Book Review: The Library of Congress World War II Companion

Parameters

The Library of Congress World War II Companion. Edited by David M. Kennedy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. 982 pages. $45.00. Reviewed by Colonel Leonard J. Fullenkamp, USA Ret., Professor of Military History and Strategy, US Army War College.

Anyone with an interest in World War II, both the novice as well as the informed reader, will find this book a valuable reference text. Companions derive their name from the function they perform. As with a companion who accompanies you on a journey, guiding your way and calling your attention to points of interests, The Library of Congress World War II Companion "considers the world's greatest conflict from the beginning of full-scale combat in Asia in July 1937 through the Japanese surrender in August 1945," highlighting as it does countless interesting insights that contribute to one's understanding of the conflict.

Unlike The Oxford Companion to World War II, which resembles an encyclopedia, with entries on individuals, operations, equipment, and so on, The Library of Congress World War II Companion covers the war thematically in 12 chapters that read more like essays than entries in a reference text. Chapter topics overlap, with information on most subjects covered in several places. For example, information on home-front activities will be found in the chapters on "Wartime Politics," "Mobilization," "War Crimes and the Holocaust," and "The Underground War," in addition to the obvious location, a chapter titled "War on the Home Front." Strategy and tactics are covered in chapters on "Military Leadership and Organization" and "Instruments of War." Two chapters are devoted to military operations, one covering the period 1937-41 and the other 1942-45. Given the thematic format, the reader will find the comprehensive Index a welcome complement to the Table of Contents.

The book is interesting on many levels, both for what is included and what is not. For example, the Index has an entry for the "zoot suit riot," but not one for unconditional surrender. Although one does find mention of "unconditional surrender" in several entries on the Casablanca Conference, it is noted only in passing, which is odd since unconditional surrender as a war aim was so central to Allied grand strategy. In a similar vein, the Index does not list "strategy" or "grand strategy" as topics. One does find an entry for "Orange plan," but there is no listing for the Rainbow plans. The Rainbow plans are mentioned in passing in the section on Plan Orange. A reader searching for a summary of the grand strategies pursued by the various belligerents must either begin with a good working idea of what one is looking for or wait to discover the information almost serendipitously. Indeed, a major shortcoming in what is otherwise an interesting overview of the war is the lack of a coherent and yet succinct summary of the grand strategies of any of the combatant nations.

The narrative includes numerous lists and tables that summarize subjects such as "Major Inter-Allied Conferences, 1941-1945," "Production of Weapons and Military Vehicles by Country, 1939-1945," and "Nazi Extermination Camps and Major Concentration Camps." This last, for example, provides information on the location of the camp, months or years of operation, numbers killed, and so on. Maps, photographs, and interviews drawn from the Library of Congress's extensive holdings add to the interest and utility of the Companion.

Several of the chapters reflect the excellent use of the Library's vast archives and the expertise of researchers and writers. For example, the chapter on "War Crimes and the Holocaust" is remarkable for its richness and complexity. Although the section on the Holocaust spans a mere 40 pages, it reflects the best of what the Companion has to offer. There is an excellent, annotated timeline that marks the onset of what eventually became the Holocaust with the opening of Dachau in 1933 and runs to May 1945. Text boxes embedded throughout the narrative define terms ("holocaust, meaning 'burnt offering'"), include lists of statistics (e.g., number of Jewish immigrants from Germany, 1933-38 and the countries to which they fled), the colors and shapes of badges worn by prisoners (inverted triangles or Stars of David, pink for homosexuals, yellow for Jews), and so on. One of the larger text boxes lists the major extermination and concentration camps with populations during the war and numbers killed or who died of maltreatment while incarcerated. One may read the narrative uninterrupted, scan the text boxes, or both as time and interest permit. Chapters end with a list of principal sources and suggested titles for further reading.

All too frequently one hears the question, "What's the best single book on [fill in the blank]?" Generally one must deflect that question, especially when the subject is WWII, an event which by almost any measure must be considered the most cataclysmic in modern times, if not in all of recorded history. Literally thousands of books have been written on the war since 1945, and with each year the number grows. That said, given the thematic format, the excellent writing, and the comprehensive scope of the work, The Library of Congress World War II Companion deserves a place on any short list of recommendations titled "best single book" on WWII.

----

More book reviews

More book news