"Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization is a 2008 book by Nicholson Baker about World War II. The book questions the commonly held belief that the Allies wanted to avoid the war at all costs but were forced into action by Hitler's unrelenting crusade. It consists largely of official government transcripts, newspaper articles and other documents from the time with Baker interjecting commentary only occasionally."@en . "Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization"@en . "576"^^ . . . . .