In the first part of the book, Johnson deals mainly with the shaping of the Soviet Union in the first decades after World War I, the collapse of democracy in Central Europe due to the rise of Fascism and National Socialism, the causes that led to World War II, and its development and outcome.
In the initial part of the book, Johnson discusses the shaping of the Soviet Union after World War I, the collapse of democracy in Central Europe due to Fascism and National Socialism, the reasons for World War II, its progression, and eventual outcome.