Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Closing the Ring chronicles the period between June 1943 and July 1944 as the Allies consolidated their gains towards a drive to victory: the full of Mussolini, Hitler's 'secret weapon', the mounting air offensive on Germany, strategies to defeat Japan and the plans for D Day. In his introduction, John Keegan discusses Churchill's historical methods and the extraordinary achievement of The Second World War. This volume also includes appendices, an index, maps and diagrams. 'Not since Julius Caesar has a principal actor in a great conflict also been its most influential chronicler" Andrew Roberts, Evening Standard.