Operating under the premise that the World Wars I and II were actually parts of the same huge conflict, 38 historians have written 33 chapters comparing the two wars. There are chapters on occupation and genocide, war in the air and undersea, POWs, casualties, and the experience of killing. The chapters on the national and military leadership (e.g., Churchill and Lloyd George, Hitler and the Kaiser) offer the most direct comparisons. The biggest difference, of course, was the relatively stable (but incredibly deadly) trench warfare of 1914-18, unlike the 1939-45 period, which was notable for its immense geographic scope, the number of troops involved, and mobile operations (land, air, and sea). The aim of this book is "to demonstrate the diversity of personal experience in the two world wars," primarily in the uniformed services. The next volume will cover the national experiences of countries and the role of civilians. There is no bibliography, but notes are found at the end of the chapters. There is a glaring lack of maps, which would have been helpful. Suitable for the military history collections of both public and academic libraries.

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