The focus on this set is clearly the war in Europe (only one disc, Horror in the East, is dedicated to the war with Japan) as told from an even-handed British perspective: interviews with German citizens make it understandable how Hitler appealed to a shattered and defeated nation, for example, and the The Road to War scrutinizes how a British government was caught unprepared for a re-armed Germany bent on domination. The collection is filled with poignantly fascinating moments, such as when an aging American veteran revisits the Omaha Beach he stormed on D-Day, and meets the elderly German who, as a teenager, was defending that section of the beach with his machine gun, or footage of Hitler's early political speeches, raging promises of things to come.

Roughly chronologically arranged, the set starts with The Nazis: A Warning from History, and works its way through all facets of the war, including the legacy of the Holocaust. (Some of the titles were previously released as single DVDs.) The presentation is particularly impressive. Each series has its own style: Dunkirk is a drama-documentary structured like a miniseries and reenactments are deftly interwoven with archival footage in a convincing motif. In War of the Century: When Hitler Fought Stalin, German and Russian veterans recall with chilling candor their particular universe of battle, and rare color combat footage combined with newly declassified Soviet documents offer new perspectives on the subject. The collection succeeds brilliantly in making it clear to a modern-day viewer what it was really like to live through those times.

For the war buff, the history enthusiast, the educator, or someone looking for a gift for any of the above, the BBC History of World War II is a title to consider. Even dedicated viewers of the History Channel will find something new and fascinating here. --Dan Vancini