by BarbaraP (Mountain Center, CA): I had looked forward to this book since first seeing it in an ad for books to be published in 2023. As an avid reader of Historic Fiction revolving around WWII, and occasionally delving into the world of non-fiction of the same time period, this was a book that made my “must read” list with no hesitation – and I was not disappointed. The authors took us on a journey though the war with specific attention paid to the Allied leaders and their personal relationships. In my arrogance, I did not expect to be surprised with facts surrounding the attitude of the nation and original tolerance toward Naziism, when, who and how war was declared, the multiple layers of international agencies working independently but toward the same goal, and so much more. We are taken into meetings of planning and layers of deception among friends and allies that made perfect sense and left me hopeful and cautious toward our international future. There is so much more here than just an assassination plot or just another WWII story. I wish all of history could be presented and reviewed in the way this book is constructed – then we might not be so certain to repeat mistakes of the past.
