Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 Paperback – Illustrated, May 27, 2008

If you haven't read much of WWII, this book would be an ideal place to start or to expand your understanding. If you're an experienced reader, you can still appreciate the straightforward and informative way the author has compiled this history.The author has chosen ten decisions by six of the leading commanders of the war. He carefully describes the decision and then provides a fairly comprehensive history leading up to that decision as well as the subsequent impact of the future prosecution of the war. During the discussion, you will not only learn about the progression in making that decision but also learn about the individual making that decision and the circumstances and people surrounding him that try to influence that decision.The ten Fateful Choices are:1. Churchill's decision in May, 1940 to continue the war rather than negotiate with Hitler and Mussolini.2. Hitler decides to attack the Soviet Union.3. Japan decides to attack China.4. Mussolini decides to join the war on Hitler's side.5. Roosevelt decides to lend a helping hand to Britain.6. Stalin decides he knows best and ignores all the clear signals that Germany is going to invade.7. Roosevelt decides to wage undeclared war.8. Japan decides to go to war against the US.9. Hitler decides to declare war on the US.0. Hitler decides to commit genocide.These ten events are laid out chronologically, starting out with the pugnacious Churchill refusing to negotiate with Mussolini and Hitler in mid 1940 and winds up with Hitler deciding on a formal program of genocide in late 1941. You will also read about Hitler's obsession to invade Russia that will blind him from alternative action or the politically savvy Roosevelt who is cautious to enter the fray. There is both Mussolini and Tojo who thought their country was destined for greater accomplishments and disregarding logic, overreach and take steps that will destroy their countries. Stalin, the supreme leader and confident manipulator who "knows" Hitler will not invade until 1942 and can't believe it when he's proven wrong.While the author covers the alternative choices each commander had before him, Mr Kershaw refuses to be drawn into the realm of alternate history. That's too bad; with the author's experience it would have been interesting to hear his views on how the war would have played out if Hitler decided to conquer North Africa and the Middle East before invading Russia. There are many alternate histories that could have been discussed but it just wasn't in the author's purview.Of the ten decisions, Churchill made one, Hitler 3, Tojo 2, Mussolini 1, Roosevelt 2 and Stalin 1. The average length of these chronicles is 42 pages, with the shortest being 33 pages and 59 pages for the longest. President Roosevelt has the honor of having both the shortest and longest chronicle.There are five maps and 28 photos. Being an academic, Mr Kershaw provides an extensive Notes Section and Bibliography of secondary sources as well as a useful Index if further study is desired.This synergistic book is comprehensive and well documented within specific spheres of the early events of the war, making a good reference for many of us and is recommended.

Author Kershaw looks through a microscope at 10 key decisions that resulted in practically the whole world becoming engaged in war. The unique aspect of this book is to combine the fateful decisions made by five world leaders (and one imbecile) during the years 1940 and 1941.Other reviewers have spelled out the ten decisions so I won't repeat them. First of all I will explain what I mean by saying one member of this group is an imbecile. I'm talking about Mussolini, and at the end of a chapter on him Mr. Kershaw, in frustration, calls him that name. Indeed the chapter on Mussolini can almost be considered, tragically of course, a bit of comic relief. Mussolini was like a puppy dog trying to tag along with his master, Hitler, and get some glory for himself. What should he do in the midst of victory after victory by Germany. He decides why not invade Greece. He sits down with his marginally competent general staff, and in an hour and a half discussion they decide to invade. That's it. No long term, detailed plans, just that short chat. Italy is almost bankrupt, does not have a well trained army, lacks sophisticated equipment yet invades Greece within weeks of that meeting, and gets, well, stuck in the mud so to speak.What's interesting about the other fateful decisions is that each leader was well out on a limb when his country decided to ease or jump into war. At that time, for example, the United States had an army about the size of the Dutch army. All of the countries faced economic problems, and most of them had not learned an awful lot from their experiences in WWI.Roosevelt's task was to ease the country toward helping Britain by gradually coaxing the public and congress along toward that end. Japan's leaders vacillated about entering a war with the U.S., but felt they had to do just that following America's embargo on scrap iron and oil shipments. Stalin was deluded into thinking that Germany would not invade Russia until 1942, and tended to disregard all evidence that indicated the attack would be in 1941. When the invasion took place he was so shaken that he could not function for several days. Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini were prompted by maintaining national prestige. Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill were trying to keep their world from collapsing. Hitler declared war on the U.S. without consulting with any of his advisors.This is a fascinating book that ties together all of the elements that led our world leaders into the worst war of all time. I might point out that for some WWII buffs certain chapters may not provide new information to the reader. There are other books, such as biographies of Hitler, Roosevelt and Stalin, that cover one of these chapters in even greater detail, but this may be the only book that examines all the major world leaders during the time period 1940-1941. The only thing that frustrated me is that each chapter usually ends at a momentous decision point, and you think "more, more, don't stop here." Well the thing to do is just get more books that do go on from there.

