Alliance: The Inside Story of How Roosevelt, Stalen and Churchill Won One War and Began Another

by Jonathan Fenby

The gripping, behind-the-scenes, true account of a critical time in modern history, brought to new life through the accounts of three remarkable men at its core.

The history of the Second World War is typically told through its decisive battles and campaigns. But behind the front lines, behind even the command centers of Allied generals and military planners, a different level of strategic thinking was taking place. Throughout the war, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin—the “Big Three”—met in various permutations and locations to hash out ways to defeat Nazi Germany. And, just as important, to determine the shape of the postwar world.

Focusing on the riveting interplay between these three larger-than-life personalities, Jonathan Fenby’s vivid narrative ranges from the great conferences at Tehran and Yalta to a secret shipboard meeting in a deserted Newfoundland cove, from late-night vodka-fueled sessions in the Kremlin to summer picnics at the presidential estate. Through a rich assortment of original documents, telling anecdotes, and detailed character portraits, we learn how this remarkable alliance was constructed and maintained, and how it finally crumbled, introducing the world to a new kind of “cold” warfare.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military History, War, Historical, Politics

475 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Jonathan Fenby, CBE, has been the editor of The Observer and the South China Morning Post. He is currently China Director at the research service Trusted Sources.

Reviews

[Eugene Kernes · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book which focus's is on the leaders of the Second World War. A step by step on the political issues surrounding the Alliance between U.S.A., U.K., and U.S.S.R. One constant strain on the alliance was Stalin, U.S.S.R. dictator wanting to regain the older frontier, the frontier that would potentially influence the future of Europe after the Second World War. The concern in this book is only for the social aspects of the three leaders and the cultural difference, alongside the hardships each faced. The strategies discussed are only superficially mentioned. An understanding is rarely given for why each side opposed it or wanted a particular strategy.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed and fascinating insight into the relations between the leaders of the allies, focusing on each of their meetings during the course of the second world war. It shows how Europe ended up divided, the distrust between the allies, the level of Stalin's paranoia, and most shockingly the naivety and foolishness of Roosevelt in siding with Stalin against what he saw as the archaic British Empire, and the extent of communist infiltration of the US administration.

[Antonio Toledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edição em português. Livro descreve os bastidores da II Guerra Mundial por meio da relação entre Reino Unido, Estados Unidos e Rússia. O Reino Unido teve importância muito grande ao longo de toda guerra, mas principalmente na resistência inicial a Alemanha, até que a entrada dos Estados Unidos propiciasse os recursos humanos, materiais e financeiros para que os aliados derrotassem o Eixo. A Rússia desempenhou papel essencial, as custas de muitas vidas. É interessante ver que a postura expansionista atual da Rússia não é diferente da posição do país durante a II Guerra e também não é diferente da postura dos Czares do Império Russo. A história não prediz o futuro, mas se repete...

[Pinko Palest · Rating 2 out of 5]

very readable, but very anti-communist (or, just maybe, persistently anti-russian. Hard to tell with those cold warriors). Embarrassingly pro-Churchill and, rather surprisingly, quite hostile towards Roosevelt. It can get a bit shrill and jarring on the nerves too

[Caryatid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new here and less than I'd hoped.. sadly.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really into politics, so I found this book for the most part boring. There were some interesting portions, especially the personal parts, but there were many parts that could have been changed: the author needs to include the interpretations of his Latin and French words; also, what is a CIGS? And the spelling could have been checked again: desert is not the meal that comes after dinner.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of the World War 2 allies as seen through the personal interactions of the three leaders. I learned some stuff here. Stalin comes across as a cold hearted bastard who could be charming when he wanted something, and Roosevelt is treated as not as clever and manipulative as he thought he was. Stalin won. Rated PG for some coarse language. 3/5

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 Good coverage of all the WWII conferences between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. It focuses on the conferences and not battles. It loses points for the bad Kindle formatting, which is not the author's fault, but it's the publisher's fault for not fixing this. It's not divided by chapters, and opening a footnote caused my Kindle to crash and reboot.

[Lesia Mandzevych · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Alliance" provides the unbelievable experience of diving into this "behind the closed door" negotiation process. It gives the understanding that even most influential world leaders are still humans, with stomach aches and hangovers, and they tend to get vulnearable sometimes, too. Yet, they're ones, who have been chosen to determine the destinies of the millions.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my Favorite books. It offers a marvelous insight into war,peace, politics and diplomacy. Also read - "WW2 - behind closed doors" by Laurence Rees.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really insightful into how the personalities and the relationships of the "Big Three" played into creating the Alliance, but also the subsequent Cold War.

[Nancy Medevic · Rating 3 out of 5]

So detailed couldn't get through it :-(