Most Popular Books by Martin Gilbert

A chronological compilation of twentieth-century world events in one volume—from the acclaimed historian and biographer of Winston S. Churchill. The twentieth century has been one of the most unique in human history. It has seen the rise of some of humanity's most important advances to date, as well as many of its most violent and terrifying wars. This is a condensed version of renowned historian Martin Gilbert's masterful examination of the century's history, offering the highlights of a three-volume work that covers more than three thousand pages. From the invention of aviation to the rise of the Internet, and from events and cataclysmic changes in Europe to those in Asia, Africa, and North America, Martin examines art, literature, war, religion, life and death, and celebration and renewal across the globe, and throughout this turbulent and astonishing century.

"Mr. Gilbert brings the strongest possible credentials to his history of World War II, and the result is a magisterial work" ( The New York Times). In the hands of master historian Martin Gilbert, the complex and compelling story of the Second World War comes to life. This narrative captures the perspectives of leading politicians and war commanders, journalists, civilians, and ordinary soldiers, offering gripping eyewitness accounts of heroism, defeat, suffering, and triumph. This is one of the first historical studies of World War II that describes the Holocaust as an integral part of the war. It also covers maneuvers, strategies, and leaders operating in European, Asian, and Pacific theatres. In addition, this book brings in survivor testimonies of occupation, survival behind enemy lines, and the experience of minority groups such as the Roma in Europe, to offer a comprehensive account of the war's impact on individuals on both sides. This is a sweeping narrative of one of the most deadly wars in history, which took almost forty million lives, and irrevocably changed countless more. "Gilbert's flowing narrative is spiced with anecdotal details culled from diaries, memoirs, and official documents. He is especially skillful at interweaving summaries of military strategy with vignettes of civilian suffering." — Newsweek "[A] masterful account of history's most destructive conflict." — Publishers Weekly

"Drawing on twenty-five years of original research, Gilbert takes us through Germany and every occupied country from Norway to Greece, from the Atlantic to the Baltic, where the Righteous, by their lifesaving actions, challenged Nazi barbarism.".

Sets the scene with a brief history of anti-Semitism prior to Hitler, and documents the horrors of the Holocaust from 1933 onward, in an incisive, interpretive account of the genocide of World War II.

Narrative of the war which left fourteen million dead and changed the political, social, and cultural landscape of Europe.

A thorough analysis of Allied actions after learning about the horrors of Nazi concentration camps—includes survivors' firsthand accounts. Why did they wait so long? Among the myriad questions of what the Allies could have done differently in World War II, understanding why it took them so long to respond to the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps—specifically Auschwitz—remains vital today. In Auschwitz and the Allies, Martin Gilbert presents a comprehensive look into the series of decisions that helped shape this particular course of the war, and the fate of millions of people, through his eminent blend of exhaustive devotion to the facts and accessible, graceful writing. Featuring twenty maps prepared specifically for this history and thirty-four photographs, along with firsthand accounts by escaped Auschwitz prisoners, Gilbert reconstructs the span of time between Allied awareness and definitive action in the face of overwhelming evidence of Nazi atrocities. "An unforgettable contribution to the history of the last war." — Jewish Chronicle

In this stirring book, Martin Gilbert tells the intensely human story of Winston Churchill's profound connection to America, a relationship that resulted in an Anglo-American alliance that has stood at the center of international relations for more than a century. Winston Churchill, whose mother, Jennie Jerome, the daughter of a leading American entrepreneur, was born in Brooklyn in 1854, spent much of his seventy adult years in close contact with the United States. In two world wars, his was the main British voice urging the closest possible cooperation with the United States. From before the First World War, he understood the power of the United States, the "gigantic boiler," which, once lit, would drive the great engine forward. Sir Martin Gilbert was appointed Churchill's official biographer in 1968 and has ever since been collecting archival and personal documentation that explores every twist and turn of Churchill's relationship with the United States, revealing the golden thread running through it of friendship and understanding despite many setbacks and disappointments. Drawing on this extensive store of Churchill's own words -- in his private letters, his articles and speeches, and press conferences and interviews given to American journalists on his numerous journeys throughout the United States -- Gilbert paints a rich portrait of the Anglo-American relationship that began at the turn of the last century. Churchill first visited the United States in 1895, when he was twenty-one. During that first visit, he was invited to West Point and was fascinated by New York City. "What an extraordinary people the Americans are!" he wrote to his mother. "This is a very great country, my dear Jack," he told his brother. During three subsequent visits before the Second World War, he traveled widely and formed a clear understanding of both the physical and moral strength of Americans. During the First World War, Churchill was Britain's Minister of Munitions, working closely with his American counterpart Bernard Baruch to secure the material needed for the joint war effort, and argued with his colleagues that it would be a grave mistake to launch a renewed assault before the Americans arrived. Churchill's historic alliance with Franklin Roosevelt during the Second World War is brilliantly portrayed here with much new material, as are his subsequent ties with President Truman, which contributed to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. In his final words to his Cabinet in 1955, on the eve of his retirement as Prime Minister, Churchill gave his colleagues this advice: "Never be separated from the Americans." In Churchill and America, Gilbert explores how Churchill's intense rapport with this country resulted in no less than the liberation of Europe and the preservation of European democracy and freedom. It also set the stage for the ongoing alliance that has survived into the twenty-first century.

This edition presents a series of clear and detailed maps, accompanied by informative captions, facts, and figures, updated with additional maps and text. The complete history of America is unrolled through vivid representations of all the significant landmarks.

