This study sets the drama of war on a world stage, and examines why, 50 years on, the lessons of World War II - when humanity was consumed by violence and destruction - still reverberate unheeded. Beginning with the political and industrial roots in the Great War of 1914-1918, Deighton unfolds the advance of the Axis powers from the Battle of the Atlantic to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. By 1942, the civilized world was brought to the brink of ruin. Yet now again racial hatred rears its head, turmoil continues over Middle-Eastern oil, Britain neglects education and its industrial base, and recession threatens new trade wars and economic migration on a fightening scale. Len Deighton is the author of "Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain", "The Battle of Britain" and "Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk". He is also the author of the spy novels, "The Ipcress File" and "Game, Set and Match".