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The Library of Congress World War II Companion. Edited by David M. Kennedy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. 982 pages. $45.00. Reviewed by Colonel Leonard J. Fullenkamp, USA Ret., Professor of Military History and Strategy, US Army War College.
Anyone with an interest in World War II, both the novice as well as the informed reader, will find this book a valuable reference text. Companions derive their name from the function they perform. As with a companion who accompanies you on a journey, guiding your way and calling your attention to points of interests, The Library of Congress World War II Companion "considers the world's greatest conflict from the beginning of full-scale combat in Asia in July 1937 through the Japanese surrender in August 1945," highlighting as it does countless interesting insights that contribute to one's understanding of the conflict.
Unlike The Oxford Companion to World War II, which resembles an encyclopedia, with entries on individuals, operations, equipment, and so on, The Library of Congress World War II Companion covers the war thematically in 12 chapters that read more like essays than entries in a reference text. Chapter topics overlap, with information on most subjects covered in several places. For example, information on home-front activities will be found in the chapters on "Wartime Politics," "Mobilization," "War Crimes and the...