Order of Book Series
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World War II Books in Order

World War II contains 53 books, published between 1969 and 2020. The first book is The Battle of Britain (1969) and the newest is Soldiers of Freedom (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
53
Published
1969–2020
Confirmed
2 of 53 titles
Pages on record
10,778 in 40 of 53 books
Reading time
180–269 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,778 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 40 of 53 titles with a page count on record.

See all 53 books in order Printable World War II checklist

World War II is a catalogue listing of 53 books from 1969 to 2020 drawn from many different authors and publishers. Time-Life Books holds 32 credits, and Time-Life's WWII series, military campaigns and history appear among the subjects. Other credits include Samuel Marquis on 5 books, Annie Groves and Keith Wheeler on 4 each, and Marion Kummerow and Ronald H. Bailey on 3 each. Titles range from The Battle of Britain (1969) and The Home Front: U.S.A. (1977) to Spandau Phoenix (1993), Bodyguard of Deception (2016) and Soldiers of Freedom (2020). Espionage thrillers also appear among the subjects.

How many World War II books are there?

World War II has 53 books, released between 1969 and 2020.

World War II Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 53 World War II books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Spandau Phoenix by Greg Iles, book 1 of the World War II series (1993)
  2. Cover of Goodnight Sweetheart/A Mother's Blessing by Annie Groves, book 1 of the World War II series (2006)
  3. Cover of Bodyguard of Deception by Samuel Marquis, book 1 of the World War II series (2016)
  4. Cover of The Home Front: U.S.A., book 2 of the World War II series (1977)
  5. Cover of Black Cross by Greg Iles, book 2 of the World War II series (1995)
  6. Cover of Some Sunny Day by Annie Groves, book 2 of the World War II series (2006)
  7. Cover of Altar of Resistance by Samuel Marquis, book 2 of the World War II series (2017)
  8. Cover of The Grafton Girls by Annie Groves, book 3 of the World War II series (2007)
  9. Cover of The Battle of the Atlantic, book 4 of the World War II series (1977)
  10. Cover of As Time Goes By by Annie Groves, book 4 of the World War II series (2008)
  11. Cover of Lions of the Desert by Samuel Marquis, book 4 of the World War II series (2019)
  12. Cover of Russia Besieged, book 5 of the World War II series (1977)
  13. Cover of The Rising Sun, book 7 of the World War II series (1977)
  14. Cover of Island Fighting, book 9 of the World War II series (1978)
  15. Cover of Partisans and Guerillas, book 10 of the World War II series (1978)
  16. Cover of Liberation, book 11 of the World War II series (1978)
  17. Cover of China-Burma-India, book 12 of the World War II series (1978)
  18. Cover of The Italian Campaign, book 13 of the World War II series (1978)
  19. Cover of The Battle of the Bulge, book 15 of the World War II series (1979)
  20. Cover of Return to the Philippines, book 16 of the World War II series (1979)
  21. Cover of Red Army Resurgent, book 17 of the World War II series (1979)
  22. Cover of The Soviet Juggernaut, book 20 of the World War II series (1980)
  23. Cover of Road to Tokyo, book 21 of the World War II series (1980)
  24. Cover of War Under the Pacific, book 23 of the World War II series (1980)
  1. 1
    The Battle of Britain1969 · confirmed 1/4
    1969–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 1
    Spandau Phoenix1993 · 704 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993704
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 1
    Goodnight Sweetheart/A Mother's Blessing2006 · 576 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006576
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 1
    Bodyguard of Deception2016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 1
    Unrelenting2016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 2
    The Home Front: U.S.A.1977 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 2
    Black Cross1995 · 556 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995556
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 2
    Some Sunny Day2006 · 448 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2006448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 2
    Unyielding2016 · 310 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2016310
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 2
    Altar of Resistance2017 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 3
    Blitzkrieg1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 3
    The Grafton Girls2007 · 488 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2007488
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 3
    Unwavering2017 · confirmed 2/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 3
    Spies of the Midnight Sun2018 · confirmed 1/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 4
    The Battle of the Atlantic1977 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 4
    As Time Goes By2008 · 504 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008504
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 4
    Lions of the Desert2019 · 378 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2019378
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 5
    Russia Besieged1977 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 5
    Soldiers of Freedom2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 6
    The War In the Desert1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 7
    The Rising Sun1977 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 8
    The Second Front1978 · confirmed 1/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 9
    Island Fighting1978 · confirmed 1/4
    1978–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 10
    Partisans and Guerillas1978 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 11
    Liberation1978 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 12
    China-Burma-India1978 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 13
    The Italian Campaign1978 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 14
    The Resistance1979 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 15
    The Battle of the Bulge1979 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 16
    Return to the Philippines1979 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read World War II books in order?

You should read the World War II books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each World War II book also stands alone.

Where to start with World War II

Start with The Battle of Britain (1969), the earliest published title.

What is the newest World War II book?

Soldiers of Freedom (2020) is the newest World War II book released so far.

Is there a new World War II book coming?

No next World War II book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

World War II at a glance

No recent titles
The newest World War II title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
World War II books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
10,778 pages across the 40 of 53 books with a recorded length, a median of 208 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most World War II books, 20 of 53, were published in the 1980s.
Attribution
Of the 53 titles, 32 are credited to Time-Life Books, 5 to Samuel Marquis, 4 to Annie Groves and 4 to Keith Wheeler. A further 26 writers are credited. 5 titles carry no credit.

What the World War II books are about

45 of the 53 World War II books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: world war, 1939-1945 is tagged on 38 of 45. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • World War, 1939-1945 38 of 45 books
  • Time-Life's WWII (Series) 26 of 45 books
  • History 25 of 45 books
  • Campaigns 14 of 45 books
  • Histoire 6 of 45 books
  • Guerra Mundial II, 1939-1945 4 of 45 books
  • Historical fiction 4 of 45 books
  • Guerre mondiale, 1939-1945 3 of 45 books
  • Military campaigns 3 of 45 books
  • War & military 3 of 45 books
  • Weltkrieg (1939-1945) 3 of 45 books
  • 1933-1945 2 of 45 books