Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Stalin Affair:
Romancing Uncle Joe.
Quick synopsis:
A look at the alliance between Stalin, Churchill, and FDR in World War II.
Fact for Non-History People:
A U.S. poll taken two days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union found that two-thirds of the country was against aiding Stalin.
Fact for History Nerds:
The German invading force for Barbarossa included over 3 million troops, 3,350 tanks, 2,770 aircraft, and 7,184 artillery pieces.
My Take on The Stalin Affair:
Giles Milton is so damn good at this. “This” being writing history books that read like fictional dramas. His latest, The Stalin Affair, is as great as I had hoped. Milton looks at the doomed World War II bromance of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt. For those of you who rolled their eyes at a history reviewer using the word “bromance”, please read the book and tell me what word works better. There are specific episodes in this book which read like high school drama only with the fate of the free world on the line.
What I appreciate so much about Milton’s writing is how he packs each page with information while making it feel like he is just chatting with you at a pub. Much of this book could read like an extremely boring rehash of diplomatic activities, but instead he makes it feel like a propulsive character drama.
And there is a lot of drama in The Stalin Affair. It is easy to forget that the Allies in World War II were not a collection of countries who loved each other while fighting evil. There were so many gray areas and conflicts that it seems amazing they ever worked together at all.
Milton also makes sure not to lose the other players in the drama. People who often become footnotes in other books, like Averell Harriman, his daughter Kathleen, and Archibald Clark Kerr, are given their due for making the successes of the Big 3 a reality. At the same time, Milton doesn’t lose sight of the fact that the leaders of the free world were actively searching for the approval of one of the most evil men in history. This is all balanced out perfectly in the narrative and I could not put this book down.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Henry Holt and Company.)
Verdict:
A must read even for non-history nerds. Buy it here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.