionably one of our finest living historians - The Daily Telegraph 
 
Why has warfare always been part of the human story? 
From biology to belief, what explains the persistence of violent conflict? 
What light can this shed on humanity’s past – and its future? 
 
There can be few more important but also more contentious issues than attempting to understand the human propensity for conflict. Our history is inextricably tangled in wave after wave of inter-human fighting from as far back as we have records. 
 
Repeatedly humans have foresworn war, have understood its appalling risks and have wished to create more pacific, productive societies. And yet almost inevitably circumstances emerge under which war once more seems inevitable or even desirable 
 
How can we make sense of what Einstein called 'the dark places of human will and feeling'? Richard Overy draws on a lifetime's study of conflict to write this challenging account of how we can understand the causes of war. Looking at every facet of war from biology to belief, psychology to security, Overy allows readers to understand the many contradictory or self-reinforcing ways in which warfare can suddenly appear a legitimate option, and why it is likely to be part of our future as well as our past.

A richly absorbing book... Overy is unquestionably one of our finest living historians

PRAISE FOR BLOOD AND RUINS: 'Majestic and original ... Overy has written many fine books, but Blood and Ruins is his masterpiece. It puts all previous single-volume works of the conflict in the shade.

Monumental... [A] vast and detailed study that is surely the finest single-volume history of World War Two.

This is a magnificent book that reflects the deep scholarship and humane judgment of a magisterial historian.

Richard Overy is one of Britain's most distinguished historians. His most recent book is Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War, 1931-45 which was a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History. His other major works include The Dictators, winner of the 2005 Wolfson Prize, The Morbid Age and The Bombing War, which was a finalist for the 2014 Cundhill Prize. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

There can be few more important but also more contentious issues than attempting to understand the human propensity for conflict. Our history is inextricably tangled in wave after wave of inter-human fighting from as far back as we have records. 
 
How can we make sense of what Einstein called 'the dark places of human will and feeling'? Richard Overy draws on a lifetime's study of conflict to write this challenging, invaluable book. Studying every facet of war from biology to belief, psychology to security, Overy allows readers to understand the many contradictory or self-reinforcing ways in which warfare can suddenly appear a legitimate option. 
 
Repeatedly humans have foresworn war, have understood its appalling risks and have wished to create more pacific, productive societies. And yet almost inevitably circumstances emerge under which war once more seems inevitable or even desirable.

The Great Imperial War, 1931-1945

Blood and Ruins

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 
WINNER OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GILDER LEHRMAN PRIZE FOR MILITARY HISTORY 
 
'A masterpiece. It puts all previous single-volume works of the conflict in the shade' Saul David, The Times 
 
A bold new approach to the Second World War from one of Britain's foremost military historians 
 
Richard Overy sets out in Blood and Ruins to recast the way in which we view the Second World War and its origins and aftermath. He argues that this was the 'great imperial war', a violent end to almost a century of global imperial expansion which reached its peak in the ambitions of Italy, Germany and Japan in the 1930s and early 1940s, before descending into the largest and costliest war in human history and the end, after 1945, of all territorial empires. 
 
How war on a huge scale was fought, supplied, paid for, supported by mass mobilization and morally justified forms the heart of this new account. Above all, Overy explains the bitter cost for those involved in fighting, and the exceptional level of crime and atrocity that marked these imperial projects, the war and its aftermath. This war was as deadly for civilians as it was for the military, a war to the death over the future of the global order. 
 
Blood and Ruins is a masterpiece from of one of the most renowned historians of the Second World War, which will compel us to view the war in novel and unfamiliar ways. Thought-provoking, original and challenging, Blood and Ruins sets out to understand the war anew.

Majestic and original ... Overy has written many fine books, but Blood and Ruins is his masterpiece. At almost 1,000 pages, it puts all previous single-volume works of the conflict in the shade.

This book is Richard Overy's magnum opus (in every sense of the phrase) ... It would be difficult to overstate the brilliance with which argument and insight are interwoven in a fast-paced narrative ... Extraordinarily compelling, and written with remarkable fluency.

Monumental... [A] vast and detailed study that is surely the finest single-volume history of World War Two.

This is a magnificent book that reflects the deep scholarship and humane judgment of a magisterial historian.

Let's praise Overy's stupendous achievement. Anybody interested in the why and how of boundless violence in the 20th century should make space for Blood and Ruins on his or her shelf. It will help you to grasp and revisit the carnage of 1931-45 as the largest event in human history. This book is not Eurocentric, but truly geocentric ... it is history at its best.

Richard Overy has produced one of the most stunning accounts of the Second World War and the events that led up to it.

A magisterial new history ... remarkable in span, depth and scholarship, impressive in sweep and vision, that rightly sees WW2 as starting in China in 1931 and recasts the conflict as a distorted sequel to an earlier epoch.

A truly global view of World War II ... perhaps the single most comprehensive account of the Second World War yet to appear in one volume. You might think that by reading extensively, you could construct a book like this one. You could not ... Richard Overy has done a signal service with this compellingly written, impressively researched book.

