Alliance : the inside story of how Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill won one war and began another / Jonathan Fenby.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [445]-451) and index.

"The history of the Second World War is typically told through its decisive battles and campaigns. But behind the front lines, behind even the command centers of Allied generals and military planners, a different level of strategic thinking was taking place. Throughout the war, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin - the "Big Three" - met in various permutations and locations to hash out ways lo defeat Nazi Germany. And, just as important, to determine the shape of the postwar world." "Focusing on the interplay between these three larger-than-life personalities, Jonathan Fenby's vivid narrative ranges from the great conferences at Tehran and Yalta to a secret shipboard meeting in a deserted Newfoundland cove, from late-night vodka-fueled sessions in the Kremlin to summer picnics at the presidential estate. At the center stand three men - Roosevelt, the patrician populist who thrived on manipulation, secrecy, and dissimulation; Stalin, the bloody dictator who relentlessly pursued his ends; and Churchill, fighting desperately to preserve his country's standing with his allies. They come alive as individuals, shown in their political maneuvers, their health problems, and their private dilemmas and fears. Around them is a rich cast - Charles de Gaulle, Chiang Kai-shek, Foreign Ministers and advisers, including many key figures now largely forgotten." "Putting the reader right inside those smoke-filled rooms, Alliance shows the Second World War as a political story in the raw. Through a rich assortment of original documents, telling anecdotes, and detailed character portraits, we learn how this remarkable alliance was constructed and maintained, and how it finally crumbled, introducing the world to a new kind of "cold" warfare."--BOOK JACKET.