The frieze on the Auckland War Memorial Museum is adorned with the names of battles fought in places many of us have not heard of, by forces whose exploits have faded into dusty regimental histories. Yet we continue to say, "never again".
Here Hastings - an author who has publishedmilitary histories widely over a 30-year career - gives us hope by explaining the horror of what happened to all combatants during World War II from 1939 to 1945. This 675-page tome, with voluminous notes, a bibliography and a detailed index, has found an expert path between mind-numbing detail and superficial observation.
It truly is a master work.
There are many purely military descriptions, but historical and modern-day revelations are skilfully woven into the saga to give the observations great meaning at the beginning of the 21st century. The author has included vignettes from the many sides in the conflict to give a human side to events that often were well outside the ability of the participants to understand or to alter.
