Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Mariner Books (1986), Paperback, 704 pages
Description
The Allies take the fight to the enemy in this vivid historical account by the British prime minister and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. In this fifth volume of his magnificent history of World War II, Winston Churchill recounts the story of the Allied forces going on the offensive. Mussolini falls, Hitler is besieged on three sides, and the Japanese find it near impossible to maintain a grip on the territories they had recently overtaken. Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt work toward keeping their uneasy partnership moving in concert, and much of this volume is dedicated to describing the intricate negotiations that went on to sustain this partnership toward one single goal. This six-volume account of the struggle between the Allied Powers in Europe against Germany and the Axis during World War II, told from the unique viewpoint of a British prime minister, it is also the story of one nation's heroic role in the fight against tyranny, enriched with fascinating primary sources. We are presented with not only Churchill's retrospective analysis of the war, but also memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. Throughout these volumes, we listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler's conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia, in a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Smiley
The fifth volume of Churchill's six volume WWII memiors is a thrilling read, for the most part. Clear, concise, with a driving narrative thread. Sometimes moving. Sometimes humorous and usually revealing.
A few quibbles: Churchill does protest too much that he was not opposed to a cross channel
A few quibbles: Churchill does protest too much that he was not opposed to a cross channel
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invasion earlier in the war. Personally, I think the Galippoli disaster that he authored haunted him in his approach to the cross channel invasion of France, rightly or wrongly. Coverage of the Pacific theater is minimal simply because this was a secondary concern for the British and they had few forces engaged there. Churchill also tries very hard to justify the slogging stalemate in Italy and the strategic/tactical mistakes that seemed to plauge it from the start. Coverage of the Eastern front is almost exclusively political, but these are memiors by a war Prime Minister. De Gaulle comes off as a selfish brat and Churchill himself reminds me a lot of that other kid-in-a-candy-store sort of approach, Theodore Roosevelt. A very good read and deservedly one of the best memiors of the 20th century and maybe all time. Show Less
LibraryThing member GeorgeBowling
Perhaps not the most rivetting volume of the sequence, this takes us through the hard slog towards a victory that seemed increasingly likely once the tide had turned at Alamein and Stalingrad.
It is a story of long and often frustrating meetings with Roosevelt and (particularly frustrating) with
You have to read between the lines to work out what a disaster was the Italian campaign that Churchill pushed for when his allies wanted to concentrate on "Overlord". The object was meant to be to capture airfields north of Rome, from which Germany could be bombed in preparation for the Normandy landings. In the event, at the cost of many lives at Cassino and elsewhere Rome was entered precisely one day before the invasion of France.
A good read. Not very exciting, but I do not suppose running the war was, really.
It is a story of long and often frustrating meetings with Roosevelt and (particularly frustrating) with
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Stalin, as they wrangled through the pros and cons of strategy. Four whole chapters are, deservedly, devoted to the Tehran conference (where Stalin blithely suggested the execution of 50 thousand leading Germans - he was serious, but pretended it a joke when confronted with Churchill's reaction.)You have to read between the lines to work out what a disaster was the Italian campaign that Churchill pushed for when his allies wanted to concentrate on "Overlord". The object was meant to be to capture airfields north of Rome, from which Germany could be bombed in preparation for the Normandy landings. In the event, at the cost of many lives at Cassino and elsewhere Rome was entered precisely one day before the invasion of France.
A good read. Not very exciting, but I do not suppose running the war was, really.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
This volume of Churchill’s history of WWII covers the lead-up to D-Day, focusing much more on the complicated negotiations among the Allies, along with attempts to get Turkey and some chunk of the Italian government on their side, than on the battle against Hitler directly. While it’s hard to
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read due to the sheer volume of memos Churchill reproduces, what the book does give is a sense of just how immense the war was, and how many things Churchill had to know, balance, and compromise on every day. He was a control freak, but he somehow had the capacity to keep track of this sprawling, confusing mess and keep Britain basically on track. Last Lion, indeed. Show Less
LibraryThing member xenchu
This is a book of slow, hard success in war, gained by bitter struggle and great hardship. The volume, in places, is a slow struggle. I think that is mostly due to the chapters on the Teheran Conference. While of great importance to the war effort and history, they were slow and dull to me. The
In all the volumes of this series two items are conspicuous by their absence. One of these is the absence of Enigma, the coding machine of the Germans, the capture of which allowed the Allies to read German orders. This gave the Allies a great advantage in strategy and tactics. At the time theses books were written I do not think Enigma had been announced to the public so this is understandable. What is less understandable was the lack of mention of General Dowding. General Dowding was the man who organized, equipped and led the RAF in the Battle of Britain. Immediately after the battle was won, General Dowding was dismissed. Churchill makes no mention of why this was done. Except in this case, when a general officer or important politician vanished from the scene a reason of some type was given by Churchill. To me it is a curious omission.
This is an important book in an important series and should be read by anyone interested in the history of World War II. I recommend it highly.
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rest of the book, with a few exceptions, is a story of the Allied successes. A lot of it, however, is in the form of memos in which Churchill cajoles, entreats, orders and argues with a large assortment of premieres, politicians, presidents and generals to do things his way.In all the volumes of this series two items are conspicuous by their absence. One of these is the absence of Enigma, the coding machine of the Germans, the capture of which allowed the Allies to read German orders. This gave the Allies a great advantage in strategy and tactics. At the time theses books were written I do not think Enigma had been announced to the public so this is understandable. What is less understandable was the lack of mention of General Dowding. General Dowding was the man who organized, equipped and led the RAF in the Battle of Britain. Immediately after the battle was won, General Dowding was dismissed. Churchill makes no mention of why this was done. Except in this case, when a general officer or important politician vanished from the scene a reason of some type was given by Churchill. To me it is a curious omission.
This is an important book in an important series and should be read by anyone interested in the history of World War II. I recommend it highly.
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LibraryThing member gbsallery
Whilst equally broad in scope as its predecessors, this particular volume's main purpose is to set the scene for Overlord. Still a huge wealth of detail, and plenty of subtle interactions whose significance can only be appreciated with reference to other accounts (particularly the altercation with
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Montgomery shortly prior to D-Day). Essential to any attempt to understand World War II. Show Less
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
The End in Africa, The Invasion of Italy, and D-Day. WSC is still a master stylist and it's a readable account. The other Allied Rulers suffer the drawback of not having their cases presented so immediately. It suffers from not being able to discuss Ultra, but perhaps the Russians still did not of
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it in 1952. Show Less
LibraryThing member encephalical
Now the Allies start grinding their way forward. My previous view of Sicily, Italy, and Monty was through the movie Patton, so interesting to get a view which barely mentions the latter. Perhaps most fascinating in all of these volumes have been the appendices featuring complete telegrams and
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minutes and seeing how much of a micromanager Churchill was, concerning himself in everything from grand political strategy to the production of playing card decks and everything in between. Show Less
LibraryThing member charlie68
Another engrossing volume of World War 2 history from one in a front row seat.
Subjects
Awards
Notable Books List (1951)
Language
Original publication date
1951
1952
1952-11-23
Physical description
704 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
0395410592 / 9780395410592