Imperial World at War the British Empire, 1939-45

At the start of the Second World War Britain was at the height of her imperial power, and it is no surprise that she drew upon the global resources of the Empire once war had been declared. Whilst this international aspect of Britain's war effort has been well studied in relation to the military contribution of individual dominions and colonies, relatively little has been written about the Empire as a whole. As such An Imperial World at War makes an important contribution to the historiography relating to the British Empire and its wartime experience. It reviews the existing historiography and argues that the war needs to be viewed in imperial terms, and that the role of forces drawn from the Empire is poorly understood and that its deep impact on colonial societies is barely grasped at all in conventional accounts.