Tom Zeiler is a Professor of History and International Affairs, and former chair, at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he also directs the Global Studies Residential Academic Program. He serves as the executive editor of Diplomatic History and as the editor-in-chief of American Foreign Relations Since 1600: A Guide to the Literature, as well as on SHAFR's Teaching Committee and governing Council. A member of the State Department Historical Advisory Committee, Tom has lived in Buenos Aires and Tokyo as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. He is the author of six books, including one on the last half of the Pacific War, and several articles.

• Preface ; Acknowledgements ; Introduction ; PART I: ORIGINS AND OUTBREAK, 1919-1939 ; Chapter 1: Europe Unsettled ; Chapter 2: Democracies in Crisis ; Chapter 3: Militarism in Asia ; Chapter 4: Phony and European War ; PART II: AXIS ADVANCE, 1939-1942 ; Chapter 5: German Expansion, North and West ; Chapter 6: Blitzkrieg and Blitz ; Chapter 7: America and the Atlantic ; Chapter 8: Battle for the Mediterranean ; Chapter 9: Attack on the Soviet Union ; Chapter 10: Expansion of Imperial Japan ; PART III: TURNING POINTS, 1942-1943 ; Chapter 11: Japan in Triumph and Stalemate ; Chapter 12: Cataclysm on the Eastern Front ; Chapter 13: Shifting Fortunes in the Mediterranean ; Chapter 14: War of Words, the Sea, and the Air ; Chapter 15: Allied Offensives in Asia and the Pacific ; PART IV: GRINDING ROLLBACK, 1943-1944 ; Chapter 16: Penetrating Japan's Defenses ; Chapter 17: Costly Italy ; Chapter 18: Soviet Rout ; Chapter 19: Western European Front ; Chapter 20: Island-Hopping in the Pacific ; PART V: ANNIHILATION, 1944-1945 ; Chapter 21: German Resistance in the West ; Chapter 22: Red Army Sweep ; Chapter 23: Shrinking the Japanese Empire ; Chapter 24: Fall of the Third Reich ; Chapter 25: The Inner Ring ; Conclusion ; References ; Bibliography ; Index

"Zeiler successfully strikes a balance between the details of specific battles and campaigns and the larger picture. He also avoids the clichés that tend to appear in the military histories of World War II. . . . Zeiler has written an impressive synthesis that does an excellent job of bringing together the complex elements of the war."--Phillip Payne, St. Bonaventure University"Annihilation does a great job of providing a readable, coherent, and accessible narrative. . . . It also presents forceful arguments and theses throughout-and whether you agree with them or not, they provide plenty of food for thought. I like the 'you were there' feel of this book."--Hugh Dubruelle, Saint Anselm College