The Allies

September 1, 2018
Novelist and historian Groom (El Paso, 2016, etc.) recounts the origins and fortunes of the grand alliance forged to battle the Axis powers in World War II.In the early 1930s, it would have seemed unlikely for the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States to agree on anything. As the author observes, when incoming President Franklin Roosevelt recognized the Soviet Union as a legitimate government, he did so "against the wishes of a large part of the country, including his own mother." Winston Churchill was implacably opposed to any such recognition and held Josef Stalin in scorn, detesting everything about Bolshevism--yet still came together with Roosevelt to join forces with Stalin against Hitler in the west, eventually opening a two-front war. Getting to that point required plenty of maneuvering, and the powers developed considerable skills in hiding things from one another as each jockeyed for position to be first among equals. Groom's account of how Churchill, he of "devious mind," convinced Roosevelt to sign on to the invasion of North Africa is excellent. For all that, there's not much new in this history, and certainly nothing that readers well-versed in WWII history won't know. Yet that doesn't seem to be the audience here, for Groom writes as if his readers had never heard of Churchill, or FDR, or Uncle Joe. That notwithstanding, his accounts of the Tehran Conference of 1943 and the later Yalta Conference are tasty pieces of drama in which Stalin played a too-believing Roosevelt while planning a postwar Soviet empire, or at least a system of satellite states. At the latter gathering, he notes, "Roosevelt made the stunning declaration that he did not intend for American troops to remain in Europe more than two years after the war, and Stalin, apparently emboldened by the news, lied or prevaricated about his intentions in Eastern Europe."Not Groom at his best but certainly serviceable for readers without much background in the history of the era.

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September 24, 2018
Groom brings his experience as both novelist and historian to bear in this well-researched and fast-paced narrative of the complex relationship among the three statesmen who determined the outcome of WWII. Groom demonstrates a solid command of the literature to describe the origins and functioning of a grand alliance that was anything but natural: Britain and the U.S. had a long history of mutual rivalry, and Soviet Russia was an ideological enemy and logical geopolitical adversary of the Western capitalist powers. Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Josef Stalin were all products of political adversity, all strong-willed and mutually suspicious. Groom effectively synergizes the interactions of personalities and policies to make a persuasive case that the Big Three managed to make just enough compromises in terms of personae, policies, and principles to keep the alliance on track. In his telling, Churchill is hands-on, Roosevelt more a referee, Stalin a survivor. Groom’s background as a military historian shows in his excellent narrative of the decisive operations in the European theater and their influence on top-level negotiations. General readers in particular will find Groom’s commonsense presentation of the Big Three’s wartime interactions a useful bridge between survey histories and more specialized analyses. This is an excellent history. Agent: Keith Korman, Raines & Raines.

November 15, 2018

Military historian (The Generals) and fiction writer Groom (Forrest Gump) presents an accessible work about the "Big Three" of World War II: Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. According to the author, who cites well-regarded secondary sources throughout this readable history, it was the brutal international conflict that led to this triumvirate rather than the compatibility of their personalities. After recounting the early lives of the leaders, he offers a traditional overview of the Allies' strategies to victory. Stalin, without ever visiting a battlefront, assigned himself the rank of field marshal while common soldiers waged war. Groom argues that time has nuanced the motivations and actions of Roosevelt and Churchill as being more practical than idealistic, while substantiating Stalin's ruthlessness. All, however, shared a sense of their own indispensability, especially when detailing the events of the 1943 Tehran Conference and 1945 Yalta Conference. VERDICT While this history doesn't offer new material for readers already familiar with the story, Groom's credibility will ensure its demand among readers interested in military history and World War II.--Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2018
Groom alternates between fiction (El Paso?, 2016) and works of history (Shiloh, 1862, 2012), here offering a triple biography of the Big Three leaders during WWII. As he delves into the lives of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, Groom emphasizes their prewar experiences, their paths to leadership in their own countries, and the personality clashes that shaped their wartime strategy. Churchill's story is front and center as a propelling force. Groom introduces Stalin as, basically, a bank robber and terrorist, the most ruthless of revolutionaries right from the start and to the end of his life. Roosevelt is presented as being too soft on the Soviet Union, caught in the middle between his two formidable colleagues. Groom's legions of fans will enjoy his novelistic approach to history, and all readers will appreciate the plethora of information he offers about three of the most important personalities of the twentieth century. With plenty of action, romance, intrigue, diplomacy, tragedy, and richly detailed history, The Allies is a strong addition to WWII collections. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: An endlessly compelling subject and Groom's irresistible storytelling skills will keep this circulating.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)