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Roosevelt and Churchill: Men of Secrets (David Stafford World War II History) by [David Stafford]

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David Stafford

Roosevelt and Churchill: Men of Secrets (David Stafford World War II History) Kindle Edition

by David Stafford (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Part of: David Stafford World War II History (9 books)

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Their unique relationship was based on linked national histories and partially shared nationality – Churchill was half American – similarities in class and education, a love for the navy, and a common belief in the superiority of Anglo-Saxon institutions.

It was cemented by shared enemies: Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. On these foundations, Churchill and Roosevelt constructed a fighting alliance unlike any other in history.

But at the heart of this special relationship, hidden by layers of secrecy, was a far-reaching sharing of intelligence that was the most sensitive touchstone of their mutual trust. In Roosevelt and Churchill: Men of Secrets, David Stafford draws on recently declassified information and his own specialist understanding of intelligence to illuminate the relationship between two men who, as leaders and allies, were towering figures of twentieth-century history.

Praise for Roosevelt and Churchill: Men of Secrets:

’Provides a great backdrop into the friendship and covert chess match between FDR and Churchill’ - Goodreads review

‘A swift, well-documented assessment of the relationship’s “volatile mix of friendship, rivalry and resentment”’ – Kirkus Reviews

Educated at Downing College, Cambridge and the University of London, David Stafford is a historian and writer noted for his scholarly works on Churchill and World War II, British espionage and twentieth-century intelligence. He lives in British Columbia, Canada.

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David Stafford World War II History
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425 pages
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Publication date

January 13, 2021
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stafford (Churchill and Secret Service, etc.) wants nothing to do with the popular view of the great wartime partnership between Churchill and FDR. Not content with the sentimentalized portrait of a warm friendship based on shared pedigrees and world views offered in Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time, Stafford demonstrates that the alliance of these two cunning leaders was the product of need and hard bargaining, not sentiment. He further contendsDquite rightlyDthat the complex relationship between the two was mirrored by the actions of their intelligence operatives. Stafford writes: "The most sensitive touchstone of trust between individuals, as well as nations, is how far they are prepared to share their secrets." When Churchill learned that Hitler had called off his 1940 invasion of Britain, he kept the information from FDR and continued to implore the president to come to England's aid. Five years later, as the war wound to its close, Churchill criticized FDR's intelligence chief, William "Wild Bill" Donovan, for his successful efforts to thwart British plans to restore colonial outposts in Asia. As Stafford shows, similar intelligence clashes occurred throughout the war. Both FDR and Churchill kept much to themselves while at the same time building an often-productive joint intelligence infrastructure. In the end, Stafford's book goes a long way toward proving the truth of an old adage favored in spy circles: "There are no friendly secret services; only the secret services of friendly powers." Strong reviews and the continuing broad interest in WWII and FDR will produce respectable sales, which might be boosted by a major fall focus on FDR as the final volume of Kenneth S. Davis's monumental biography comes out in late November. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Upsets accepted views....Stafford has the precious gift of making technical subjects easy to follow...a most readable history. --The Times (London)

Visiting London in 1918 as American Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Roosevelt met the young Winston Churchill for the first time. Roosevelt's reported comments on Churchill did not bode well for the future. According to Roosevelt, "He acted like a stinker." However, over 20 years later, Roosevelt and Churchill were to find themselves forging one of the most crucial alliances in military and political history in the face of the Axis forces of Nazi Germany and Japan. The story of their remarkable political alliance and personal friendship is vividly recounted in David Stafford's Roosevelt and Churchill: Men of Secrets, which charts the intense relationship between the two men, from Churchill's elevation to Prime Minister in 1940 to Roosevelt's death in April 1945. The story of the development of the abiding "Special Relationship" established between the US and the UK by the two men has often been told, but Stafford intelligently reveals the personal dimensions of both men--Roosevelt the democratic, modernising anti- colonialist, Churchill the conservative, traditional imperialist--insisting that they both "knew the political value of the personal touch." In the process he carefully paints a picture of a relationship which ultimately defeated Hitler: "Seventeen hundred messages passed between them, and in nine meetings and several conferences they had spent a hundred and twenty days of close personal contact together." In the process Stafford revisits the manoeuvrings prior to Pearl Harbour which brought the US into the war, as well as fascinating new information on both men's obsession with clandestine military intelligence, and the various forms of political and diplomatic skullduggery which they shared in their ultimate pursuit of a new world order. Stafford concludes that "this was a rich and complex partnership that survived the greatest and most terrible conflict in history. To win it, they were willing to trust each other with their closest secrets while remaining firmly attached to their distinct national interests", a situation from which the current "Special Relationship" could still learn a great deal ---Jerry Brotton

