Norman Ferguson’s ‘The Second World War A Miscellany’, published by Summersdale, is an accessible and fact-filled whistlestop tour through six years of conflict. The author tackles the war in chronological order, picking out all of the major developments between 1939 and 1945. Ferguson specialises in accessible history tomes. He has also written an accompanying miscellany of the First World War and ‘A Very Unreliable History of Aviation’.
This book is a fantastic and useful resource for anyone looking to quickly research World War Two or find useful facts about it. At only 250 pages, the main chapters necessarily only provide a potted history. Pivotal events such as as the evacuation of Dunkirk, the D-Day landings, the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the battle of Stalingrad and the Siege of Leningrad (plus many others) are sketched out with essential facts and figures over a couple of pages. Lengthly books have been written about each event.
Although the book is an overview of the war, the brevity of the text means that a certain background knowledge is assumed. For that reason, despite its highly engaging prose, ‘The Second World War A Miscellany’ would not be the best starting point for somebody looking to find out about this period in history with little base knowledge. Rather, it’s an enjoyable refresher for the historically literate who may not be entirely sure how the whole bloody conflict fits together.
Much as the landmark 1970s television documentary ‘The World at War’ enabled viewers to appreciate how the conflict wrought devastation to all corners of the globe, Ferguson’s miscellany helps to retain awareness of the chronology and location of the main events. For example, understanding the strategic significance of El Alamein as the Allies pushed north into Europe was brought out through the book’s chronological approach.
There is the risk, with quite so many facts and figures on every page, that the reader can no longer retain information, or even becomes blinded to them. The position of the pull-out numbers sometimes results in an unusual sentence structure too. Having said that, there are bound to be nuggets that stick out and make you think, especially where they are in relation to the sheer number of human lives sacrificed or cut short during the long years of war. When 3.6 million Anderson shelters were produced, you can understand why people regularly find remnants under their gardens.
As well as covering the main military conflicts, the book also draws upon the impact of war on civilians. In that way, it’s useful for illustrating how, in comparison to conflicts before the Twentieth Century, there is no escape for civilians. War no longer concerned armies or navies in conflict. Rather, civilians were now targets with military strategies such as blitzes on major towns and cities. Those too old to fight joined the war effort with initiatives such as the Home Front. Women served as Wrens. Most tragically, the author recounts the millions of victims of the Holocaust, as the Nazis attempted the genocide of European Jews. There are stories to break up the horror, such as how Wojtek the bear became a mascot for Polish artillery troops.
Overall, ‘The Second World War A Miscellany’ is a well-written, thoroughly-researched and engaging account of the conflict. The author’s interest in the subject matter comes through in the text. There are recurring sections such as decisive events, disasters and daring raids that provide a useful structure to the narrative. I always like an index, which helps to quickly find pieces of information. In a miscellany, the risk is always that an index would be almost as long as the text. Nevertheless, without one, if you’re not sure which year some events occurred, or you want to quickly find facts again, the only option is to scroll through.
This book is the ideal gift for the relative or family friend who is fascinated by the history of the Second World War. If you’re looking for a refresher or a crash course in the conflict, then you’ll find it immensely useful.
Credit: SummersdalePublisher: Summersdale Release date: 10th July 2025 Buy ‘The Second World War A Miscellany’
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