Since War and Remembrance continues the story begun in The Winds of War, readers may be interested in exploring ways Wouk develops his characters and elaborates on his two central themes: the necessity of the United States to take the lead in stopping Hitler and the evils of the Holocaust.

Wouk is consistent in his denunciation of Nazism, and the hints of anti-Semitism provided in the earlier novel are drawn in graphic detail in War and Remembrance.

The novelist is also interested in continuing to celebrate the professional military officer whose courage and technical proficiency led to the defeat of Hitler's forces. In War and Remem brance, Wouk adds a historical hero to reinforce the qualities he has dramatized in his fictional protagonist, Victor Henry. Admiral Raymond Spruance, commander of the American fleet at Midway, is presented as the ideal military officer who has risen to...