Recasting World War Two as the logical continuation of decades of imperial growth and territorial ambition, this new exploration of the conflict is expansive in its geographical and chronological scope. Yet it never loses sight of the very human cost of that ambition ... A weighty, important take from a leading author in the field.

His masterly synthesis of the war's vast literature and sources has never been bettered. ... it is unflagging and consistently illuminating.

Dazzling ... Overy's reframing of WWII as the last gasp of imperialism is astute and incisive. WWII buffs should consider this a must-read.

In this impressively detailed and innovative account of the 1930s and the Second World War, Overy frames the events leading up to the conflict as a last-ditch attempt to shore up or remake empires.

Richard Overy is Honorary Research Professor of History at the University of Exeter and one of Britain's most distinguished historians. His major works include The Dictators, winner of the 2005 Wolfson Prize, The Morbid Age and The Bombing War, which won a Cundill Award for Historical Excellence in 2014. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Richard Overy sets out in Blood and Ruins to recast the way in which we view the Second World War and its origins and aftermath. He argues that this was the 'great imperial war', a violent end to almost a century of global imperial expansion which reached its peak in the 1930s and early 1940s, before descending into the largest and costliest war in human history and the end, after 1945, of all territorial empires. 
 
How war on a huge scale was fought, paid for and morally justified forms the heart of this new account. Above all, Overy explains the bitter cost for those involved in fighting, and the exceptional level of crime and atrocity that marked these imperial projects, the war and its aftermath. This war was as deadly for civilians as it was for the military, a war to the death over the future of the global order. 
 
Blood and Ruins is a masterpiece from of one of the most renowned historians of the Second World War, which will compel us to view the war in novel and unfamiliar ways. Thought-provoking, original and challenging, Blood and Ruins sets out to understand the war anew.

Countdown to War

1939

'A gripping analysis of the final days of peace ... indispensable' M. R. D. Foot, The Times 
 
Richard Overy's 1939: Countdown to War re-creates hour-by-hour the last desperate attempts to salvage peace before the outbreak of World War Two. 
 
24 August 1939: The fate of the world is hanging in the balance. Hitler has ambitions to invade Poland and hopes Stalin will now help him. The West must try to stop him. Nothing was predictable or inevitable. The West hoped that Hitler would see sense if they stood firm. Hitler was convinced the West would back down. And both sides acted knowing that they risked being plunged into a war that might spell the end the end of European civilization.

Richard Overy has spent much of his distinguished career studying the intellectual, social and military ideas that shaped the cataclysm of the Second World War, particularly in his books The Origins of the Second World War, The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939, Why the Allies Won, Russia's War and The Morbid Age. Since 2004 he has been Professor in History at the University of Exeter. 
 
Richard Overy's book, The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, won the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hessell Tiltman Prize.

24 August 1939: The fate of the world is hanging in the balance. Hitler has ambitions to invade Poland and hopes Stalin will now help him. The West must try to stop him. If they don't, world war will result. 
 
In this dramatic account Richard Overy re-creates hour-by-hour the last days of peace in 1939, as politicians and the public braced themselves for a war they feared might spell the end of European civilization. 
 
Nothing was predictable or inevitable. The West hoped that Hitler would see sense if they stood firm. Hitler was convinced the West would back down. The one constant feature was the determination of Poland to fight against the armed might of Germany. 
 
Countdown to War brings to life a defining moment in the history of the twentieth century.

The World's First Air Force

The Birth of the RAF, 1918

'Fascinating, full of original material and shrewd insights ... a masterful historian of air power' Leo McKinstry, Literary Review 
 
The RAF was the world's first air force. This is the story of its founding in 1918, as a response to the new terror of aerial warfare, the struggles to keep it alive amid controversy and opposition, its crucial role in the Second World War and its unique place in Britain's history. 
 
'Brilliantly lucid' Noel Malcolm, Daily Telegraph 
 
'Richard Overy is to be congratulated on creating a concise exposition of the formation of the RAF ... this is a book that makes you think' Peter Hart, BBC History Magazine 
 
'A skilful pocket history of the founding of the Royal Air Force in 1918 ... a fine introduction' Kirkus Reviews

Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter and one of Britain's most distinguished historians. His many works include The Bombing War, Dictators and The Morbid Age.

Europe, 1939-1945

The Bombing War

The ultimate history of the Blitz and bombing in the Second World War, from Wolfson Prize-winning historian and author 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. 
 
The Bombing War radically overhauls our understanding of the War. It is the first book to examine seriously not just the most well-known parts of the campaign, but the significance of bombing on many other fronts - the German use of bombers on the Eastern Front for example (as well as much newly discovered material on the more familiar 'Blitz' on Britain), or the Allied campaigns against Italian cities. 
 
The result is the author's masterpiece - a rich, gripping, picture of the Second World War and the terrible military, technological and ethical issues that relentlessly drove all its participants into an abyss.

