No End Save Victory: Perspectives on World War II

edited by Stephen Ambrose and Robert Cowley, Berkley Books, New York, 2001,688 pp., $16.95.

Robert Cowley has compiled an outstanding collection of essays about World War II into a single volume that will impress both the general reader and the military historian. No End Save Victory consists of 46 essays written by such prominent military historians as Stephen E. Ambrose, John Keegan, Robert A. Doughty, Alistair Horne, and Caleb Carr. Interspersed among these authors are several firsthand accounts by American, British, and Japanese participants. Cowley has assembled works from nearly all aspects of World War II to include the European Theater, Pacific Theater, Africa, Russia, the Far East, and an interesting collection of biographies.

By far, this book's strength is not simply rehashing stale essays on World War II; it contains new insights, new material, and completely differing perspectives on events. The book is not a definitive history of World War II, nor is that the editor's intention. It is not only an anthology of well-known events, such as Guadalcanal, Stalingrad, and Bataan, but includes several accounts of many lesser know events, actions, and personalities of World War II. Anthony Bailey provides an interesting perspective on Dunkirk by presenting it as a success, rather than a failure. Caleb Carr writes a masterful essay on Field Marshal Gerd yon Rundstedt, while Stephen Ambrose gives an excellent account of bridging the Rhine. Likewise, "The Right Man," by Victor Hanson shows the controversial figure of General Curtis LeMay in a much different light than that of which most readers are familiar. However, some of the more interesting articles are about the lesser know events such as, "Decima Mas," about an Italian unit specializing in naval sabotage, and "Beachhead Labrador," which is an account of the only landing on North American soil by the crew of a German U-boat.

Some may criticize the book for its lack of comprehensiveness or varied writing styles, however, I find it difficult to find any fault with this book; it is interesting, captivating, and informative. Cowley has comprised a wonderful collection that is highly readable, and difficult to put down once started. I would recommend it for everyone from the professional historian to the casual reader.

JOHN M. KEEFE

LTC (Ret.)

COPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Army Armor Center
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group