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FDR & Stalin: A Not So Grand Alliance, 1943–1945
Perlmutter's hard-hitting, revisionist history of Roosevelt's foreign policy explores FDR's not-so-grand alliance with the ruthless Soviet leader. As the first Western scholar granted access to key foreign ministry documents recently declassified in the former Soviet Union, Perlmutter provides a provocative portrait of a popular leader whose failure to comprehend Stalin's long-range goals had devastating results for the postwar world.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2021
Picked this one up on a whim from a used bookstore.
Perlmutter was a Zionist, blatant anti communist, and takes a particularly critical view of Roosevelt , arguing that he “appeased” Stalin throughout the war. His analysis, while limited to what was available in the early ‘90s, is not particularly interesting or groundbreaking. He relies on and takes for granted sources that have since been thoroughly debunked, like Krushchev’s “Secret Speech”.
Despite the oftentimes meandering and repetitive criticisms of both Stalin and FDR, Perlmutter still compiles a good amount of interesting information. particularly anecdotes about meetings between the “big 3” leaders of the Allied powers. It’s clear that in these situations, Churchill was the odd man out. Not only did he represent the weakest of the 3 powers, but in a larger sense the Old World of 19th cent European colonialism. He is barely tolerated by Stalin and FDR as he desperately and pathetically tries (and mostly fails) to hang on to whatever influence he can for the British Empire.
Really makes you wonder about the what-ifs of FDR living through the end of the war, or Henry Wallace replacing him rather than Harry Truman. Both FDR and Wallace were committed to the UN as a legit peace keeping force for managing global decolonization, rather than the tool of imperialism that it would eventually become. There was a possibility of postwar economic and political cooperation between the two largest powers. At the very least FDR or Wallace would have resisted the creation of the National Security state and the use of it in bloody Cold War conflicts that shaped the unequal world that we inhabit today.
Perlmutter was a Zionist, blatant anti communist, and takes a particularly critical view of Roosevelt , arguing that he “appeased” Stalin throughout the war. His analysis, while limited to what was available in the early ‘90s, is not particularly interesting or groundbreaking. He relies on and takes for granted sources that have since been thoroughly debunked, like Krushchev’s “Secret Speech”.
Despite the oftentimes meandering and repetitive criticisms of both Stalin and FDR, Perlmutter still compiles a good amount of interesting information. particularly anecdotes about meetings between the “big 3” leaders of the Allied powers. It’s clear that in these situations, Churchill was the odd man out. Not only did he represent the weakest of the 3 powers, but in a larger sense the Old World of 19th cent European colonialism. He is barely tolerated by Stalin and FDR as he desperately and pathetically tries (and mostly fails) to hang on to whatever influence he can for the British Empire.
Really makes you wonder about the what-ifs of FDR living through the end of the war, or Henry Wallace replacing him rather than Harry Truman. Both FDR and Wallace were committed to the UN as a legit peace keeping force for managing global decolonization, rather than the tool of imperialism that it would eventually become. There was a possibility of postwar economic and political cooperation between the two largest powers. At the very least FDR or Wallace would have resisted the creation of the National Security state and the use of it in bloody Cold War conflicts that shaped the unequal world that we inhabit today.
October 11, 2017
I am reviewing this book now since at Page 219 a lengthy series of appendices, received from archives of the Soviet Union released during the "glasnost" era in 1989 starts. I may or may not read all of the archives but what I have read so far supports the book's premise that FDR was not a great bargainer on behalf of the U.S. or the West.
The book well supports the author's premise, which I have long suspected. Roosevelt's model was a Wilsonian, "one world" view, basically "why can't we all get along?" This view may work well for a camp sing-along but not well in the real world, as governments that want to win rather than want peace get their way. Ultimately the people of Central and Eastern Europe were subjected to years of enslavement as a result.
I have always been of a conviction that FDR was overrated. He was a man who lacked firm convictions other than that he should be President. I rated the book three rather than four stars since I found the coverage of Winston Churchill's role unsatisfying. On the other hand, I was quite satisfied with his coverage of Roosevelt and Stalin.
The book well supports the author's premise, which I have long suspected. Roosevelt's model was a Wilsonian, "one world" view, basically "why can't we all get along?" This view may work well for a camp sing-along but not well in the real world, as governments that want to win rather than want peace get their way. Ultimately the people of Central and Eastern Europe were subjected to years of enslavement as a result.
I have always been of a conviction that FDR was overrated. He was a man who lacked firm convictions other than that he should be President. I rated the book three rather than four stars since I found the coverage of Winston Churchill's role unsatisfying. On the other hand, I was quite satisfied with his coverage of Roosevelt and Stalin.
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July 3, 2022Pretty solid book. Pretty critical of FDR some of which doesn't hold weight IMO cause its too much hindsight but a lot of good info about FDR's general leadership style
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews