The Storm of War

Andrew Roberts is among the greatest military historians and, however many books have been written about the Second World War, there is always room for a comprehensive masterpiece of this quality.

Myself an author who tries to bring stories of undercover WW2 operations to a wide audience, I can only marvel at the mix of human narratives and strategic analysis that Roberts brings to the reader. I admire both the balanced approach and the depth of detail, achieved while holding the reader’s attention. A master to look up to and an example to follow.

There’s an expression among investigative journalists: follow the money. That’s exactly what the historian Andrew Roberts has done in this highly original and brilliant history of World War 2, full of economic insights.

How about this, for instance? “Hitler’s anti-Semitism  .. did nothing to aid Germany’s chances of winning the war, and possibly a great deal to retard them. The Holocaust was a mistake, tying up railway stocks … but above all denuding Germany of millions of potentially productive workers and potential soldiers.”

In other words, if railway trucks heading east through Germany had been full of soldiers heading for… show more.