The Strategists

Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler--How War Made Them and How They Made War

By: Phillips Payson O'Brien

Narrated by: Justin Price

Churchill. Hitler. Stalin. Mussolini. Roosevelt. Five of the most impactful leaders of WW2, each with their own individualistic and idiosyncratic approach to warfare. But if we want to understand their military strategy, we must first understand the strategist.

In The Strategists, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2. For example, Churchill's experiences of facing the German Army in France in 1916 made him unwilling to send masses of British soldiers back there in the 1940s, while Hitler's mistakes on the Eastern Front were influenced by his reluctance to accept that conditions had changed since his own time fighting. The implications of the power of leaders remain with us to this day: to truly understand what is happening in Ukraine, for example, requires us to know what has influenced the leaders involved.

This is a history in which leaders—and their choices—matter. For better or worse.

Critic reviews

Praise for The Strategists

“Phillips Payson O’Brien is one of our finest historical thinkers. The Strategists shows him at the height of his powers: a book full of deep perception, convincingly challenging many entrenched views and examining these five leaders that so shaped the modern world in an entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling way. Everyone with an interest in not just the Second World War, but the twentieth century and beyond, should read this without delay.” —James Holland, author of Normandy ’44

“The Strategists is an easy read…Thanks to the engaging nature of the subjects—and Mr. O’Brien’s care not to go too far down rabbit holes about weaponry, gulags, local politics and psychology—the narrative moves briskly. By linking decisions to identifiable personality traits, The Strategists provides insight into the minds of titans who vied for Europe’s destiny.” —Wall Street Journal

“An important look at the personal side of how World War II strategy was made.” —New York Journal of Books

"An exploration of grand strategy. Compelling." —Kirkus

“[A] captivating study. . . . O’Brien’s fluid prose makes for enchanting reading; there’s never a dull moment . . . . For military history buffs, this is a must-read." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The Strategists is a rewarding and robust historical and psychological approach to the grand strategists of World War II and the decisions they--and they alone--made for the world.” —Shelf Awareness

Very informative and interesting

Love learning new information about anything WW1 and WW2 or any past war and historical events, so this was very interesting. Love learning about how each person thought and ruled with their philosophy and ways of thinking. Great read for history buffs and the curious alike.

Great overview of WW II

Very interesting book bringing out strengths and weakness of each of the major leaders. It provides some unique insights on each. Highly recommended…

mussolini stood out as an arrogant lunatic

Great insight into ww2s world leaders.mussolini was a lot nutter than history has portrayed him

Scholarly and interesting

The narrative is succinct. The author zeroes into the characters of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. The first two were misguided and malformed, the latter two rational and strong, but they needed Stalin, who in the end was the imperialist victor.

I trudged through this for some reason!

I read a great deal of historical biographies including those of world war two leaders. Quite honestly this book does not draw you in regarding personal insights or political strategies. Nothing new in the way of facts or insights. Much better books out there and on audible.