The Medals, Decorations and Orders of the Second World War 1939-1945 - by Alec A. Purves. Savannah Publications, 2004. Hardcover, printed board covers, 184 pages, color and black & white illustrations. This book is brand new, British import, now out of print.

A companion volume to Medals, Decorations and Orders of the Great war 1914-1918, this volume both deals with awards instituted during or in connection with the Second War and lists those already extant, together with any relevant amendments which were made arising out of this conflict.

The awards of 41 participating countries are dealt with in alphabetical sequence. One of three appendices lists the various inscriptions that appear on the insignia, with over 160 ribbons illustrated in color and about 80 medals in black and white; this allows the book to be put to good use for identification purposes. Though over 50 years have elapsed since the end of the Second World War, this is the only work to deal solely with the awards given during that period. It can be put to good use by military historians and collectors as well as those many families whose relatives served in some capacity.