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Allies at War

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A landmark history of the alliance that won the war and made the peace by the Sunday Times-bestselling author of Appeasing Hitler

After the fall of France in June 1940, only Britain stood between Hitler and total victory. Desperate for allies, Winston Churchill did everything he could to bring the United States into the conflict, drive the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany apart and persuade neutral countries to resist German domination.

By 1942, after the German invasion of Russia and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the British-Soviet-American alliance was in place. Yet it was an improbable and incongruous coalition, divided by ideology and politics and riven with mistrust and deceit. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin were partners in the fight to defeat Hitler, yet they were also rivals who disagreed on strategy, imperialism and the future of liberated Europe. Only by looking at their points of conflict, as well as of co-operation, are we able to understand the course of the war and world that developed in its aftermath.

Allies at War is a fast-paced, narrative history, based on material drawn from over a hundred archives. Using vivid, first-hand accounts and unpublished diaries, we enter the rooms where the critical decisions were made while going beyond the confines of the Grand Alliance to examine, among other themes, the doomed Anglo-French alliance, fractious relations with General de Gaulle and the Free French, and interactions with Poland, Greece and Nationalist China.

Ambitious and compelling, revealing the political drama behind the military events, Allies at War offers a fresh perspective on the Second World War and the origins of the Cold War.

© Tim Bouverie 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

A masterful diplomatic history of the second world war… packed with fresh detail and gossipy anecdotes
Economist, *Books of the Year*
Can anything new be said about the Second World War? Unexpectedly the answer is yes … [Allies at War] provides new perspectives on subjects that seemed familiar … Bouverie’s first book, Appeasing Hitler … was a dazzling debut. Allies at War fully confirms the promise shown by its predecessor
Observer
Impeccably researched, elegantly written and compellingly argued
The Times
A new star is born. The British firmament of modern political and military history is already a glittering one, but established names must now make way for a new companion, Tim Bouverie. His first book, Appeasing Hitler, was a deserved success. His second, Allies at War, proves that his debut was no flash in the pan … [A] powerful and well-researched book
Independent
A major work of original history that is a pleasure to read ... This is a compelling and highly readable book that provides a mass of new and fascinating detail about the Allies in the Second World War. Tim Bouverie has produced a masterpiece
New Statesman
Ambitiously all-encompassing … agreeably witty ... with vivid pen portraits … [an] extremely timely book
Telegraph *5 STARS*
[A] terrific new book … Bouverie is a historian with an exceptional command of his subject, and there is much to learn from his book
Daily Mail, *Book of the Week*
Bouverie … delivers a brilliant blow-by-blow account of the twists and turns of high-stakes diplomacy that were every bit as vital as the battles fought and won in the field when it came to victory. This is a landmark history book filled with fabulous facts that reads like a thriller
Daily Mirror
[A] meticulous, scholarly and highly enjoyable history of the second world war
Spectator
A sweeping, fast-paced narrative of one of the great turning points of the 20th century. Deeply researched yet highly readable
David Reynolds, author of Mirrors of Greatness

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
Author Tim Bouverie
Narrator Tim Bouverie
Duration 25 hours and 30 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781529919172
Format Audiobook
Publisher Random House
Genre Comparative politics, International relations, Political ideologies and movements, Second World War
Availability AU, GB, IE
Rating
5.0 (1 review)
Narration
5.0 (1 review)

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