HITLER’S WAR: World War II as Portrayed by Signal, the International Nazi Propaganda Magazine
By Jeremy Harwood. 224 pp. Zenith, 2014. $25.
The biweekly Wehrmacht magazine was sleek and glossy and full of arresting photos and illustrations; it focused on the troops but also covered economics, science, and the arts. Never distributed in Germany itself, Signal was aimed at neutral, occupied, and Allied countries. It reached 2.5 million readers by 1943, when its—and its masters’—successes peaked. Paging through this well-wrought collection can be slightly surreal, like looking into an alternative past, but also fascinating.
WORLD WAR II IN 500 PHOTOGRAPHS
By Time/Life Books. 272 pp. Time Home Entertainment, 2014. $17.95.
Not so very long ago, this sort of book was a Time/Life preserve, which competitors entered gingerly. The publisher’s newest shot at World War II does the job well enough, but faces stiff competition from excellent earlier efforts, such as DK Publishing’s World War II: The Definitive Visual History (2009).
WORLD WAR II FROM ABOVE: An Ariel View of the Global Conflict
By Jeremy Harwood. 208 pp. Zenith, 2014. $30.
Not exactly what you might expect, this lavishly illustrated text focuses on the vital role of aerial reconnaissance, offering photos never seen before and graphic maps of flight plans, with eye-opening and intriguing results.
Originally published in the October 2014 issue of World War II. To subscribe, click here.
