This book was an amazing read. I recommend that anyone that likes reading should read it. I'm normally a very slow reader, but this book was so good that it only took me an hour to read.

Churchill's Vol. 3, `The Grand Alliance' covers the time frame from Jan 1941 to Jan 1942 and what a time frame it was. The term `Grand Alliance' comes from Britain, America and Russia joining together to fight the triple-Axis Germany, Italy and Japan. During this time much was transpiring especially in the Mediterranean. Japan was watching and planning. Pearl Harbor fell on America with a vengeance and war had now awaked the sleeping giant. Germany was driving into Russia under operation `Barbarossa' and Rommel's tanks were moving in the North African desert. The Greece and Crete campaigns were breaking full upon Great Britain and the mighty Bismarck, with its' enormous structural strength, was out on the Atlantic. U-Boats were taking their toll on shipping and the oil fields of Iraq and Russia were being threatened.

It is interesting to read Churchill's correspondence now with victory and hindsight. He stood in the enviable position to see and write about the events that took place, and what could have happened if certain plans had or hadn't been implemented. His relationships and history, with Stalin and especially FDR, really make these volumes worth the read. He doesn't hold back the disasters that fell to all three of the Allies. Stalin's blindsided problems in trying to slow down Hitler until Allied supplies could get through. America and British combined Navy losses made for serious problems on the ocean. He writes about the curious events surrounding Rudolf Hess' flight to Scotland and gives his opinions about that incident. The disaster and triumph over the Bismarck certainly solved and created problems for the British Navy. While much relief came, with America's new found wartime role, much anxiety still lay ahead.

As he writes down this history, Churchill doesn't hide his enthusiasm about America now joining in the fight against the evil axis. This was one of the greatest joys of his wartime career. He now felt more than ever that victory `no matter how long' was sure. It is interesting to note how much influence the Atlantic Charter carries over into this day especially in policing the world. Well worth reading and adding to the history shelf.

Churchill's Vol. 3, `The Grand Alliance' covers the time frame from Jan 1941 to Jan 1942 and what a time frame it was. The term `Grand Alliance' comes from Britain, America and Russia joining together to fight the triple-Axis Germany, Italy and Japan. During this time much was transpiring especially in the Mediterranean. Japan was watching and planning. Pearl Harbor fell on America with a vengeance and war had now awaked the sleeping giant. Germany was driving into Russia under operation `Barbarossa' and Rommel's tanks were moving in the North African desert. The Greece and Crete campaigns were breaking full upon Great Britain and the mighty Bismarck, with its' enormous structural strength, was out on the Atlantic. U-Boats were taking their toll on shipping and the oil fields of Iraq and Russia were being threatened.

It is interesting to read Churchill's correspondence now with victory and hindsight. He stood in the enviable position to see and write about the events that took place, and what could have happened if certain plans had or hadn't been implemented. His relationships and history, with Stalin and especially FDR, really make these volumes worth the read. He doesn't hold back the disasters that fell to all three of the Allies. Stalin's blindsided problems in trying to slow down Hitler until Allied supplies could get through. America and British combined Navy losses made for serious problems on the ocean. He writes about the curious events surrounding Rudolf Hess' flight to Scotland and gives his opinions about that incident. The disaster and triumph over the Bismarck certainly solved and created problems for the British Navy. While much relief came, with America's new found wartime role, much anxiety still lay ahead.

As he writes down this history, Churchill doesn't hide his enthusiasm about America now joining in the fight against the evil axis. This was one of the greatest joys of his wartime career. He now felt more than ever that victory `no matter how long' was sure. It is interesting to note how much influence the Atlantic Charter carries over into this day especially in policing the world. Well worth reading and adding to the history shelf.

This volume covers the year 1941 - one in which Churchill was awaiting the next major moves while the war in the desert rumbled on. The British war effort was strained by the need for vigilence against invasion and the need (more on moral grounds than in the expectation of success) to support Greece.