* 'a fascinating narrative and a scholarly exegesis' -- SUNDAY TIMES * 'a startlingly good book' -- SPECTATOR * 'an excellent and long overdue book' -- LITERARY REVIEW --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. --Various --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The close personal relationship that developed between FDR and Winston Churchill proved essential to the ultimate success of the Allies in World War II, and former diplomat Stafford has produced an exceptional portrayal of their friendship. In this, his most ambitious venture to date, Stafford (Churchill and Secret Service; The Silent Game) brings to bear his vast knowledge of the British secret service during the war and combines it with fresh archival research of the American wartime intelligence services. The author produces a truly remarkable account of the crucial wartime relationship between two statesmen who appreciated the importance of their intelligence-gathering services yet at times also guarded what they knew from each other if they believed it would benefit them politically. Despite occasional disagreements, both leaders never lost sight of their ultimate goalDdefeating the Axis powers. Although the literature is enormous on this popular topic, Stafford's synthesis of new and old sources makes this one of the best works to come out on this well-worn topic in many years. Highly recommended.DEd Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

David Stafford is an expert in intelligence and espionage operations and the author of numerous books. A former diplomat, he is currently projects director at the Centre for the Study of the Two World Wars at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Leverhulme Emeritus Professor in the University's School of History, Classics, and Archaeology.

Richard McGonagle is an experienced film, television, and voice-over actor. He has appeared in such films as Rules of Engagement and such television shows as The Practice and JAG.

--This text refers to the audioCD edition.

From AudioFile

The much vaunted cooperation between Great Britain and the United States during WWII has long been due for reassessment, and this study of the intelligence services of both countries may signal its start. Stafford's close examination suggests as much competition as cooperation, for the ambitions of both leaders--Roosevelt and Churchill--and their national interests, beyond winning the war, were largely incompatible. In a forceful narration Richard McGonagle produces near lifelike imitations of the two men--the urbane, upper-Hudson Roosevelt and the gravelly, sardonic Churchill--that at times brim over with their delight in each other and their work. Underneath, however, boils a tension that always threatens to break out, as the two try to balance the competing demands of their intelligence services against common strategic interests. In a voice familiar to those of us who cut our teeth on TV documentaries like "Victory at Sea," McGonagle recreates those tense moments between Allies whose secret interests were worlds apart, yet who nonetheless assembled the most effective spy network in the history of the world. P.E.F. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the cassette edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08T22644H
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books (January 13, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 13, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3328 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 425 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #179,624 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #151 in Biographies of Presidents & Heads of State (Kindle Store)
- #415 in WWII Biographies
- #469 in World War II History (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
34 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

34 global ratings

5 star		49%
4 star		41%
3 star		6%
2 star		4%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Amazon Customer

The intrigue of the FDR era will fill history books ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

The intrigue of the FDR era will fill history books and be captured in movies for the next hundred years!!!!

2 people found this helpful

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D. Henley

Good book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

Very good book. My husband, a big history buff, really enjoyed it.

