Six Months in 1945: Fdr, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman--From World War to Cold War - Softcover

Dobbs, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307456676 ISBN 13: 9780307456670

Publisher: Vintage, 2013

Synopsis

From the bestselling author of "One Minute to Midnight", this is the riveting story of the last six months of World War II, when the hopeful Allied situation inspired by the Yalta Conference descended into the open conflict that would lead to the Cold War. When FDR, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin gathered outside the Crimean city of Yalta in February 1945, they had Hitler's armies on the run, and victory was just a matter of time. Their mission was to forge the decisions that would shape the postwar world, and above all to divide up Europe between Soviet and Western influence. These men had been fighting side by side for nearly four years but the cracks in their alliance were emerging; even before the Second World War ended, another conflict was beginning. "Six Months" captures this turning point of the twentieth century, re-creating the steady breakdown in relations between powers. While the Berlin airlift and the Iron Curtain would not arrive for three years, by August 1945 the West and the Soviet Union were firmly on the path to a Cold War.Michael Dobbs brilliantly renders the personalities and geopolitics that drove this descent, illuminating the aims and frustrations of the key leaders. This is a vivid story of power, personalities, and national interests competing at a crucial moment in history.

About this title

Product Description:

When Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met in Yalta in February 1945, Hitler's armies were on the run, and victory was imminent. The Big Three wanted to draft a blueprint for a lasting peace--but instead they set the stage for a forty-four year division of Europe into Soviet and Western spheres of influence. After fighting side by side for nearly four years, their political alliance was beginning to fracture. Although the most dramatic Cold War confrontations such as the Berlin airlift were still to come, a new struggle for global hegemony had got underway by August 1945 when Truman used the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Six Months in 1945 brilliantly captures this momentous historical turning point while illuminating the aims and personalities of larger-than-life political giants.

Review:

Praise for Michael Dobbs' Six Months in 1945

"Superb . . . Dobbs tells the story with the precision of a fine historian and the verve of a first-rate journalist."
--The Dallas Morning News

"Elegant and convincing. . . . Dobbs's description of the fledgling relationship between the two superpowers is unerringly fascinating."
--The Washington Post

"[S]uperbly evocative . . . So vivid is the writing that you can practically feel the shuddering vibration and turbulence in what was then the state-of-the-art aircraft carrying Roosevelt on the first visit by an American president to the Soviet Union."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"A gifted storyteller and thorough researcher with an eye for detail . . . tension and suspense aplenty."
--Washington Times

"This extraordinary and well-documented account of a short period in history illustrates how just a few men in a closed room can influence history in a monumental and sometimes devastating way. Six Months in 1945 is an important book to read to better understand how such negotiations influence us for decades. It illustrates that events and decisions made on the world stage affect us all, without most of us being aware of the decisions."
--Free Lance-Star

"Elegantly written . . . Dobbs delivers engaging portraits of the national leaders . . . . A confident and rewarding survey of a hinge point in 20th century history."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Dobbs brings these 'six months in 1945' to life better than anyone before him. In brisk, engrossing chapters, he weaves between the Big Three decision-makers . . . and sketches their stratagems, illusions, strengths and weaknesses."
--Military Book Club

"Dobbs is a gifted writer. His characterizations of powerful men are well judged and rounded, as are his evaluations of the fateful choices they faced."
--Foreign Affairs

"Dobbs lends the subject an immediacy that will engage history readers. . . . a readily accessible presentation of the onset of the Cold War."
--Booklist

"An astute narrative of the six months that changed the world."
--Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0307456676
• ISBN 13: 9780307456670
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464