Ian Kershaw is an historian of WWII and his books are comprehensive and helpful to those of us trying to understand a very complicated time in history. Fateful Choices deals with the period of 1940 to 1941 and outlines ten decisions that were made by the rulers of both the allied and axis powers. These decisions shaped the war and things might have been very different had other choices been made. The author looks at how the decisions were made and what other options might have been available. He doesn’t delve into the realm of alternative history and debate what might have happened if different decisions had been made but keeps his book firmly in the land of the knowable rather than the imagination.
These ten choices include Churchill deciding to continue the war and not negotiate, Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union, Roosevelt’s decision to support the UK financially despite opposition at home, Hitler’s decision to commence genocide against the Jews, and Japan’s decision to go to war with Germany. These are all momentous decisions that determined the course of the war and the interaction between the countries in conflict. The author examines each one looking at motivations, who influenced the decisions and what the decision makers expected to happen as a result of what they did.
What this book shows me is how little the leaders of the countries at war knew about what was happening elsewhere. They seemed to make decisions based on what they thought that the other leaders intended and planned to do – on occasion they got this very wrong, often because they didn’t understand the thinking of their enemies. Personality was important too as some leaders were unprepared to accept advice and some were so autocratic that no advice was offered to them. Leaders also had to consider their home environment and what their people would accept and also whether these decisions might impact on them personally and cause them to lose their position. We have very good knowledge about what each leader and country were experiencing and planning because of hindsight and good history – leaders at the time were often working blind and this author shows us the steps they took to make their choices based on the information available to them.
I thought that this was an interesting premise for a book and that the subject matter was fascinating. I listened to the audiobook version read by Barnaby Edwards which, although it was well done, might not have been the best medium as there is a lot of detail in this book and a moment’s lack of attention meant that I lost the thread and couldn’t flip back easily. To be honest, there was a little bit too much detail for me as the author includes a lot of evidence to show how the decisions were made and I didn’t need that much information – this is maybe a book for people more interested in the minutiae of the period than it appears that I am. Despite this reservation I found this book fascinating and illuminating.
Anne Is Reading 