A comprehensive single-volume history of World War II in both European and Far Eastern theaters revises traditional views of the belligerents refuting in particular the idea of Japanese and German military superiority This work stands out from its counterparts because of the high quality of its operational analysis. Willmott, a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sand hurst, accepts Allied material superiority as crucial to the war's outcome. He stresses Axis strategic errors, demonstrating in particular that the Wehrmacht was better at winning battles than waging war. But he recognizes that World War II was won and lost at its sharp end. Willmott's treatments of the Russo-German War, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the Allied bomber offensive stand out; they combine clear discussions of events with stimulating, controversial interpretive frameworks. U.S. readers will also welcome the balanced presentation of a Pacific theater that most British historians tend to dismiss as a sideshow. The Great Crusade compares favorably with John Keegan's The Second World War ( LJ 11/1/89), and deserves a place in both public and university libraries. -Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.