Overview

A masterful account, culminating in the fateful days before the most decisive event of World War II: Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union This brilliant new work by the author of the best-selling Five Days in London, May 1940 is an unparalleled drama of two great leaders confronting each other in June 1941. It describes Hitler and Stalin’s strange, calculating, and miscalculating relationship before the German invasion of Soviet Russia, with its gigantic (and unintended) consequences. John Lukacs questions many long-held beliefs; he suggests, for example, that among other things Hitler’s first purpose involved England: if Stalin’s Communist Russia were to be defeated, Hitler’s Third Reich would be well-nigh invincible, and the British and American peoples would be forced to rethink the war against Hitler. The book offers penetrating insights and a new portrait of Hitler and Stalin, moved by their long-lasting inclinations. Yet among other things, Lukacs presents evidence that Hitler (rather than his generals) had moments of dark foreboding before the invasion. Stalin could not, because he wished not, believe that Hitler would choose the risk of a two-front war by attacking him; he was stunned and shocked and came close to a breakdown. But he recovered, grew into a statesman, and eventually became a prime victor of the Second World War. Such are the ironies of history; John Lukacs paints them with a shining narrative skill.

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9780300123647

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Reviews

'Lukacs relishes historical ironies... He believes that history is not the product of vast, impersonal economic and material forces, but rather lies in the hands of great leaders and statesmen - even ones whose greatness is wholly negative.' Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Financial Times Magazine 'No one has done more to turn the short history book into an art form... This book provides a fascinating insight.' Antony Beevor, The Mail on Sunday 'A terse and telling book which looks into a familiar turning point in history, and penetrates nearer the marrow than less able historians have done before.' Michael Foot

Author Information

John Lukacs is one of America’s most respected historians and the author of more than two dozen books on history, nine of which are published by Yale University Press. 

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