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The Strategists

Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War

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Brought to you by Penguin.

Churchill. Hitler. Stalin. Mussolini. Roosevelt. Five of the most impactful leaders of WW2, each with their own individualistic and idiosyncratic approach to warfare. But if we want to understand their military strategy, we must first understand the strategist.

In THE STRATEGISTS, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2. For example, Churchill's experiences of facing the German Army in France in 1916 made him unwilling to send masses of British soldiers back there in the 1940s, while Hitler's mistakes on the Eastern Front were influenced by his reluctance to accept that conditions had changed since his own time fighting.

The implications of the power of leaders remain with us to this day: to truly understand what is happening in Ukraine, for example, requires us to know what has influenced the leaders involved.

This is a history in which leaders – and their choices – matter. For better or worse.

'Entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling ' James Holland

© Phillips Payson O'Brien 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

 Americas Europe Military United States Stalin War Imperialism Winston Churchill Roosevelt Family Interwar Period

Critic reviews

Phillips Payson O’Brien is one of our finest historical thinkers. The Strategists shows him at the height of his powers: a book full of deep perception, convincingly challenging many entrenched views and examining these five leaders that so shaped the modern world in an entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling way. Everyone with an interest in not just the Second World War, but the twentieth century and beyond, should read this without delay.
The Strategists matches a remarkably wide-ranging expertise with an eye for telling detail and a lucid style. It is full of fascinating insights about the use and misuse of power: global, national and individual.
A worthy addition [to bookshelves] . . . compelling
O’Brien’s fluid prose makes for enchanting reading; there’s never a dull moment.... For military history buffs, this is a must-read.
This book’s most important argument is that the western allies were proved decisively right in viewing the Second World War as an oceanic struggle...it is entirely right for each generation of historians — and O’Brien is two decades younger than me — to think anew about everything. (Max Hastings)
O'Brien is seeking to do something more useful than rehashing all the old stories. He is trying to set the Second World War in deeper historical context by drawing out connections with the First World War . . . The Strategists reminds us that humans matter too. (Jonathan Boff)
A colourful and compelling read . . . with anecdotes that help the protagonists spring to life. (Andrew Lynch)
Thanks to the engaging nature of the subjects—and Mr. O’Brien’s care not to go too far down rabbit holes about weaponry, gulags, local politics and psychology—the narrative moves briskly. By linking decisions to identifiable personality traits, “The Strategists” provides insight into the minds of titans who vied for Europe’s destiny.
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