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The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941 is a 2015 nonfiction military history book by James Holland. It was published by Atlantic Monthly Press. It is the first book in his The War in the West series, preceding The Allies Strike Back, 1941-1943 (2017).

Overview

The book explains the initial success of Nazi Germany in its occupation of Europe as a result of strategic mistakes on the part of the Allied Nations, rather than an unstoppable Blitzkrieg driven by German technological and military superiority.

Reception

Stephen Bourque of H-Net praised the book's enjoyable writing style and revisionist analysis of well-known historical materials into a new narrative of the beginning of World War II. Frederic Krome of Library Journal praised its writing style and informativeness, while noting that at the time of its publication other authors had already approached the war from a similar revisionist viewpoint and reached similar conclusions.

Steve Donoghue, writing for Open Letters Monthly, gave the book a positive review for debunking commonly held misconceptions about the military, economic and political conditions that shaped World War II. Publishers Weekly wrote that "Holland nimbly weaves the complex military, diplomatic, political, economic, and social patterns that marked the conflict on a global scale." Kirkus Reviews gave the book an overall positive review, noting that it incorporated the lives and perspectives of historical figures like Galeazzo Ciano, André Beaufre, and Edward Spears to add intimacy to its overarching narrative of international war and diplomacy.

References

1. Bourque, Stephen. "James Holland. The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941: The War in the West, Volume 1". H-Net.
2. Krome, Frederic. "The War in the West. Vol. 1: The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941". Library Journal.
3. Donoghue, Steve. "Book Review: The Rise of Germany". Open Letters Monthly.
4. "The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941: The War in the West, Vol. 1". Publishers Weekly.
5. "THE RISE OF GERMANY, 1939-1941". Kirkus Reviews.

• History books about World War II
• 2015 non-fiction books
• Books about military history