"The Winds of War" by Herman Wouk.

Essay by rehab__High School, 10th grade February 2006

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World War II is a topic that attracts attention simply because it was not confined to one particular area. This war affected almost everyone on the planet of all countries and social classes. For this reason, it is widely written about by both expert and amateur alike. However, most choose to either recite the facts and statistics about battles write about one country and its involvement in the war. In "The Winds of War", Herman Wouk takes a much different approach to retelling the events of World War II. Rather than focusing on this major event in history as it affects the whole world or even on particular country, he chooses to show the wars' impact on one family.

"The Winds of War" is unique in the fact that although it only focuses on one family, it is still able encompass the affect the war had on most parts of the world from Nazi Germany to New York City.

During the years before the war, the world was like a ticking time bomb. The world watched as Hitler literally drew up from the streets and gained enough power to control Germany and form the Nazi party. Not only that, France, Great Brittan and America sat back and watched as Hitler invaded the Rhineland and other parts of Europe with the only real threat to power being Russia. Finally only after the bombing of Warsaw and eventual capture of Poland, did the Allies realize the threat Germany posed, but not in time to stop the German powerhouse which was amplified by the signing of a treaty with Russia. This novel covers the events leading up to the war and the actual war itself.

As the novel begins, Victor "Pug" Henry, a commander in the American Navy,