Index, bib, ill, maps, p.398.non-fictionIn the last winter of the Second World War, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin arrived in the Crimean resort of Yalta. Over eight days of bargaining, bombast and intermittent bonhomie they decided on the conduct of the final stages of the war against Germany, on how a defeated and occupied Germany should be governed, on the constitution of the nascent United Nations and on spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Greece. Only three months later, less than a week after the German surrender, Roosevelt was dead and Churchill was writing to the new President, Harry S. Truman, of 'an iron curtain' that was now 'drawn down upon [the Soviets'] front'. Diana Preston chronicles eight days that created the post-war world, revealing Roosevelt's determination to bring about the dissolution of the British Empire and Churchill’s conviction that he and the dying President would run rings round the Soviet premier. But Stalin monitored everything they said and made only paper concessions, while his territorial ambitions would soon result in the imposition of Communism throughout Eastern Europe.world war 1939-1945 - diplomatic history, yalta conference - crimea- 1945

Index, bib, ill, p.359.non-fictionAn intriguing look behind the congenial faȧde of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, this work reveals how each leader jealously guarded knowledge from the other in pursuit of separate national interests. David Stafford's masterly study shows that at the heart of their complicated relationship - which was always dynamic - was an extraordinary fascination with clandestine operations. On this foundation Roosevelt and Churchill constructed a fighting alliance unlike any other in history. world war 1939-1945 - diplomatic history, great britain - diplomatic history, united states - diplomatic history