The Second World War: grisly details of warfare

World War II remains an enthralling topic for military historians, and former British army officer Antony Beevor is at the fore of writing on the subject.

The Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, leading to some of the most savage fighting of the war. Getty Images

The expansion in scope from his previous works – The Second World War runs to nearly 800 pages of reading text – doesn't always show Beevor at his best. He is better on European theatre, particularly the titanic battles of the eastern front, than he is on the Pacific
campaign. Some American readers may be dismayed that the Battle of Midway, which decisively checked Japanese naval supremacy, gets a mere two pages. Beevor is a former British army officer, and this is very much a soldier's book; somewhat stiff in tone – name, rank and serial number matter here – and concerned with strategy, tactics and the movements of men across the battlefield.

Matthew Price’s writing has been published in Bookforum, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and the Financial Times.