Allies in War: Britain and America against the Axis Powers, 1940-1945

Book excerpt: “Some historians are great because they write great books, others because they write books that need to be written. Mark A. Stoler... has done both. Allies in War offers an accessible and gracefully written synthesis of the wealth of new and important scholarship... addressing American and British grand strategy during World War II. Allies in War presents a global overview of Anglo-American cooperation against the Axis powers with a chronological account of the major diplomatic and military events. It begins with a brief summary of World War I and the interwar years, continues through the capitulation of Japan in September 1945, and concludes with a short discussion of the origins of the Cold War... Stoler’s story also covers the world war like a world war... Each chapter covers major developments in every theater... [Stoler] makes particular effort to recognize the critical role of the Soviet Union in winning World War II and its impact on Anglo-American strategy. Allies in War is a versatile work with a lot of uses. Both students and professionals will find rewards. This volume will be an excellent tool for teaching survey and elective history courses. It will also aid in understanding the dynamics that attend coalition warfare.” — The Journal of American History “[A] decided tour de force... Stoler provides an excellent and readable overview on a global scale of the interrelated wartime military, strategic, and diplomatic decisions and contributions of the United States and Great Britain... Stoler’s forte is elegantly concise syntheses of massive outpourings of scholarship in both military and diplomatic history and judicious, balanced, and stimulating assessments of often controversial issues... Lucid, balanced, nuanced, and acute, giving equal space to the wars in both Europe and Asia, Stoler’s interpretive overview is a valuable and welcome addition to its field.” — The Journal of Military History “This is the work of a mature historian, comfortably in command of his material, using his considerable experience to construct a tightly controlled narrative that carries the reader forward with little effort on his or her part; a sure sign of considerable effort on the part of the writer... Stoler’s book is much more than the synthesis it might appear to be... It is a masterly summary of existing scholarship, but one enriched by his own knowledge of the archival and secondary material... this book shines when it comes to grand strategy; the reader wanting a potted (and accurate) evolution of Anglo-American grand strategy will find all he or she will need here.” — The International History Review “Mark Stoler... is supremely well qualified to undertake this volume... Previous studies of Anglo-American relations during the Second World War tend to focus on either the war in Europe or the war in the Pacific. The originality of Stoler’s approach is that he wants to cover both. He seeks as well to incorporate the results of relatively recent publications on the Second World War... The results are impressive... Stoler’s writing is a major strength of this book... Stoler provides admirable surveys of the major historical controversies of the Anglo-American war against the Axis powers, such as the efficacy of the Allied strategic bombing campaign, the utility of the Italian campaign, and the continuing debate over the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Anyone who teaches courses on the history of the Second World War will find this volume a valuable resource.” — The Journal of Modern History “Allies in War is... a solid survey of the war... [an] effective synthesis of the most troublesome aspects of the special [Britain-US] relationship.” — Naval History Magazine “An important new study by one of the leading scholars in the field.” — David Reynolds, University of Cambridge