**“Richard Overy [is] one of the world’s finest military historians and probably the best historian of World War II writing in English today.” —Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Army retired, Twentieth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army magazineA leading historian of World War II sheds new light on the purposes and impact of the U.S. incendiary and atomic bombing of Japan’s cities in 1945.**With the development of the B-29 “Superfortress” in summer 1944, strategic bo...

**“Richard Overy [is] one of the world’s finest military historians and probably the best historian of World War II writing in English today.” —Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Army retired, Twentieth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army magazineThe 30th anniversary edition of the indispensable history that explains how Allied forces rallied for victory against Germany and Japan.**The Allied victory in 1945 has since come to seem inevitable, but it was not. In 1942, G...

"A book of great importance; it surpasses all others in breadth and depth."--CommentaryIf the past century will be remembered for its tragic pairing of civilized achievement and organized destruction, at the heart of darkness may be found Hitler, Stalin, and the systems of domination they forged. Their lethal regimes murdered millions and fought a massive, deadly war. Yet their dictatorships took shape within formal constitutional structures and drew the s...

“Packed with drama, both military and political.… It will surely prove definitive.” —Lewis Jones, Daily TelegraphThis compact, masterful work by an outstanding historian marks a pivotal moment in military history: the birth of Britain’s Royal Air Force. Writing with great clarity, Richard Overy shows how the RAF emerged from the deadly stalemate of trench warfare during World War I. With German bombers attacking British cities by 1917, Prime Minister David...

**An Economist Best Book of the Year“Richard Overy [is] one of the world’s finest military historians.… [His] book is timely for those interested in preventing war.” —Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Army, retired, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army magazineWhy has war been such a consistent presence throughout the human past? A leading historian explains, drawing on rich examples and keen insight.**Richard Overy is not the first scholar to tak...