Dates and battles.
When you were at school, you thought that was all there was to history – dates and battles. So why not change your mind this spring with one of these great new books on the hidden histories of World War II?
By definition, a world war means that almost the entire world was involved, but in “Hitler’s Aristocrats” by Susan Ronald (St. Martin’s Press, $32.50) you will read another part of the story that is not often shown. Ronald covers up elite civilians, wealthy donors, royal influencers and non-military business leaders who quietly aided Hitler and the Nazis. But these forces behind the screen, those friendly to the Führer, came from surprising places. Some of these names will shock and surprise you, making this a book for any WWII buff’s bookshelf.
Imagine how the war could end without control of each of the allies. In The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (Flatiron Books, $29.99), you’ll read about a chilling plan that, if carried out, could change the world forever.
True Story: When the Nazis learned that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was planning a meeting to discuss war strategies with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in Tehran in 1943, Hitler’s men began to devise their own plan. It involved not just one, but three assassinations that they hoped would turn the tide of the war. It might sound like the plot of a novel, but this story is true and told only as Meltzer and Mensch can tell it. Yes, it’s a history book, but fans of fictional thrillers will eat this up.
And finally, the book begins before the war and then takes readers past it.
In The Trustee by Christopher C. Gorham (Citadel Press, $28), you’ll read about the life of a woman largely ignored by history. Her name was Anna Marie Rosenberg, and she was a public relations person in Manhattan during the Jazz Age when she befriended Eleanor Roosevelt, who was not yet First Lady. Mrs. Roosevelt later urged her husband, the president, to hire Rosenberg. And he did, which was a good call because she was the right person for the job of special envoy for FDR during World War II. After the war, Rosenberg continued to work in Washington and wielded considerable power—even though, officially, she couldn’t. She rubbed elbows with the famous and the infamous. She’s had the ear of some very powerful men in America over the decades. Some of the issues at the heart of today’s politics were on Rosenberg’s mind and, if you follow current events, then you need to know this book.
Not enough for you? Then you need to find your favorite bookseller or librarian, who is the ultimate ace in finding the right book for you. In the meantime, pick up one of these books and make an appointment with your armchair.
