The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They...

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Phillips Payson O'Brien

The Strategists

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

Phillips Payson O'Brien

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Hardback

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English

Viking
15 September 2024

20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; First World War; Second World War; Defence strategy, planning & research

A compelling revisionist history which explores the impact of WW1 on the mindsets and strategic decisions of WW2's most important leaders

If we want to understand military strategy, we must first understand the strategist.

In THE STRATEGISTS, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien delves deep into the psyches of five of the most impactful leaders in modern history - Churchill, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and Roosevelt - and their respective strategic methods and choices. Payson O'Brien shows how the views of these leaders were forged in World War One and the Russian Civil War, and that these views are crucial to understanding how they fought World War Two.

We see how, contrary to the prevailing view amongst contemporary historians, strategy in World War Two was highly individualistic and idiosyncratic. 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 in World War One.

This is a history in which leaders matter - for better or worse, the five leaders made their own choices, often ignoring external advice. 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.

By: Phillips Payson O'Brien
Imprint: Viking
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 41mm
Weight: 788g
ISBN: 9780241696323
ISBN 10: 0241696321
Pages: 544
Publication Date: 15 September 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Phillips Payson O'Brien is Professor of Strategic Studies at St Andrews. He is the author of How the War Was Won- Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II and The Second Most Powerful Man in the World- The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, Roosevelt's Chief of Staff. He has written for The Atlantic, The Spectator and Foreign Affairs, and has a combined following of over 200k on Twitter and Substack. This is his first trade book.

Reviews for The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War

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. * Professor Daniel Todman, author of Britain's War * A worthy addition [to bookshelves] . . . compelling * Kirkus *