'Entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling' James Holland

'Full of fascinating insights about the use and misuse of power' Daniel Todman

***

Churchill. Hitler. Stalin. Mussolini. Roosevelt. Five of the most impactful leaders of WW2, each with their own individualistic and idiosyncratic approach to warfare.

But if we want to understand their military strategy, we must first understand the strategist.

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.

***

'For military history buffs, this is a must-read.' Publishers Weekly

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.

Reviews
Phillips Payson O'Brien is one of our finest historical thinkers. The Strategists shows him at the height of his powers: a book full of deep perception, convincingly challenging many entrenched views and examining these five leaders that so shaped the modern world in an entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling way. Everyone with an interest in not just the Second World War, but the twentieth century and beyond, should read this without delay. * James Holland, author of Normandy '44 *
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 *
O'Brien's fluid prose makes for enchanting reading; there's never a dull moment.... For military history buffs, this is a must-read. * Publishers Weekly *
This book's most important argument is that the western allies were proved decisively right in viewing the Second World War as an oceanic struggle...it is entirely right for each generation of historians - and O'Brien is two decades younger than me - to think anew about everything. -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *
O'Brien is seeking to do something more useful than rehashing all the old stories. He is trying to set the Second World War in deeper historical context by drawing out connections with the First World War . . . The Strategists reminds us that humans matter too. -- Jonathan Boff * Literary Review *
A colourful and compelling read . . . with anecdotes that help the protagonists spring to life. -- Andrew Lynch * Irish Independent *
Thanks to the engaging nature of the subjects-and Mr. O'Brien's care not to go too far down rabbit holes about weaponry, gulags, local politics and psychology-the narrative moves briskly. By linking decisions to identifiable personality traits, "The Strategists" provides insight into the minds of titans who vied for Europe's destiny. * Wall Street Journal *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241696323
Author Phillips Payson O'Brien
Format Hardback
Page Count 544
Imprint Viking
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 788g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 162mm * 41mm