This of course was the year in which the USSR, Japan and the USA entered the war. Churchill was scornful of the Soviet attitude both before and after June 1941, and it's interesting to read his reflections on the early days of what turned out to be a very uneasy alliance.

The US entry to the war had been long awaited (reading the earlier volumes of this work makes you realise how early Churchill identified US involvement as the key to victory). It's interesting here to read Churchill's views on the limitations of British power, especially to defend its Empire in the Far East. Indeed, one can be critical of some the British attitudes - signing up to the principles of the Atlantic Charter when fighting for an Empire, for example. All these trends tend to give an insight into the rapid postwar collapse of the Empire.

More tumultuous events were of course to follow in 1942. But by the end of 1941, the big players had arrived. Britain was to cease to be one of those sooner than she expected.

For those after a comprehensive history of the war, it's fair to warn that in some respects Churchill's account is limited (for example in descriptions of the war in Russia and on the Home Front). This though reflects the role Churchill was playing at the time.

G Rodgers

Volume 3 of The Second World War sees Churchill continuing to lead Britain in a lonely battle against the German onslaught. With the conquest of Europe largely complete, Britain's efforts focus mainly on the Mediterranean fronts in a desperate attempt to slow or turn back Hitler's surge. The second half of the volume concerns events that occur as first Soviet Russia and then the United States are dramatically and decisively pulled into the war. Their entry is slow to provide immediate benefit, but the tide begins to change.

As in the first two volumes, this is Winston Churchill's story. From his point-of-view telling and his notes and memos reproduced verbatim, we see the actions and operations of the British wartime government firsthand. Even as the focus of Allied operations begins to expand to include the Russian and American efforts, it is still primarily Britain's story. Lest the reader believe this represents a flaw in the writing, it does not. Simply put, as in earlier volumes, Churchill's work here is never intended to be a general and detached overview of the war. These things are found elsewhere in literature. What the readers of this volume find in a continued bird's eye, fly-on-the-wall perspective of Britain's angry and defiant stand against the Nazi assault.

Covering calendar year 1941, this third volume of Churchill's six volume Worl War Two history begins with Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria falling to Germany, covers the Gernam invasion of the Soviet Union, and ends with the U.S. Mobilizing to join the battle after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

In between, England largely fought what was truly a world war without meaningful allies. England had to protect itself from invasion, as Germany relentlessly strengthened its armamaent of the French coastline; fought an ongoing desert battle in North Africa to hold/protect Egypt; joined in the defense of the Balkans; protected the Middle East's Eastern flank by invading Iraq and holding Iran as a partner; and had to wrry about Japanese attacks on Burma and other far east countries--not the least of which were Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, England was fighting the Battle of the Atlantic--securing its supply line from constant attacks by German submarines.

At the center of this entire conflict was Churchill, who held BOTH the posts of Prime Minister (Britain chief executive) AND Defense Minister (roughly equivalent to the american Secretary of Defense). This required that he make strategic decisions about the allocation of extremely scarce military resources, but at the same time was responsible for reorienting the entire British economy to not only support the war effort, but to ensure basic necessities were available for civilians living in the British Isles--which after all is a very small area, largely dependent on imports for food.

Reading Churchill's account, one can not help comparing the scope of his responsibilities with the current Global War on Terror, and the actions of our current President in pursuing that "war". During his trip accross the Atlantic to meet with Roosevelt immediately after Pearl Harbor, Churchill not only continued to coordinate far flung military and economic decisions, he produced a series of monograms, laying out the allied war strategy--which in fact became the blue print for ultimate victory. Contrast that with Bush's use of the two day retreat, with all Cabinet, to review the basic strategy in Iraq, which turned out to be nothing more than a cover for a photo-op with the new Iraqi President! How would WWII have ended had Bush been the PRime Minister of England in 1940?

Churchill writes spectacularly, yet I had to give this volume only 4 stars. Why? Because (like Vol. II, but unlike Vol. I), Churchill relies far too much on contemporaneous documents. While these are almost all written by him, they do not give his prose a chance to shine like it does in the first volume.