I found the chapter about WWI and WWII most interesting. While I knew much about The history of WWII, there were things of which I was not aware. For example, I did Not know that Mussolini had made the Vatican a sovereign state. I thought it had been For much longer. Also, I knew little about what lead up to Japan's entry into WWII or About their aggression toward China. Probably the area of WWII I'm most familiar with is Germany. Following WWII, the United States established a strong military presence in Europe, especially Germany. This was done both as a deterrent to Germany as well as a deterrent to the Soviet Union and it's aggression. My father was a civil servant with the U.S. Air Force And was sent to one of the many military installations spread throughout Germany. I was lucky enough to live in Germany during my high school years, between 1966 and 1969. This was only twenty years after the end of WWII and while Germany had recovered in many ways, there were still parts of Germany that had not yet been rebuilt. This was especially true in Berlin as well as parts of what was once East Germany, such as Dresden.I also remember that very few Germans I had contact with spoke of the war or their role in it. If cornered, however, they would invariably state that they were never a Nazi. While living in Germany I developed a great appreciation of European history that has carried into a great respect for how they have been able to recover from such Physical and economic devastation. I especially appreciate how they have formed the EU. I know it's going through difficulties right now, with some countries on the brink Of bankruptcy. It is ironic that Germany is the one carrying the economic load of the EU. I hope the EU can work out it's difficulties.