2 people found this helpful

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Jon Fadiman

Much new and interesting information.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 30, 2021

Book contains a great deal of new and extremely interesting information about Roosevelt and Churchill, about World War II, and above all about the importance of secret information. For me, however, I found much of the text overloaded with names and details about individuals in the Secret Service profession, that seemed too much for the average reader. For me, an interesting book, but not a great one.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Daniel Calandro

FDR and Churchill's Secret War

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 6, 2006

One of my college history professor's once told me that a secret in international affairs means that it is something you only tell one person at a time. The perfect example of "secrets between friends" is FDR and Winston Churchill. They kept secrets from everyone, their staff, the people the led, and even their own families. However, they had few secrets with each other. Thus David Stafford's book "Men of Secrets" is a fitting title for the special relationship between two of the greatest leaders of all time.

Stafford traces a very good outline of the secret services during WWII and how both FDR and Churchill played an intricate role in creating and developing both nation's intelligence services. Colorful characters abound, see anything relating to "Wild" Bill Donovan, in FDR's burgeoning spyring and in Churchill's the dashing Ian Flemming (author the James Bond novels).

What I found most interesting about the book is the relationship between FDR and Churchill. There are many conflicts of personality and political ideals of the two leaders. For example, FDR championed the freedom of British India; yet ordered Japanese-Americans into internment camps. Similarly, Churchill espoused civil liberties in England while attempting to crush rebellions in Ireland.

In conclusion, Stafford provides a great overview and introduction into the world of espionage during WWII. He also gives extraordinary insight into the minds of FDR and Churchill. Arguably, FDR and Churchill had profound affect on the course of WWII and the secret they had an upper hand in the struggle.

19 people found this helpful

Helpful

Interesting, informative, useful and, in places astonishing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 13, 2012

The title of this book "Roosevelt and Churchill Men of Secrets" is very accurate as to its contents. Both men consumed vast quantities of intelligence, planned espionage, initially oversaw vast networks of spies and code breakers and utilized the secrets or "golden eggs" as they are referred too, to hastened the defeat of the axis powers.

This book is a good antidote to the sterile version of WW2 history that focuses on battles won and lost, territory gained and weapons destroyed. The fact is that without "intelligence" the allies' efforts would be like a blinded boxer wildly swinging against an opponent.

The author's focus is on the principles, Roosevelt and Churchill. But it was the British and later the Americians spy masters that provided the data, managed the networks, planned the strategy, selected agents, and lived with the consequences inherent in this deadly game. The author weaves their story into the text, which adds, in my estimation, to the readability and usefulness of the text.

Interesting, informative, useful and, in places astonishing - what more could you ask for in a non-fiction book.

The preceeding comments are for the unabridged audio version of this title. The reader is Richard McGonagle who, when quoting directly from Churchill or Roosevelt, changes his voice to imitate the cadence and tone of the leaders. I have listened to numerous non-fiction audio titles and have always found the reader's attempt at changing his voice a major distraction, but not with this title. Mr. McGonagle's talent adds immensity to the pleasure of listening to this audio book.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sheri

Roosevelt Churchill

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 4, 2014

this was an engrossing acct of Churchill /Roosevelt complex relationship and also the formation of both British and American secret intelligence. much of book focused on events swirling around somewhat behind the scenes at war time. so it's not just a book about ww2. I enjoyed this.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Robertomelbourne

Enjoyable account

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 21, 2001

An enjoyable account of the circumstances that brought the two men together, and the relationship that they forged.
Often political friendships form out of necessity and mutual self interest. And that is obvious in this case.
But the fact that the two most remarkable and influential men (in a positive sense) were to forge such an important relationship makes for great reading.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dave P. Mcconathy

Roosevelt and Churchill, good information but not "a good read"

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 3, 2005

Very informative, but not "a good read". I enjoyed "Franklin and Winston" much more.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Sweetestmoondust

An interesting book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is an interesting book about the relationship between the two leaders of what would be great countries. The U.K.and U.S. Although they continue to say that the relationship is still something however this is the beginning of the relationship.

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