'The World At War' - The Landmark Oral History

The original 'definitive' ITV television series 'The World At War' was first broadcast in the UK in 1973. It told the story of WW2 through the personal testimonies of a large number of key participants - including many major statesmen of the war years, generals, ordinary soldiers and civilians. The main single exception of the contributing interviewees to having been a 'participant' was the American historian Stephen E. Ambrose (1936 - 2002). At the time the series was made, Professor Ambrose had recently finished an important study of the Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Inevitably, only a fraction of the interviews and other material gathered during the making series actually made it into one of the 26 episodes. In 2006 the respected historian and best-selling author Professor Richard Holmes was invited to review all the interviews and data, including the previously unpublished interviews. Eventually, this has led to the publication of a new book in 2007 with a reflective commentary by Richard Holmes. The book complements the documentary series and makes an interesting read for anyone with even the slightest interest in the war years.


Further reading:

Holmes, Richard (2007), 'The World At War - The Landmark Oral History', Ebury Publishing (ISBN 978009197517)