Masters and Commanders

"With his usual brisk and vivid prose. . . . Mr. Roberts captures not only the personalities of World War II's masters and commanders but the dynamics of their relations." -- The Wall Street Journal

"Compelling. . . . In Masters and Commanders, British historian Andrew Roberts skillfully dissects the complex, contentious relationships among Brooke, Marshall and the other two key strategists of World War II's Western Alliance, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. . . . As Roberts makes clear throughout the book, hammering out Allied strategy was an untidy, exhausting, sometimes debilitating process, replete with fist-shaking arguments and emotional tantrums." -- Washington Post

"Fascinating. . . . By mining previously unavailable diaries and oral histories . . . this book brings vividly to life the personal interactions and impressions of those involved. Roberts has a keen eye for the telling anecdote." -- Mark Mazower, The Guardian

"Andrew Roberts, a tenacious archival historian and gifted writer, looks behind the fa§ade of the familiar photographs and published accounts to see how these war leaders actually operated." -- Sir Martin Gilbert, The Evening Standard

"This is an important book which, in its layered references to Waterloo, the Crimea and the Somme, sees Mr. Roberts lay claim to the title of Britain's finest contemporary military historian." -- The Economist

"The strength of Masters and Commanders lies in the power of the narrative and the fascinating detail used to construct it. Roberts has exploited a rich mine of private papers to fill in missing parts of the story." -- Richard Overy, Literary Review

"Roberts's account of the war and its intrigues is fresh-filled with new revelations and new analysis. . . . It is both high scholarship and superb writing by a masterful analyst of power and war." -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Daily Beast

"Masterly. . . . A triumph of vivid description, telling anecdotes, and informed analysis. Roberts's book reinforces his claim to stand among the foremost British historians of the period." -- Max Hastings, The New York Review of Books

"Masters and Commanders is a magnificently researched, superbly written account of how the US and UK's top civilian and military leaders overcame mutual suspicions and conflicting priorities to win the war in Europe." -- The New York Post