Bradley Lightbody presents a fascinating and accessible history of the Second World War in its global context. Examining the war around general themes from ambition and advance, through expansion and containment, to rout and extinction, The Second World War covers all the major theatres and events. From the origins and background to the war to its aftermath and legacy, The Second World War covers: the pre-war ambitions of Italy, Germany and Japan the outbreak of the war in Poland the Phoney War Blitzkreig, the Fall of France and the Battle of Britain Pearl Harbour the War in North Africa and El Alamein the Final Solution D-Day, the Liberation of Italy and deliverance from the Concentration Camps the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the global ambitions and the global warfare that was the Second World War. It reflects on the immense social, economic and political impact of the war and bears witness to the human cost of the most destructive war in world history.