Unconditional Surrender: The Policy That Prolonged World War II

by Thomas Fleming

Here, from New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Thomas Fleming, is the seldom-told account of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s policy toward the Axis powers during World War II. Driven by his dislike of the German people, the president, with encouragement from his Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., insisted on a strategy that settled for nothing less than unconditional surrender. That strategy not only prolonged the war but cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of additional lives.
Fleming makes a convincing case that Roosevelt’s exceedingly harsh policy ironically guaranteed that the Germans would never surrender, even in the face of certain defeat. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, though upset with FDR at times, was no strong defender of a more humane and conciliatory approach. This fascinating account of these events adds to our understanding of the personalities and politics of the time.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2011

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Thomas James Fleming was an historian and historical novelist, with a special interest in the American Revolution. He was born in 1927 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a World War I hero who was a leader in Jersey City politics for three decades. Before her marriage, his mother, Katherine Dolan Fleming, was a teacher in the Jersey City Public School System.

After graduating from St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, Fleming spent a year in the United States Navy. He received a Bachelor's degree, with honors, from Fordham University in 1950. After brief stints as a newspaperman and magazine editor, he became a full-time writer in 1960. His first history book, Now We Are Enemies, an account of the Battle of Bunker Hill, was published that same year. It was a best-seller, reviewed in more than 75 newspapers and featured as a main selection of the Literary Guild.

Fleming published books about various events and figures of the Revolutionary era. He also wrote about other periods of American history and wrote over a dozen well-received novels set against various historical backgrounds. He said, "I never wanted to be an Irish American writer, my whole idea was to get across that bridge and be an American writer".

Fleming died at his home in New York City on July 23, 2017, at the age of 90.