Fdr At War Boxed Set: The Mantle of Command, Commander in Chief, and War and Peace

by Nigel Hamilton

The definitive three-volume history that FDR did not live to write: the story of World War II from his perspective, showing his mastery of strategy, his vision, and how he overcame resistance from Churchill and his own generals to set the course for victory. Mantle of Command, Commander in Chief,  and  War and Peace  have been celebrated as “masterly” ( The Wall Street Journal )

In his deeply-researched, sweeping trilogy, Nigel Hamilton rewrites the history of FDR's role in World War II. First, Mantle of Command offers a radical new perspective on FDR's masterful—and underappreciated—personal charge of military direction following the disaster of Pearl Harbor. Then, in Commander in Chief , Hamilton spotlights the president's infamous clash with Churchill when he attempted to abandon Allied D-Day strategy. Finally, with War and Peace , Hamilton's celebrated trilogy culminates with a story of triumph and tragedy as FDR orchestrates D-Day, and, while gravely ill, travels from Hawai'i to Yalta, designing a victorious peace that he would not live to witness. Now we know: even on his deathbed, FDR was the war's great visionary.

 

Genres: History, Presidents, Nonfiction, Biography

1632 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2020

About the author

Nigel Hamilton is an award-winning British-born biographer, academic and broadcaster, whose works have been translated into sixteen languages.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read many history books about WWII, as well as biographies of a number of the key political and military leaders during that global conflict, I was, to use a popular phrase, gobsmacked with the depth and breadth of this three-volume biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt! Nigel Hamilton and his researchers have uncovered material from diaries, archives, and documents that have become available only recently, and has greatly expand our knowledge and understanding of how important FDR's role was during the War.

The three books in this biography of FDR contain much more information than was previously available, and illuminate the reality of the President's role, as compared to the way it was depicted in Prime Minister Winston Churchill's six-volume history that he wrote after the War. While that masterpiece was surely worthy of the Nobel Prize in Literature, it certainly did not contain "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" about Sir Winston's obstreporousness and his role in some of the debacles that took place.


If you're a WWII history buff like I am, I won't add any more spoilers ;-). I highly recommend this trilogy for Mr. Hamilton's incredible scholarship, and the readability of his incredible work.

[Arnold T. Blostein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional!

Absolutely the best writing about FDR during the war years. Hard to put down once you start reading. So well done and so thorough.

[Ikjyot Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The problem with much of the telling of the history of WWII is that it paints Churchill as the lone hero of WW2. (As Hamilton shows, much of this is due to Churchill himself!) These books “correct the record” so to speak and show the immense leadership and contribution of FDR and The US. In addition, this book correctly implies that the defeat of Germany and The Axis Powers more broadly was due to FDR’s astute leadership starting from lend-lease and all the way to the Cross Channel Invasion of 1944.