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A review by tanyarobinson
Eight Days at Yalta: How Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin Shaped the Post-War World by Diana Preston
3.0
This book had two components: a day-by-day narrative of what went down during those eight days Churchill, FDR, and Stalin met at Yalta, and an analysis of what their agreement meant for the world. The itinerary chapters, complete with what they ate for meals, lots of passages from aides' journals, and discussion of the Russian palaces in which the "Big Three" were housed, got tiring. I don't care that much about the mundane details of that decisive week.
The analysis, however, matters a lot. I was especially intrigued by Preston's assertion that, had the conference taken place the previous summer as originally planned, the United States and UK would have been in a much stronger bargaining position. By February 1945 the Soviet armies had already occupied much of Eastern Europe, and were only miles from Berlin. Churchill and Roosevelt were so concerned that these Eastern countries, particularly Poland, have self-determined new governments, but this was impossible to implement when Communist Russia had on-site authority.
Another major objective at the conference was Russia's agreement to declare war on Japan. Up until this point the two countries had a mutual non-aggression pact in force. Prognosticators forecast that it would take another 2 years for America to completely defeat Japan, and counted on Russia opening a far eastern front against Hirohito. Interestingly, the date chosen for Russia to attack Japan was August 8, so the hurried atomic attack on Hiroshima on August 6 was clearly an attempt to preclude the Soviets from joining the war, and thus obviate the need to keep promises made in return. Stalin quickly moved troops into the Korean Peninsula and some far northern Japanese islands before the Japanese surrendered on August 15. As a result, a Communist foothold in the Koreas was established, leading the next decade to the Korean War.
Eight Days at Yalta gave me more insights into the unique personalities of Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. I'm glad I read it, even though the middle of the book dragged a bit. 3.5 stars.
The analysis, however, matters a lot. I was especially intrigued by Preston's assertion that, had the conference taken place the previous summer as originally planned, the United States and UK would have been in a much stronger bargaining position. By February 1945 the Soviet armies had already occupied much of Eastern Europe, and were only miles from Berlin. Churchill and Roosevelt were so concerned that these Eastern countries, particularly Poland, have self-determined new governments, but this was impossible to implement when Communist Russia had on-site authority.
Another major objective at the conference was Russia's agreement to declare war on Japan. Up until this point the two countries had a mutual non-aggression pact in force. Prognosticators forecast that it would take another 2 years for America to completely defeat Japan, and counted on Russia opening a far eastern front against Hirohito. Interestingly, the date chosen for Russia to attack Japan was August 8, so the hurried atomic attack on Hiroshima on August 6 was clearly an attempt to preclude the Soviets from joining the war, and thus obviate the need to keep promises made in return. Stalin quickly moved troops into the Korean Peninsula and some far northern Japanese islands before the Japanese surrendered on August 15. As a result, a Communist foothold in the Koreas was established, leading the next decade to the Korean War.
Eight Days at Yalta gave me more insights into the unique personalities of Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin. I'm glad I read it, even though the middle of the book dragged a bit. 3.5 stars.