Photographs, documents, and narrative text record and examine the events and developments leading to and during the Second World War. Chapter headings include: "A Peace Resting on Quicksand" ~ The Soviet Spectre ~ A New Breed of Caesars ~ Convulsion in the Far East ~ Downfall of a Feeble League ~ Dress Rehearsal in Spain ~ One Minute to Midnight. Picture Essays are titled: When the Shooting Stopped ~ Killing Ground in Russia ~ The Uneasy Respite ~ Dizzy, Decadent Berlin ~ Deadly Game of Make Believe ~ The Theatrics of Power ~ Samurai Slash at China ~ Rome's New Legionaries ~ The Nazis' Seductive Rituals ~ The First Big Take-Over.