June 1941: Hitler and Stalin

by John Lukacs

Book Overview

A masterful account, culminating in the fateful days before the most decisive event of World War II: Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union This brilliant new work by the author of the best-selling... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300114370
• ISBN13: 9780300114379
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 169 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

magnifico.....

Sobre un tema tan apasionante, como trillado, de un modo increible John Lukacs, nos presenta nuevos aspectos, ignorados y practicamente desconocidos de un hecho crucial en la historia del siglo XX y por que no, de la humanidad.

Evil personified

The author has keen insight into the minds of the two most evil men who ever lived(bar None) It goes to show the depths of depravity and duplicity dictators will go to justify there end

On point anecdotes add up tellingly

There is no new-history stuff about "the war from the point of view of the front-line soldiers" here, or the sort of analysis of broad econometric trends one might get from Paul Kennedy. No -- there are the two megalomaniacs in his subtitle, each portrayed on the dust jacket staring into the middle distance. One has to accept that focus to benefit from the book. The style of this book is the use of accumulated pointed anecdotes. One of Lukacs' incidental observations -- one made while he works on setting the stage, before he reaches June 1941 -- will give a sense of this style. He tells us that November 1940 was "the first time that an American presidential election played a role in the great affairs of the world." Stalin told his foreign minister, Molotov, to delay a planned trip to Berlin until after the US election. It isn't clear from the reference whether Stalin thought such a trip would help Roosevelt or Willkie, but evidently it was thought unwise to remind the US public of the Nazi's alliance with the USSR. Anyway, Molotov arrived in Berlin on November 12. He tried to get Hitler to agree that Finland and Bulgaria were within Russia's sphere of influence. Hitler tried to get him to look at a bigger picture -- how the four of "us" (Germany, the USSR, Japan, and Italy) can divide the globe. Molotov wasn't a big-picture guy, and Lukacs portrays him as "a wooden and unimaginative dolt" who kept "pecking and pecking away at Bulgaria and finland like a shortsighted woodpecker." When we do get to June 1941, one of Lukacs' main concerns is to rebut the myth, put forward by David Irving and others among Hitlers apologists, that Germany's attack on its ally that month was preventative -- that Hitler had learned that Stalin was about to launch such an attack and simply acted first. Indeed, Stalin was almost pathetically eager to remain true to their alliance right to the end, and although Russian Ambassadors and ministers in capital cities around the world were increasingly privy to the fact that this attitude was hardly reciprocated, that a German attack on Russia was ever more likely, they knew their bos well enough not to communicate these facts to him. "Almost without exception," Lukacs writes, these officials "were reluctant -- or, more precisely, afraid -- to tell Stalin what he, more and more obviously, did not wish to hear."

Looking Inside the Minds of Megalomaniacs

John Lukacs is a fine historian and a fine writer and in JUNE 1941: HITLER AND STALIN he has provided the casual reader with a glimpse into the minds of both Hitler and Stalin as they moved inexorably toward war. This may not be the definitive resource for the researcher, but for the general public this is an excellent summary of the cogent events and personality dances that resulted in Hitler attacking Russia. Wisely, Lukacs keeps his writing style in the narrative, almost 'novel' manner, a technique that allows the reader to follow an enormous amount of information with complete ease. The focus he has chosen is to describe the events and the effects of those events on both Stalin and Hitler that began as a possible union for world domination but ultimately resulted in fierce hatred and battle between the two countries. Those surrounding the two men (Ribbentrop and Molotov being key players) are examined and their part in the erroneous decision toward war is carefully described. It is a story of power play: Hitler feared England and the United States; Stalin saw the urgency to protect his greed for domination of Europe by siding with Japan. When attempts were miscalculated and the various countries in Europe re-aligned, the Germans invaded Russia with dire consequences. One of the more satisfying portions of this short book is Lukacs' depiction of how Hitler fell from power while Stalin grew in statesmanship, becoming the awesome force he was at the conclusion of WW II. In his discussion Lukacs unravels the mysteries around the power of Communism in the face of seemingly insurmountable foes. It is alarming food for thought. For those who wish to understand the steps that lead to WW II this immensely readable book is most helpful. It is a starting point in probing deeper into the sources of megalomaniacal evil that disrupted the globe and nearly decimated Europe. Grady Harp, August 06

For Myers-Briggs Personality Types who just want the general, not all the tiny details

This is a super quick read and an enjoyable one. Superb writing and a compact story makes June 1941 Hilter and Stalin a breeze to read and enjoy. Even the print size and paper type make this book a pleasure. For history lovers, it is a must read. For aspiring history writers, it is a must-not-do-without. Written so eloquently, sequentially, and logically, Lukac's storying telling skills makes 1941 a masterpiece. Brilliant.