The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They...

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Phillips Payson O'Brien

The Strategists

Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War...

Phillips Payson O'Brien

$24.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Penguin
24 June 2025

History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; First World War; Second World War; Defence strategy, planning & research

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.

By: Phillips Payson O'Brien
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 408g
ISBN: 9781405966597
ISBN 10: 1405966599
Pages: 544
Publication Date: 24 June 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

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. He has written for The Atlantic, The Spectator and Foreign Affairs, and has a combined following of over 200k on Twitter and Substack.

Reviews for The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War

The Strategists matches a remarkably wide-ranging expertise with an eye for telling detail and a lucid style. It is full of fascinating insights about the use and misuse of power: global, national and individual. * Professor Daniel Todman, author of Britain's War * A worthy addition [to bookshelves] . . . compelling * Kirkus *