All Hell Let Loose is a commanding history of ‘humankind’s largest and most terrible event’ from one of our most eminent war historians. Drawing on 35 years of research, Sir Max Hastings covers the entire sweep of the conflict: six years of grand strategies, campaigns and battles, from the North Atlantic to the Far East. However, his focus is on ‘the voices of little people rather than big ones’, piecing together fragments of testimony from ordinary soldiers and civilians into a human tragedy of bravery, barbarism, endurance and loss. This Folio Society edition – presented in a striking cover and slipcase designed by artist Mark Smith – opens with a new preface by Hastings reflecting on perceptions of the war in our modern era. Each of its two volumes includes 10 maps and 32 pages of photographs, chosen in close consultation with the author. Acclaimed by fellow historians, and an international bestseller over the decade since its first publication, All Hell Let Loose captures the enormity of a war that saw the world scoured by unprecedented brutality, ending more than 60 million lives.