Martin Gilbert, author of the multivolume biography of Winston Churchill and other brilliant works of history, chronicles world events year by year, from the dawn of aviation to the flourishing technology age, taking us through World War I to the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt as president of the United States and Hider as chancellor of Germany. He continues on to document wars in South Africa, China, Ethiopia, Spain, Korea, Vietnam, and Bosnia, as well as apartheid, the arms race, the moon landing, and the beginnings of the computer age, while interspersing the influence of art, literature, music, and religion throughout this vivid work. A rich, textured look at war, celebration, suffering, life, death, and renewal in the century gone by, this volume is nothing less than extraordinary.

An atlas of Jewish history around the world.

An insightful history of Churchill's lifelong commitment—both public and private—to the Jews and Zionism, and of his outspoken opposition to anti-Semitism. Winston Churchill was a young man in 1894 when Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, was convicted of treason and sent to Devil's Island. Despite the prevailing anti-Semitism in England as well as on the Continent, Churchill's position was clear: he supported Dreyfus, and condemned the prejudices that had led to his conviction. Churchill's commitment to Jewish rights, to Zionism—and ultimately to the State of Israel—never wavered. In 1922, he established on the bedrock of international law the right of Jews to emigrate to Palestine. During his meeting with David Ben-Gurion in 1960, Churchill presented the Israeli prime minister with an article he had written about Moses, praising the father of the Jewish people. Drawing on a wide range of archives and private papers, speeches, newspaper coverage, and wartime correspondence, Churchill's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, explores the origins, implications, and results of Churchill's determined commitment to Jewish rights, opening a window on an underappreciated and heroic aspect of the brilliant politician's life and career. "The author masterfully sketches the evolution of Israel through a long, difficult British Jewish process of conception. Gilbert's deep, lifelong scholarship and knowledge of his subject lend his book both authority and accessibility." — Kirkus Reviews "A must-read for those interested in Churchill and in Jewish history." — Publishers Weekly

The complex and often turbulent history of Russia over the course of 2,000 years is brought to life in a series of 176 maps by one of the most prolific and successful historian authors today. This fourth edition of The Routledge Atlas of Russian History covers not only the wars and expansion of Russia but also a wealth of less conspicuous details of its history, from famine and anarchism to the growth of naval strength and the strengths of the river systems. From 800 BC to the fall of the Soviet Union, this indispensable guide to Russian history covers: war and conflict: from the triumph of the Goths between 200 and 400 BC to the defeat of Germany at the end of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War politics: from the rise of Moscow in the Middle Ages to revolution, the fall of the monarchy and the collapse of communism industry, economics and transport: from the Trans-Siberian Railway between 1891 and 1917 to the Virgin Lands Campaign and the growth of heavy industry society, trade and culture: from the growth of monasticism to peasant discontent, Labour Camps and the geographical distribution of ethnic Russians. Now bringing new material to view, and including seven new maps, this popular atlas will more than readily gain a place on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the history of Russia.

From one of the world's most revered historians, the first major history of contemporary Jerusalem "Gilbert is a first-rate storyteller." —The Wall Street Journal "Fascinating and admirably readable . . . unmatched for sheer breadth of acutely observed historical detail." —Christopher Walker, The Times (London) "Most noteworthy for its richness of letters, journals and anecdotes . . . the major events of this century come alive in eyewitness accounts." —The New York Times Book Review "Extraordinarily vivid glimpses of Jerusalem life." —Atlanta Journal Constitution

A portrayal of the prime minister and a look at "the Agatha Christie side of the historian's art."

The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict traces not only the tangled and bitter history of the Arab-Jewish struggle from the early 20th century to the present. It also illustrates the move towards finding peace and the efforts to bring the horrors of the fighting to an end through negotiation and proposals for agreed boundaries. Through 167 maps, the complete history of the conflict is revealed including: * the prelude and background to the conflict - from the siting of the Palestinian Jews before the Arab conquest to the attitude of Britain to the Arabs between 1917 and the present * the Jewish national home - from the Zionist plan for Palestine in 1919 to the state of the Arab world from 1945 to 1962 * the intensification of the conflict - from the Arab response to the UN partition plan of 1947 to the first steps towards the independence of Israel in 1948 * the State of Israel - from the Israeli War of Independence and the Six Day War to the horrific War of Yom Kippur and the Intifada * the moves to find peace - from Camp David to the escalating troubles of the present day, including the Geneva peace plan and the construction of the security fence. With a new index and accompanied by powerful and compelling quotations, this clear, illuminative and highly informative new edition from Martin Gilbert is an absolute must for all students of history.

An account of Churchill's political career between 1928 and the start of World War II.

A work forty years in the making—Sir Martin Gilbert's illustrated survey of the pre- and post-war history of the Jewish people in Europe. Masterfully covering such topics as pre-war Jewish life, the Warsaw Ghetto revolt, and the reflections of Holocaust survivors, Gilbert interweaves firsthand accounts with unforgettable photographs and documents, which come together to form a three-dimensional portrait of the lives of the Jewish people during one of Europe's darkest times. "This volume introduces the crime to a new generation, so that it knows of the atrocities and the seemingly futile acts of defiance taken, in the words of Judah Tenenbaum, 'for three lines in the history books.'" — Booklist

Abridged from Martin Gilbert's acclaimed biography, this edition covers all of Churchill's 90 years to capture the adventure and drama of all the major events of his life, including his premiership during World War II. The book draws on Churchill's own writings and correspondence, in addition to numerous other sources, such as government papers, friends and family.

Biographical notes: side 342-355