I find WW2 fascinating, but I feel as though I have a lack of formal knowledge about the overall structure of the conflict. I'd like to read a single work as starting point for future reading. I'd prefer it covered the entire conflict, in all theaters and across the various economic, political, and military contexts. I know this is a difficult question. I've done some research and found:
I'm not sure the Shirer book is really a contender for what I'm looking for. I'm excited about his first-person take on things, but I've read that his account is considered dated and doesn't include much outside of Europe.
I've heard Weinberg is a bit dry, but it ultimately seems like what I'm looking for in terms of a comprehensive, largely objective telling of the war across all contexts.
I've heard great things about Gilbert and Hastings too, but not enough to know where they excel.
Is one of these the best to start with? Are there any others? Thank you for your suggestions!
I'm a big fan of John Ellis, due to his heavy reliance on both statistics and personal journals and memoirs. In no particular order:
The Sharp End focuses on the day to day life of Allied soldiers, predominantly American and British. It is, in my opinion, a fantastic and easy read - as are the rest I'll remark on.
One Day in a Very Long War provides a snapshot of World War 2 via a single date - 25 October 1944. By visiting multiple fronts, from multiple sides, Ellis attempts to provide an overall panoramic of just how massive the war was, and how devastating.
Brute Force is a strictly statistical approach to the war. In contrast to the common stories of the superior skill of Allied commanders with a good deal of luck, his research went the opposite direction. Instead, he argues that the only reason the allies eventually did succeed is because of the abundance of material resources they delayed the axis powers from controlling early on. It's a pretty refreshing look at hard data, and gives a good idea just how massive the material scale of the war was.
First, a disclaimer: I'm not a historian and I don't feel well qualified to assess the value of a work, especially not compared to the regular contributors here. That being said...
I think Antony Beevor's The Second World War ticks all the boxes you listed. It doesn't get very in depth but if you're just looking for a broad overview of things to help you understand how different parts of the conflict relate I think it's worth checking out. I didn't finish it thinking I was an expert on the war, or even really feeling like I knew that much more about it, so much as appreciating how little I knew about so many aspects of it.