Magnificent ... must now be regarded as the standard work on the bombing war ... It is probably the most important book published on the history of he second world war this century

Monumental ... this is a major contribution to one of the most controversial aspects of the Second World War ... full of new detail and perspectives ... hugely impressive

This tremendous book does what the war it describes signally failed to do. With a well-thought-out strategy and precision, it delivers maximum force on its objectives ... The result is a masterpiece of the historian's art

What distinguishes Mr Overy's account of the bombing war from lesser efforts is the wealth of narrative detail and analytical rigour that he brings to bear

Excellent ... Overy is never less than an erudite and clear-eyed guide whose research is impeccable and whose conclusions appear sensible and convincing even when they run against the established trends

It is unlikely that a work of this scale, scope and merit will be surpassed

Hard to surpass. If you want to know how bombing worked, what it did and what it meant, this is the book to read

My book of the year ... A staggering amount of research ... provides a sober and realistic assessment of [the bombings'] impact on the warring nations and on the civilians who bore the brunt of its impact ... It's hard to imagine a more thorough account: a masterpiece

A much needed breath of fresh air ... Overy argues his point with the confidence of someone who knows he is master of his subject: his rich and varied approach, coupled with exhaustive research, makes this probably the best history of bombing of the past 20 years

A superbly detailed account of a terrifying aspect of the Second World War

An extraordinary and far-reaching history ... the first full narrative of the bombing war in Europe ... Overy's scope is incredibly broad and well-researched, also highly readable

This is a tough, hardheaded and meticulous work of military history ... It is worth reading

Overy's history explains and explores strategy, tactics, technology and results in one seamless story that shatters myths and establishes truths

Utterly fascinating ... What is most surprising in Overy's book is its remarkable contemporary relevance

The first full narrative of the bombing war in Europe

Richard Overy is the author of a series of remarkable books on the Second World War and the wider disasters of the twentieth century. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia won both the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hessell-Tiltman Prize. He is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. Penguin publishes 1939: Countdown to War, The Morbid Age, Russia's War, Interrogations, The Battle of Britain and The Dictators. He lives in London.

Russia's War

In Russia's War: 1941-1945, Richard Overy re-creates the Soviet Union's apocalyptic struggle against Nazi Germany, from the point of view both of the troops and of the ordinary civilians. 
 
 In the course of human history there has probably been no more terrible place than Eastern Europe in 1941-45. Estimates of total Soviet military and civilian deaths in the period now stand at more than 25 million. 
 
 Yet without the Soviet war effort, it is unlikely that Germany could have ever been defeated. Drawing on a recent wealth of evidence to account for the Soviet Union's remarkable victory against invading forces, Richard Overy's Russia's War is a fascinating account of the epic struggle that turned the tide of the Second World War. 
 
 'Masterly ... a vivid account' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Robert Service, Independent 
 'A dramatic and exciting tale ... His set-piece descriptions of such visions of Hell as Stalingrad, the 900-day siege of Leningrad and the crucial battle of Kursk are as fascinating as they are horrifying' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Alan Judd, Sunday Times 
 'Overy is a first-class military historian ... Now, we have an authoritative British account that understands both sides, without illusions' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Norman Stone, Spectator 
 'Excellent ... Overy tackles this huge, complex and multifaceted story with the vital gifts of clarity and brevity' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Antony Beevor, Literary Review 
 
 Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. His books include Why the Allies Won, Russia's War, The Battle of Britain, The Morbid Age and The Dictators, which won the Wolfson and the Hessell Tiltman Prizes for history in 2005.

A dramatic and exciting tale ... His set-piece descriptions of such visions of Hell as Stalingrad, the 900-day siege of Leningrad and the crucial battle of Kursk are as fascinating as they are horrifying

Overy is a first-class military historian ... He writes concisely and says what he means to say ... Now, we have an authoritative British account that understands both sides, without illusions

Excellent ... Overy tackles this huge, complex and multifaceted story with the vital gifts of clarity and brevity

Richard Overy is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. His books include Why the Allies Won, Russia's War, The Battle of Britain, The Morbid Age and The Dictators, which won the Wolfson and the Hessell Tiltman Prizes for history in 2005.

In the course of human history there has probably been no more terrible place than Eastern Europe in 1941-5. Estimates of total Soviet military and civilian deaths in the period now stand at more than 25 million. In Russia's War, Richard Overy re-creates the Soviet Union's apocalyptic struggle against Germany from the point of view both of the troops and of the ordinary civilians.

Richard Overy

Tokyo, Hiroshima and the Surrender of Japan

In the closing months of the Second World War hundreds of thousands of Japanese, mostly civilians, died in a final outburst of violence from the air. American planes were beginning to run low on plausible targets when it was decided to use two atomic weapons in a final, terrible flourish to try to end the war. 
 
Richard Overy’s remarkable new book rethinks how we should regard this last stage of the war and the role of the bombing. This book explores the way in which the willingness to kill civilians and destroy cities became normalized in the course of a horrific war as moral concerns were blunted and scientists, airmen, and politicians followed a strategy of mass destruction they would never have endorsed before the war began. But it also engages with the new scholarship that shows how complex the effort to end the war was in Japan, where ‘surrender’ was entirely foreign to Japanese culture.

Richard Overy

Books by Richard Overy

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