by Charles Mee
First published 2016
Summer 1945. World War II has ended, and three powerful men gather at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam to reshape the world. Winston Churchill arrives with his disruptive rhetoric. Harry Truman brings uncertainty and inexperience. Josef Stalin carries domestic worries and expansionist ambitions. They sit around a baize table just miles from Hitler's shattered capital, no longer united against a common enemy. Victory in Europe is complete. The Pacific war nears its end. Now comes the harder task: dividing the spoils. Each leader pursues his nation's interests above all else. Churchill wants to preserve British influence. Truman seeks American advantage while learning his role. Stalin demands Soviet security through control. Their negotiations reveal how peace becomes secondary to power. The cordial wartime cooperation dissolves into calculated competition. What emerges is not the harmony the world hoped for, but the foundation of decades of conflict. Three men enter seeking to forge peace and leave having declared the Cold War.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, political-science, world-war-ii, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, power-struggle
Setting: Cecilienhof Palace, Potsdam, Berlin
Period: 1945, Post-World War II
576 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform