It's not hard to hate the Nazis.

But if you need one more reason to despise them, this book gives you plenty to choose from. Germany's brutal treatment of the Polish people is well known in theory, but in this examination of the subject by Anthony Tucker-Jones, readers will learn a lot more about the atrocities that occurred in Poland's capital city over the several years of World War II.

Fiercely fought battles in (and a relentless occupation of) Warsaw left the city in ruins and the majority of its people dead. Tucker-Jones doesn't flinch at showing the graphic nature of the city's devastation; photos include the victims of hangings, shootings and even a resistance fighter plummeting to his death from a burning building. Photos show key players on all sides (besides the Germans and Poles, the Soviets had a major part in the conflict), as well as equipment they used and the destruction they left behind them.

It's heartbreaking to see the city's proud skyline reduced to rubble. Beautiful and historical structures were destroyed, along with homes, bridges, government buildings and anything else that got in the Nazis' way.

More poignant still are the faces of Polish citizens, both the fighters and bystanders -- some of them children -- who clearly show the human cost of the war.

This is an important collection of photographs, tied together with brief but thorough explanations of events as they occurred. It's hard to look away from these photos -- and we shouldn't, because it's far too easy to forget.