Publisher's Synopsis
*Weaves the lives of the three leaders together into one gripping narrative.
*Includes pictures of the Big Three and important people, places, and events in their lives.
*Includes a list of Churchill's greatest quotes.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading.
"Winston Churchill led the life that many men would love to live. He survived 50 gunfights and drank 20,000 bottles of champagne...And of course, by resisting Hitler, he saved Europe and perhaps the world." - Mark Riebling in "Churchill's Finest Hour".
"It is time to finish retreating. Not one step back! Such should now be our main slogan." - Joseph Stalin
One is widely considered America's greatest 20th century president. Another was voted the Greatest Briton of All Time by his own countrymen. The other is considered one of history's greatest tyrants. Each of the Big Three, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, led remarkably influential lives, and never before has history provided a better example of the old maxim that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
On one point though, the biographers and historians remain unanimous: Churchill led an astonishing life as a soldier, world statesman, historian and Noble Prize Laureate. When he died at 90 in 1965, one of the most important figures in modern history had left the stage. From providing some of the 20th century's greatest soundbytes to successfully navigating Great Britain to victory in World War II against great odds, Churchill was at the forefront of global events for decades, becoming one of the most influential Britons in history. In 2002, he was named the Greatest Briton of All Time, and 40 years earlier he was the first person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt might be America's greatest 20th century president, but there's no question that he was the most unique. A well-connected relative of Theodore Roosevelt, FDR was groomed for greatness until he was struck down by polio. Nevertheless, he persevered, rising through New York politics to reach the White House just as the country faced its greatest challenge since the Civil War, beginning his presidency with one of the most iconic lines ever spoken during an inaugural address. For over a decade, President Roosevelt threw everything he had at the Great Depression, and then threw everything the country had at the Axis powers during World War II.
If Adolf Hitler had not inflicted the devastation of World War II upon Europe, it's quite likely that the West would consider Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) the 20th century's greatest tyrant. A Bolshevik revolutionary who played a crucial role in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the establishment of the Soviet Union, Stalin was one of the Communist regime's earliest leaders and went about consolidating power after the death of Vladimir Lenin, whose final wishes were that Stalin be removed from his post as General Secretary of the Communist Party and not be given the ability to take power. Of course, Stalin managed to do just that, modernizing the Soviet Union at a breakneck pace on the backs of millions of poor laborers and prisoners. Before World War II, Stalin consolidated his position by frequently purging party leaders (most famously Leon Trotsky) and Red Army leaders, executing hundreds of thousands of people at the least.
The Big Three chronicles the lives of the three unique leaders and their incredibly unconventional alliance, weaving their lives together into one gripping narrative and analyzing their lasting legacies. Along with pictures, a bibliography, and a Table of Contents, you will learn about Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt like you never have before.
