"One Christmas in Washington"

I am fascinated by the relations between the United States and England in the World War 2 era. More specifically the give and take between Churchill and Roosevelt. This work studied the meetings that took place in Washington Christmas 1941 in which the allied strategy was initially laid out, the nuts and bolts of how the war was going to be conducted.

There was a great deal of distrust on both sides when the meetings started. The British needed help to fight Germany and feared the United States would focus all it's efforts on defeating Japan. The author points out this view may have been justified because of the public sentiment following Pearl Harbor. For this reason Churchill thought it important to meet with Roosevelt and insure that the agreement reached at Argentina would be honored. The Chiefs of staff distrusted the British and wanted to defeat Japan first, following popular public sentiment. The first lady felt Churchill would run right over the President but the author points out all of the fears were not realized.

The book covers the events of the meetings and does a good job showing the difficulties the meetings went through. Roosevelt kept no written records so the main sources were Churchill's notes and writings, Hopkins notes and other aides and generals. The list of sources is indeed long and includes many countries. The research is well done and it is a good source for a beginning study of Allied relations in the second world war.

Authors: David Bercuson & Holger Herwig

Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne; knowing him was like drinking it.

Winston Churchill
English, Statesman Quotes
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Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
1882-1945, Thirty-second President of the USA
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"Winter in Madrid" by C.J. Sansom

Winter in Madrid
I found this book by accident. I was not sure what to expect but decided to give it a try. I found a compelling story set in 1939-40 Madrid after the Spanish Civil War. England is blockading Spain and using the sale of essentials to Spain to keep them from joining the axis in the war. It is part suspense, spy and romance. The story is focused around three central characters with very different views of the world and with those views come very different ideologies. The central character is Harry Brett who is injured at Dunkirk and had lived a life of privilege before the war.

He is recruited by the British secret service to spy on a former class mate in Spain. The English want to find out if the story of a possible gold find is true and if so how large is the find. The English believe Harry's former classmate may be the key to finding out this information. The story reveals an inner struggle he faces as he deals with the guilt of spying on a former friend but more so the struggle of how he views the world and human nature. The friend he is asked to spy on is Sandy Forsyth the son of a bishop. Sandy has nothing to do with his family and is only concerned with making a profit. He became and is involved with a Red Cross nurse named Barbara Claire who after the supposed death of her lover Bernie falls into despair. Sandy helps Barbara recover and the live together and every one thinks they are married but they are not.

Barbara then learns that Bernie is not dead but instead is a prisoner in a secret camp for enemies of the state. As she goes about setting up an escape for Bernie she becomes distant from Sandy and when she learns of Sandy's dark side she is driven further away.

Harry mistakenly identifies a man he should not know that leads to the mans eventual death and Harry downfall as a spy. He meets a local senorita when her brother is injured while spying on him. It is this friendship that leads to his re-evaluation of the world. In a twist of fate Harry and Sophie get Barbara to let them help with Bernie's escape from the prison. The day of the escape comes and just when they are about to get away the trap is revealed and Sophie is killed in the trap is sprung. Harry, Barbara and Bernie manage to escape and return to the embassy where yet more deceptions are revealed.

The three are quickly spirited back to England and we see Barbara and Harry seven years later. Barbara is continuing her efforts to help refugees but Harry is broken and refuses to fight any more.

This is a compelling look at the world through different eyes and shows human nature as it is, flawed yet beautiful. The setting also reveals the great difficulties faced by the Spanish after the civil war and is a very dark and bleak picture. The story grabs you and is interesting.