WWII : the people's story

World War II, the most catastrophic conflict in history, was the first truly 'total war', and the first in which, in many countries, civilians faced dangers every bit as great as those endured by the combatants.

When it ended, more than 70 million people across the globe were dead, among them some 400,000 Americans and more than half a million citizens of Great Britain or the British Commonwealth and Empire.

It can be easy to forget that the war was fought and won by ordinary men and women whose experiences collectively form the truest recollection of these vast events.

WWII: The People's Story combines text based largely on eyewitness accounts from major archives in the US and Britain, with audio CDs that use actual recordings from the same archives.

Comprehensively illustrated in colour and monochrome, the narrative draws on the reminiscences of servicemen and civilians, men, women and children who lived through the most momentous years of the twentieth centry.The accompanying recordings feature the voices of veterans and survivors as they actually describe events, bringing to life the human experience of those years, fraught with danger, terror and grief, Before the light of memory is stilled for ever, it is only fitting to recall that the Allied victory of 1945 was bought, at great cost, by 'ordinary' people, who, when called upon to show extraordinary faith, courage, endurance and, above all, humanity, did not fail either their fellows, or their descendants.