The War at Sea Volume II. The Period of Balance (HMSO Official History of WWII - Military Book 2)

Narrative version of the famous 'War at Sea' series by Roskill. Anyone familiar with these fascinating books will realise that it is impossible to reproduce the many maps, tables and appendixes of the original in 'Kindle' format - you can't squeeze an A3 map or table onto a A5 Kindle and still read it.

Nevertheless the detailed and highly information text stands on his own as one of the greatest books about the Second World War. It is both a literary and historical masterpiece - a 20th Century 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

The second volume of this definitive history starts with the shattering blows suffered by the US Navy and the Royal Navy in the Atlantic and Pacific. The massacre of shipping off the US east coast, the succession of naval defeats after Pearl Harbor. Gradually the initiative is regained, the US Navy introduces convoy on the east coast and the Japanese carriers are sunk at Midway.

The climax of the battles in the Arctic and Mediterranean is reached and Axis forces are pushed back

Not only is it a history and work of literature - it is also a textbook on Naval Strategy with references to many famous writers such as Mahan and Corbett that provide insight into to all the many and varied aspects of WWII.