In a thorough look at the most important global event of the 20th century, Richard B. Stolley takes readers on a journey from the escalating tensions of pre-World War II Europe to the shock of the Pearl Harbour attack, to the creation of the atomic bomb. With access to the extensive LIFE photographic archives as well as recently released government photos from countries such as Germany and Russia, this volume offers a fast-paced history in pictures. The images flow chronologically, beginning with the prelude to the war, and moving into chapters covering each year from 1940 to 1945 and a closing chapter on the war's aftermath. Every major event and military action throughout the international arena is documented in vivid images - from Dunkirk to Hiroshima. The book contains classic images, but also unknown, startling pictures excavated from the LIFE archives and others around the world: chilling colour photographs of Hitler taken by his personal photographer, or the moments just before and after that unforgettable kiss captured by Eisenstadt in Times Square.