Total War: A People’s History of the Second World War

To coincide with the much-awaited newly opened Second World War and The Holocaust galleries at the Imperial War Museum, London, curators Clements, Hawkins and Cornish (now retired) have written Total War. Packed with photographs, images of contemporary WW2 artefacts, concise histories and individual case study biographies, the book dramatically brings into focus the total and immersive nature of the Second World War. It effected everyone. The stories, pieces of history and photographs revealed are remarkable, intriguing, poignant, varied: from luminous corsages (to be worn during the Black Out in Britain), to the cartoon style ‘nose art’ decorating bombers in order to ‘boost morale or bring good luck’, or the more prosaic bicycles carried ashore shoulder high at D-day.

People fighting, incarcerated, displaced from their homes and even their countries – lives devastated and turned upside down: all these life stories and more are recounted in this beautifully produced book sure to fascinate anyone interested in the history of the Second World War and the impact on our ancestors’ lives worldwide.

• Published by Thames & Hudson in partnership with the Imperial War Museum www. thamesandhudson.com at £35 (hardback), ISBN: 9780500252482 HT