Synopses & Reviews
An epic joint biography,
Masters and Commanders explores the degree to which the course of the Second World War turned on the relationships and temperaments of four of the strongest personalities of the twentieth century: political masters Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt and the commanders of their armed forces, General Sir Alan Brooke and General George C. Marshall. Each was exceptionally tough willed and strong minded, and each was certain that he knew best how to win the war. Yet each knew that he had to win at least two of the others if he was to have his strategy adopted. Andrew Roberts, whom
The Economist calls "Britain's finest contemporary military historian," traces the mutual suspicion and admiration, the rebuffs and the charm, the often-explosive disagreements and wary reconciliations, and he helps us to appreciate the motives and imperatives acting upon these key leaders struggling to destroy Nazism.
Drawing on newly discovered verbatim accounts of Churchill's war-cabinet meetings and on the private papers of nearly seventy contemporaries, Roberts reconstructs the lively debates of the four principals and other leading figures, and attempts to answer some of the key questions of Allied strategy. Why, when the most direct route from Germany to Britain was through north-western France, did the Western Allies launch attacks via North Africa, Sicily, and Rome? Why, if Operation Overlord in June 1944 was intended to be the start of the Allies' great thrust into Germany, did four hundred thousand men land five hundred miles to the south, in southern France, two months later? Why did the Allies not take Berlin, Vienna, or Prague and allow the Iron Curtain to descend where it did?
Masters and Commanders dramatically re-creates the atmosphere, debates, and maneuverings through which Allied grand strategy was forged and reveals the profound impact of personality upon history.
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“Andrew Roberts, a tenacious archival historian and gifted writer, looks behind the façade of the familiar photographs and published accounts to see how these war leaders actually operated.” Sir Martin Gilbert, < i=""> The Evening Standard <>
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“This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr. Roberts lay claim to the title of Britains finest contemporary military historian.” < i=""> The Economist <>
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“The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story.” Richard Overy, < i=""> Literary Review <>
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“Robertss account of the war and its intrigues is fresh-filled with new revelations and new analysis. . . . It is both high scholarship and superb writing by a masterful analyst of power and war.” Simon Sebag Montefiore, < i=""> The Daily Beast <>
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“Fascinating. . . . By mining previously unavailable diaries and oral histories . . . this book brings vividly to life the personal interactions and impressions of those involved. Roberts has a keen eye for the telling anecdote.” Mark Mazower, < i=""> The Guardian <>
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“Masterly. . . . A triumph of vivid description, telling anecdotes, and informed analysis. Robertss book reinforces his claim to stand among the foremost British historians of the period.” Max Hastings, < i=""> The New York Review of Books <>
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“Masters and Commanders is a magnificently researched, superbly written account of how the US and UKs top civilian and military leaders overcame mutual suspicions and conflicting priorities to win the war in Europe.” < b=""> < i=""> The New York Post <> <>
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“Gripping. . . . splendid history. A brilliantly clear and accessible account of the war in all its theaters. Roberts’s prose is unerringly precise and strikingly vivid. It is hard to imagine a better-told military history of World War II.” —New York Times Book Review on The Storm of War
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"With his new book . . . Roberts has not only written the single best history of that conflict but has also claimed his place as one of our top historians." —Daily Beast on The Storm of War
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“Roberts is a masterly storyteller." —Wall Street Journal on Napoleon: A Life
Synopsis
In many ways, the course of the World War II depended on the relationships and temperaments of four of the strongest personalities of the 20th century: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the commanders of their armed forces, General Sir Alan Brooke and General George C. Marshall. Andrew Roberts presents a joint biography of all four men in Masters and Commanders.
In this definitive analysis, Roberts reconstructs the lively debates of the four principals and other leading figures, and examines key questions about the war. Masters and Commanders dramatically re-creates the disputes and maneuverings through which Allied strategy was forged and reveals the profound impact of personality upon history.
Andrew Roberts is the author of A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900. His other books include Napoleon and Wellington, Eminent Churchillians, and Salisbury, which won the Wolfson Prize for History. Roberts's writing appears regularly in The Wall Street Journal. His website can be found at www.andrew-roberts.net.
"Masterly ... Roberts's portrait of the relationship between the four men who made Allied strategy through the war years is a triumph of vivid description, telling anecdotes, and informed analysis." -- Max Hastings, The New York Review of Books
Synopsis
"Masters and Commanders" explores the degree to which the course of World War II turned based on the relationships and temperaments of four of the strongest personalities of the 20th century. Two 16-page b&w photo inserts.
Synopsis
"Masterly. . . . A triumph of vivid description, telling anecdotes, and informed analysis.”
—
The New York Review of Books "Britain's finest contemporary military historian."
— The Economist
An epic joint biography of four titanic figures—a President, a Prime Minister, and two Generals—who shaped the grand strategy of the Allies during World War II.
Synopsis
The New York Times-bestselling author of Napeoleon: A Life and The Storm of War tells the shattering story of the blackest day in the history of British army: the first day of the Somme Offensive, July 1, 1916 On July 1, 1916, after a five-day bombardment, 11 British and five French divisions launched their long-awaited "Big Push" on German positions on high ground above the Rivers Ancre and Somme on the Western Front. Some ground was gained, but at a terrible cost. In killing-grounds whose names are indelibly imprinted on 20th-century memory, German machine-guns—manned by troops who had sat out the storm of shellfire in deep dugouts—inflicted terrible losses on the British infantry. The British Fourth Army lost 57,470 casualties, the French Sixth Army suffered 1,590 casualties, and the German 2nd Army 10,000. And this was but the prelude to 141 days of slaughter that would witness the deaths of between 750,000 and 1 million troops. Andrew Roberts evokes the pity and the horror of the blackest day in the history of the British army—a summer’s day turned hell on earth by modern military technology—in the words of casualties, survivors, and the bereaved.
About the Author
Andrew Roberts is the author of Masters and Commanders and A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900. His other books include Napoleon and Wellington, Eminent Churchillians, and Salisbury, which won the Wolfson History Prize. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a PhD in history from Cambridge University and writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Beast. He lives in New York City.