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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Twentieth Century History by Alan Axelrod ISBN: 0-02-863385-7 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 07 June, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (3 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Horrible Inaccuracy Regarding Winter War
Comment: While at a book store today, I happened to notice a copy of the Complete Idiot's Guide to the 20th Century, and started flipping through it. When I stopped at the point where it described the Soviet invasion of Finland in 1939, I was appalled to see that in Alan Axelrod's alternate universe, Finland was annexed on March 12, 1940. In the universe the rest of us live in, Finland earned the distinction of being the only country in history to have defeated a Soviet attempt at annexation, and also never became a communist satellite state. In a brutal 105-day conflict that saw grossly outnumbered and out-gunned Finnish forces inflict defeat upon defeat on Soviet armies, sometimes annihilating entire Soviet divisions such as at the battle of Suomussalmi-Raate in late December 1939-early January 1940, the Finns cost the enemy 500 thousand dead, with a corresponding loss of only 25 thousand on the Finnish side. In fact, Nikita Krushchev claimed in his 1971 memoirs that soviet losses mounted as high as a million. Finland saved its independence, but did lose the Salla Heights, southern Karelia, and islands in the Gulf of Finland. Though the Finns' front lines were well east of the demarcation line forced upon them by the armistace agreement, the Finns could not keep up with the Soviets' enormous resouces of manpower and equipment. It must be remembered that Finland's entire population at the time was only about 3.6 million. In 1941, Finland went on the offensive against the Russians after they mounted sapper raids at the border and bombed Finnish targets from the air, coinciding with the German invasion of Soviet-held territory in Operation Barbarossa. Finland succeeded in regaining the territories which they had lost to communist aggression, and also occupied Soviet territory all the way out to Lake Onega for strategic reasons. By 1944, with Germany losing its war, and endless hordes of Soviet troops and weaponry coming at the Finns again, Finland again had to bow out of the war, losing the same territories lost in the Winter War, plus Petsamo province in the north-east. However, Finland again defeated the Soviet plan to destroy the nation and its people. Total Finnish losses in the Winter War and Continuation War combined were about 80 thousand, compared to losses on the Soviet side of at least a million, if not twice that number. As a Finn myself, I found the book's claim that Finland was annexed by the Soviets in March 12, 1940 (the armistice date) supremely insulting. Complete Idiot's Guide, indeed.
Rating: 3
Summary: Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Century
Comment: I picked up this book because I'm studying the Middle East conflict and wanted a general overview of what was happening in the rest of the world in the 20th century. This book did not help.
The author admits, in several places, that this book was written from an American perspective for an American reader -- and he should have added -- who is studying American history. If you're using this as background supplement for eventual study of American history, this book may help (though I would recommend "A People's History of the US" instead).
If, however, you're studying any other region around the world, this book puts too much emphasis on American events and too little emphasis on the rest of the world.
Rating: 5
Summary: Greatest review of the 20th century I've ever read
Comment: I am a history major and I loved this book. It was a nice review of the 20th century. It hit all the main ideas without overwhelming the reader with too detailed facts. It is easy to read and really captures your attention, something hard for a nonfiction text-book like book to do. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a general account of the 20th century.
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Title: Children's History of the 20th Century by D K Publishing ISBN: 0789447223 Publisher: DK Ink Pub. Date: 01 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to World Conflicts by Steven D. Strauss ISBN: 0028643666 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 17 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide to American History, Third Edition by Alan Axelrod, Alan, Ph.D. Axelrod ISBN: 0028644646 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Complete Idiot's Guide To American Government by Mary Shaffrey, Melanie Fonder ISBN: 0028643534 Publisher: Alpha Books Pub. Date: 13 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Cold War by David Taylor ISBN: 1588103730 Publisher: Heinemann Library Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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