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The Strategists

Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War
By Phillips Payson O'Brien
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Brief Description
A bold revisionist history exploring the impact of WW1 on the mindsets and strategic decisions of WW2's most important leaders. In The Strategists, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2. For... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A bold revisionist history exploring the impact of WW1 on the mindsets and strategic decisions of WW2's most important leaders.

In The Strategists, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2. 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. 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.

This is a history in which leaders—and their choices—matter. For better or worse.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781405966597

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 March 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 35.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 413g

Pages: 544

Collections

Education & Reference History & Archaeology History & Military Military History Non-Fiction Penguin Books Phillips Payson O'Brien

About the Author

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.

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