Churchill's Triumph: A Novel of Betrayal - Softcover

Dobbs, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1402210450 ISBN 13: 9781402210457

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2008

Synopsis

From Michael Dobbs, author of the book that inspired the smash hit Netflix series House of Cards, Churchill's Triumph transports us to the end of WWII as the three most powerful men on earth--Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin--gather in what will later become known as the Yalta Conference to discuss the possibility of worldwide peace. Despite their shared goals, these supposed allies will lie, cheat, and deceive each other in order to secure their respective places in history.

Dobbs takes you behind the scenes and brings you into the minds and hearts of the big three leaders: the dominating and seemingly all-powerful Joseph Stalin, with the largest army, and the mission of expanding the Soviet Empire; an ailing and fragile Roosevelt, willing to make whatever compromises he felt he had to in order to bring Stalin and Russia into the final campaign against Japan; and Churchill, the least powerful of the three, but the most far-sighted, who could not count on Roosevelt as his ally, and could not tame the avaricious Russian bear, determined to gobble up the nations around and beyond it. Like a fly on the wall of history, the reader becomes a hidden witness to these monumental negotiations, witnessing negotiations that would betray the heroic struggle of millions who died and fought in the Great War.

Acclaimed author Michael Dobbs allows the reader to eavesdrop on the world's most powerful men at a crucial point in modern history.

Praise for Churchill's Triumph by Michael Dobbs, bestselling author of House of Cards, the book that inspired the Netflix series:

"His portrait of Churchill is as masterly as ever: a wonderful compound of bluster, sentimentality, grumpiness and indefatigable physical energy. There are the usual elegant metaphors... In the tragedy of Poland burning while statesmen fiddled, Dobbs has found a theme worthy of his powers."--Sunday Telegraph

"How do you delight the profit-maximising big retailers while at the same time writing something dark and moving? Michael Dobbs knows how...Dobbs knows his sources, but the dialogue is his own: good, clean, moving briskly and underpinned by the record, it conveys historical truth. As for Poland, it suffered all the horrors. Dobbs writes about the country with tight passion, transferring to his fictional village, Piorun, the rape, murder and savage enforcement by Germans and Russians which, so far away and so little regarded, actually happened. The old women weeping, the houses burned down, the bodies left promiscuously on the street are history set out for the attention of novel-readers, memorable instruction in human grief... Furiously told and compelling, Churchill's Triumph is a thinking man's bestseller."--The Guardian

"Dobbs astutely and dramatically portrays the real story of Yalta, the mighty tussle between the three men upon whose political skills and strength of character the rest of the world would depend... The novel is a triumph because of the author's fine appreciation of history and his meticulous eye for detail."--The Times

"Michael Dobbs brings the Second World War to a resounding close... Dobbs portrays Churchill as being all too human - oversensitive and easily hurt by friendship betrayed, and conjures up Roosevelt's stricken response beautifully... Dobbs is a fine writer and neatly sums up the appeal of historical novels. Not only can they fill in the gaps left by an inaccurate, incomplete or contradictory factual record, but they can capture the spirit of the thing. Dobbs has certainly done that here."--Daily Telegraph

"It's all too easy to forget that you're not reading an insider's account of ht real events that shaped the modern world. Dobbs clearly has an instinctive feel for what makes powerful men tick."--The Mail on Sunday

About this title

Book Description:

This brilliant new novel traces the human side of the leaders who held the future of the world in their hands, showing the delusions, paranoia, compromises and betrayal that come with statesmanship in times of crisis.

From the Back Cover:

&?This blood-and-thunder tale carries the ring of authenticity . . . a great triumph&?&
-The Independent&
&
World War II is about to end when the world&'s three most powerful men gather at Yalta in the Soviet Crimea: an idealistic and exhausted Franklin Roosevelt, a dyspeptic and feisty Winston Churchill and a brutal Joseph Stalin. Once proud allies, they will lie and cheat and deceive each other. And, while doing so, they will change both the map and the destiny of Europe.&
In this riveting historic novel, you become a fly on the wall of history. For those fatal eight days at Yalta, you are privy to the heart and mind of England&'s prime minister who hopes he has enough strength to negotiate with the Russian dictator and enough whiskey to last the week. Carrying the burden of history, Churchill becomes Europe&'s conscience, when, to save the peace agreed to at Yalta, he must decide whether to commit a devastating act of betrayal.&
&
&?Dobbs captures his famous subject with artistry. With every stroke of his brush, he etches the character deeper into the memory. It is beautifully done.&?&
-Sunday Telegraph&
&
&?Dobbs is following in a respectable tradition. Shakespeare, Walter Scott, even Tolstoy, all used historical events as the framework for their writings. And, unlike some of their distinguished works, Dobbs&'s novel is, in fact, astonishingly historically accurate.&?&
-The Times&
&
&?Dobbs has given us a splendid diversion, one that makes it worth chucking the TV set out of the window and settling down with a book.&?&
-Sunday Express&
&
&?Brilliant . . . full of magnificently dark political characters&?&
-DailyMail&
&
&?Intrigue, political scandal and government treachery . . . Dobbs demonstrates why he is the master.&?&
-Times Literary Supplement&
&
&?This is a rattling good yarn to keep you warm on long winter nights. . . . Here is good old-fashioned entertainment in the great British tradition of Rider Haggard done with wit, skill, pace and panache.&?&
-Sunday Express&

About this edition

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1402210450
• ISBN 13: 9781402210457
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352