World War II Database

Full Title: Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman, from World War to Cold War

Four larger than life figures, in a short period of six months, shaped the outcome of world events. That was the premise of author Michael Dobbs' Six Months in 1945. Dobbs carefully analyzed the personalities and interactions between these figures, and each of their staffs and colleagues, from the Yalta Conference to the Potsdam Conference. Events of the European War such as the Allied conquest of the Ruhr and the Soviet conquest of Berlin were studied not only in terms of their military value but also in their geopolitical importance. I was glad that the author took the effort to detail the large scale, and sometimes unimaginably violent, forced migrations in Europe that took place after the war, for that this suffering was often overlooked. Interweaving historic decisions with amusing anecdotes, he presented a very readable narrative that compiled a great wealth of information from various sources. The only drawback I noticed was a decidedly Eurocentric view in which Asia was barely mentioned even though Japan was devastated by atomic bombs, Korea was divided by US and Soviet spheres of influence, and China was resisting Soviet encroachment in the northeast and American interference in its continued civil war.

I had reviewed this title in its audio book format. I had enjoyed Bob Walter's performance very much.

As a WW2 history enthusiast who understood that events of WW2 directly shaped the opening chapters of the Cold War, I found this book to be a great bridge between the two eras. I would certainly recommend this book to those with interest in this topic.