The New York Times Complete World War II: The Coverage of the Entire Conflict

I knew I would read this the instant I discovered it in the Kindle store.  I love works of epic scope, which is exactly what this turned out to be.

A few notes and comments:

• It underscored the truly global scale of WWII as opposed to any other war, including WWI.  This war took place almost everywhere in one form or another.  From German submarines spotted off Texas beaches, to Eritrea, Australia, the Arctic, the waters off South America and many other places I did not anticipate.
• In addition to deep tactical coverage from the battlefronts (which I expected), the Times provided Americans with rich subtexts I would not have expected.  The killing of reptiles in London zoos to keep them from escaping during bombardment; the impact on American women during the war, changing the trajectory of their lives forever; the effect on American diet, fashion and entertainment.  
• The final stages of the book, including the Epilogue, emphasize the great schisms that were to come quickly upon the heals of the war.  The long-awaited arrival of peace only opened the door to new challenges: Reconstructing a demolished Europe; India's final lunges to independence; Israel's formation and the subsequent conflict with the Arabs; the arrival of the nuclear age; and of course the return of the Soviets to an adversarial role on the world stage, despite their alliance that won the war for the West.  The newly formed United Nations played a great role in avoiding even larger conflict in the decades to come, as the League of Nations failed to do at the close of WWI.

After reading this book I'm feeling like I don't need any additional battle-by-battle accounts of the various fronts.  As I continue my study of WWII I can now focus on more specific themes from the war and fictional accounts.