Ian Kershaw, the British historian renowned for his authoritative biography of Adolph Hitler has, in Fateful Choices, widened his scope. He reexamines the critical decisions made in 1940 and 1941 by the major participants in World War II and asks what might have happened had they been made differently. “What if” is, of course, hardly a rare question asked by historians, amateur and professional. It is an integral part of the game. “What if Halifax rather than Churchill had been chosen wartime Prime Minister?”. “What if Hitler had stuck with his plan to invade Britain rather than turning on the Soviet Union instead?”. “What if Mussolini had not foolishly decided to invade Greece?”. “What if the paranoid Stalin had not purged his Red Army leadership in 1939 and then, in early 1940 acted on, rather than ignoring, multiple intelligence reports of an imminent German invasion?” “What if the Japanese had decided to invade Siberia rather than Indochina and attacking Pearl Harbor?. “What if Roosevelt had acted more decisively in support of Britain in 1940 and 1941?” Kershaw examines these and dozens of related questions in great detail over the course of almost 500 pages. The speculation makes for entertaining reading despite a fair amount of repetition. At the end, as is so often the case in the game of “What if?”, he concludes that the personalities of the key players and the circumstances under which they operated, made the decisions reached inevitable. In a brief “Afterthoughts” chapter at the end of the book he concedes that “what if scenarios” are “a harmless but pointless diversion from the real question of what happened and why.” His preceding chapters, he suggests “have shown in each case why … alternatives were ruled out”. So much, then, for all the “what ifs”.

I can unreservedly recommend this book by Ian Kershaw about the crucial choices made by various people in the critical period 1940-1941. The book is very well researched and documented. I was maza½ded by the wealth of original documents and books that the author has consulted. It is a work of the highest scolarly level and still easily read. It is truly fascinating to have a glimpse into the deliberations and decision making among those in power in the UK, Italy, the US, the USSR, Germa½ny and Japan. What struck me most was how genious Roosevelt was in gradually edging along a policy of helping the UK and ultimately beating Germany without alienating Congress or population. Similarly, the decision making in Japan, which despite this country being authritarian, differed very significantly from the one-man-decides-all situation in Germany.If you read this book, I stringly recommend you also read "Why the Allies won" by Richard Overy + "The road to War" and "Russias War" by the same author. With these three by Overy and the book (or books) by Kershaw you get all the essentials you ever wanted about the origin and cause of WW2.

Ich bin ein großer Ian Kershaw Fan. Das vorliegende Buch steht in der langen Tradition, gut recherchiert zu sein, hohen akademischen Ansprüchen zu genügen undtrotzdem auch für Laien verständlich zu sein. Klare Kaufempfehlung und 5 Sterne.

This was excellent, as one expects from a work written by Ian Kershaw. Fascinating, insightful, thought provoking. In short, what one hopes for from a masterful non fiction work.My only disappointment was that the copy I received, although meant to be new, had clearly been opened many times, as evidenced by the spine 'damage', although otherwise did not appear to have been read.

Ian Kershaw takes on an ambitious project here, choosing 10 critical decisions that took place in 1940-41, before World War II had reached its turning point. Nevertheless, Kershaw proposes these decisions pretty much determined the final outcome of the conflict, even though there was much still to come.I'm not qualified to really analyze this work in a authoritative manner so I'll simply share some observations that are loosely related.Kershaw is very good at steering away from irresponsible, speculative talk about what might have been. This is not a book which draws far-reaching conclusions about what would have occurred should such and such a decision not have been made. This resistance to speculation greatly enhances the trustworthiness of his analysis when he does make suggestions about where things may have gone had a different decision been made.This is also a very good read if you want to see within the pages of a single book an authoritative look at the workings of each of the 6 major governments involved in the conflict. The strengths and weaknesses in each government's internal culture come into play to determine the capability of making a decision and also how likely the decision is to be the right one. Democracy tends to have a slower decision making process than more authoritarian structures, but that decision is more likely to make the most effective use of the available information. Hence the competition of ideas within the US and Britain ultimately led to better decisions.This is a high-level look at what happened - if you want a story of what happened in the trenches, that's not what this book is about. As a high-level book analyzing decisions, I have no complaints, hence 5 stars.

love this book!