★★★★★ 4
Very good book with a few minor flaws
Format: Hardcover
As most books published under the DK banner, this is a visually excellent book that is a pleasure to look at. It is well written and chock-full of outstanding illustrations and maps. I do have a few minor "ding" though. First, I think that the book should have included a "why" the battle changed history. While in most cases, this rationale is included in the text, in a few cases one has to wonder "why" this battle was important; for example, they chose the World War I battle of Verdun, but they also said that the battle was "inconclusive"; if so, how did it change history? Second, I have to question the choice of some of the battles. For example, the editors list "Arnhem", which ended up as a costly allied failure, but fail to mention the wildly successful Soviet "Operation Bagration", which destroyed the German Army Group Center. Third, there were some minor factual inaccuracies. The battles of Passchendaele and Dunkirk were both shown on a map as being located in Northern Italy instead of northern France, while Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France, was shown on a map as being more at Pas de Calais vice the beaches of Normandy. In spite of these nits, this is a good book worthy of belonging in you library. Four stars.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2020
