In this sweepingly ambitious history, Michael Burleigh explores the moral sentiments of the societies and leaders of World War II, brilliantly revealing how their attitudes motivated the conflict--and how they were ultimately transformed by the shock of total war. Burleigh's painstaking scholarship and profound sensibility reveal how the choices made by governments, communities, and individuals to enthusiastically embrace evil, to consciously reject it, or to determinedly overlook the war's moral quandaries were critical factors in a conflict that grew to consume the globe.

Spanning both major theaters and a wide spectrum of issues, from the Axis predators to the Allied appeasement, from the rape of Poland to the complexities of reparation, Moral Combat illuminates how the war was driven by--and decided by--this deadly conflict of philosophies. Original, perceptive, and astonishing in scholarship and scope, this is an unforgettable and hugely important work of Second World War history.

In this sweepingly ambitious overview of WorldWar II, Michael Burleigh combines meticulousscholarship with a remarkable depth of knowledgeand an astonishing scope. By exploring themoral sentiments of entire societies and their leaders,and how such attitudes changed under the impact oftotal war, Burleigh presents readers with a fresh andpowerful perspective on a conflict that continuesto shape world politics. Whereas previous historiesof the war have tended to focus on grand strategyor major battles, Burleigh brings his painstakingscholarship and profound sensibility to bear on thefactors that shaped choices that were life-and-deathdecisions. These choices were made in real time,without the benefit of a philosopher’s reflection,giving a moral content to the war that shaped it asdecisively as any battle.

Although the Nazis and the Japanese had radicallydifferent moral universes from those of theirAllied opponents, as rejected in the atrocities theycommitted, the Western Allies found themselvesaligned with a no less cruel dictatorship after rejectingthe option of appeasing aggression. The warwas the sum total of myriad choices made by governments,communities, and individuals, leadingsome to enthusiastically embrace evil and othersto consciously reject it, with a range of more ambiguouslyhuman responses in between. Spanningboth major theaters and ranging across these issuesand more, from the “predators” (Mussolini, Hitler,and Hirohito) to appeasement, from the rape ofPoland, Barbarossa, and strategic bombing to thecomplexities of justice and retribution, Moral Combatsheds a revealing light on how entire nationschanged under the shock of total war.

Emphasizing the role of the past in making senseof the present, Burleigh’s book offers essentialinsights into the choices we face today—in some circles it is always 1938 and every aggressor is a newHitler. If we do go to war, we need to know whatit will mean for the individuals who command and fight it. Original, perceptive, and astonishing inscholarship and scope, this is an unforgettable andhugely important work of Second World War history.

Michael Burleigh is the author of Earthly Powers, Sacred Causes, and The Third Reich: A New History, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction. He is married and lives in London.