The Time-Life book series is great, with many maps and charts. It took me over two years to collect all the books, one each month. I could not wait for each one to be delivered.
The BBC World at War series is the definitive collection, in my opinion. I received one VHS tape each month until I had the whole set. I have watched them many times over the years, and loaned them out to friends. The narration by Sir Lawrence Olivier is excellent. Because it was produced in the 70's, most of the historical persons interviewed have died. A lot of history has been lost and will continue to be lost as that generation passes away.
The Ken Burns' WWII series on PBS was very good, too. It was centered more on the personal side of the war, based on four families from towns in the US. Ken did not spare us the gruesome realities of war by showing a lot of dead corpses. You can see how society has changed in its views about war when comparing Victory at Sea with Ken Burns' WWII. There is now less patriotic fervor and more of the starkness of suffering.
FoM
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