World War II: The First Culture War

The global conflict of WWII was as much a clash of cultures as it was a clash of arms. The political directed the personal, in terms of its leading actors and the soldiers and civilians involved in the war. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt - as well as their opponents of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito - shaped events; but they were also governed by the hand which history gave them. Despite the initial successes of Nazi Germany to expand its territories and defeat its enemies, Hitler and his Axis were eventually outgunned and outthought. How much can we consider that Germany's capitulation was inevitable? And what drove so few men to command so many - and devastate so much? Economic and cultural factors, as well as military power, came into play to determine victory. The subject Second World War throws up more questions than answers, in many regards, but World War II: The First Culture War endeavours to address certain controversial and unpalatable issues. The war fighting skills and the ability to produce the weapons so effectively wielded by the Allies were begotten by the notion of individual freedom that emerged in one place only, mediaeval England. The history that produced English exceptionalism, colonialism, and a lust for private profit - though now unpopular in some circles - proved to be the basis for a superior social, economic, and political system that produced the mighty arsenal arrayed against the Axis. For some time, Great Britain and its Empire stood alone against the might and menace of the Axis powers. Churchill, embodying a culture of defiance, industry and ingenuity believed that the English and the English-speaking peoples would ultimately triumph. He was right. World War II: The First Culture War asserts why he was right.