In Making Sense of War, Amir Weiner reconceptualizes the entire historical experience of the Soviet Union from a new perspective, that of World War II. Breaking with the conventional interpretation that views World War II as a post-revolutionary addendum, Weiner situates this event at the crux of the development of the Soviet--not just the Stalinist--system. Through a richly detailed look at Soviet society as a whole, and at one Ukrainian region in particular, the author shows how World War II came to define the ways in which members of the political elite as well as ordinary citizens viewed the world and acted upon their beliefs and ideologies. The book explores the creation of the myth of the war against the historiography of modern schemes for social engineering, the Holocaust, ethnic deportations, collaboration, and postwar settlements. For communist true believers, World War II was the purgatory of the revolution, the final cleansing of Soviet society of the remaining elusive "human weeds" who intruded upon socialist harmony, and it brought the polity to the brink of communism. Those ridden with doubts turned to the war as a redemption for past wrongs of the regime, while others hoped it would be the death blow to an evil enterprise. For all, it was the Armageddon of the Bolshevik Revolution. The result of Weiner's inquiry is a bold, compelling new picture of a Soviet Union both reinforced and enfeebled by the experience of total war.

This provides a comprehensive and clear analysis of the complex business of waging war, and give readers a thorough understanding of the key concepts in strategic thought, concepts that have endured for about 2500 years. Authors from the Australian Defence Force Academy.

This book looks at the representations of modern war by analysing texts and examining the ways in which authors related to the atrocious horrors of war.

The First World War was an unprecedented crisis, with communities and societies enduring the unimaginable hardships of a prolonged conflict on an industrial scale. In Belgium and France, the terrible capacity of modern weaponry destroyed the natural world and exposed previously held truths about military morale and tactics as falsehoods. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers suffered some of the worst conditions that combatants have ever faced. How did they survive? What did it mean to them? How did they perceive these events? Whilst the trenches of the Western Front have come to symbolise the futility and hopelessness of the Great War, Alex Mayhew shows that English infantrymen rarely interpreted their experiences in this way. They sought to survive, navigated the crises that confronted them, and crafted meaningful narratives about their service. Making Sense of the Great War reveals the mechanisms that allowed them to do so.

Suffering may be universal, but it is not universally understood. In this collection, scholars from many nations and disciplines explore theoretical and practical approaches to understanding suffering as well as the ethics and effects of representing suffering in art and literature.

We should have begun to face the sobering probability that we were heading for the hell of battle, but we were kids. We'd heard of war in far-off places, places like Italy and Africa, and the faraway Pacific, but we were in England. We thought life would go on like this with excitement, new places to see, friends we'd never otherwise have met, a sense of manhood new to most of us . . . how little we knew. Barely more than children, soon to suffer the death of innocence. Carver McGriff was 19 years old when he left Indiana and his innocence behind to join in the battle for freedom on one of the most important and bloodiest battlefields of World War II. In Making Sense of Normandy: A Young Man's Journey of War and Faith, McGriff gives a rare veteran first-hand account of the harsh realities of WWII combat - not only the struggle for physical survival but for emotional and spiritual survival as well. It is a timeless story for all generations, a rare treasure that will touch the hearts and minds of all the Greatest Generations - yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's.

Deliver engaging, enquiry-driven lessons and help pupils gain a coherent chronological understanding of and across periods studied with this complete offering for Key Stage 3 History. Designed for the 2014 National Curriculum this supportive learning package makes history fun and inspiring to learn. Making Sense of History consists of four Pupil's Books with accompanying Dynamic Learning Teaching and Learning resources. Structured around big picture overviews and in-depth enquiries on different topics, the course develops pupils understanding of history and their ability to ask and explore valid historical questions about the past. - Help pupils come to a sound chronological understanding of the past and identify the most significant events, connections and patterns of change and continuity with specifically tailored big pictures of the period and of the topics within it. - Develop pupils' enquiry skills and help them become motivated and curious to learn about the past with purposeful and engaging enquiries and a focus on individuals' lives. - Ensure pupils' progress in their historical thinking through clear and balanced targeted coverage of the main second order concepts in history. - Support and stretch your pupils with differentiated material, including writing frames to support literacy and ideas for more challenge provided in the Dynamic Learning Teaching and Learning Resources. - Make assessment become a meaningful and manageable process through bespoke mark schemes for individual pieces of work.