Stalin's War

A New History of World War II

De: Sean McMeekin

Narrado por: Kevin Stillwell

A prize-winning historian reveals how Stalin - not Hitler - was the animating force of World War II in this major new history.

World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia - and he was certainly dead before it ended. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. The Second World War was not Hitler’s war; it was Stalin’s war.

Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east. Hitler’s genocidal ambition may have helped unleash Armageddon, but as McMeekin shows, the war which emerged in Europe in September 1939 was the one Stalin wanted, not Hitler. So, too, did the Pacific war of 1941-1945 fulfill Stalin’s goal of unleashing a devastating war of attrition between Japan and the “Anglo-Saxon” capitalist powers he viewed as his ultimate adversary.

McMeekin also reveals the extent to which Soviet Communism was rescued by the US and Britain’s self-defeating strategic moves, beginning with Lend-Lease aid, as American and British supply boards agreed almost blindly to every Soviet demand. Stalin’s war machine, McMeekin shows, was substantially reliant on American material, from warplanes, tanks, trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, fuel, ammunition, and explosives, to industrial inputs and technology transfer, to the foodstuffs which fed the Red Army.

This unreciprocated American generosity gave Stalin’s armies the mobile striking power to conquer most of Eurasia, from Berlin to Beijing, for Communism.

A groundbreaking reassessment of the Second World War, Stalin’s War is an essential book for anyone looking to understand the current world order.

©2021 Sean McMeekin (P)2021 Basic Books

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A provocative revisionist take on the Second World War...an accomplished, fearless, and enthusiastic ‘myth buster’...McMeekin is a formidable researcher, working in several languages, and he is prepared to pose the big questions and make judgments.... The story of the war itself is well told and impressive in its scope, ranging as it does from the domestic politics of small states such as Yugoslavia and Finland to the global context. It reminds us, too, of what Soviet ‘liberation’ actually meant for eastern Europe.... McMeekin is right that we have for too long cast the second world war as the good one. His book will, as he must hope, make us re-evaluate the war and its consequences.” (Financial Times)

"Indispensable.... There are new books every year that promise ‘a new history’ of such a well-studied subject as World War II, but McMeekin actually delivers on that promise.” (Christian Science Monitor)

"Sean McMeekin’s revisionist Stalin’s War: A New History of World War II isn’t just one of the most compelling histories written about the war this year, it’s one of the best ever. I doubt anyone who reads it will think about the Second World War in the same way." (David Harsanyi, The Federalist's Notable Books of 2021)

A historical epiphany of the significance of World War II and its Leaders

This is the most persuasive interpretation of WW II that I had the pleasure to read. The book shows in a clear and convincing manner that Stalin, arguably the biggest totalitarian political mass criminal, from a century that has given us so many, Mao, Hitler, the Khamer Rouge’s Pol Pot, Fidel and Raul Castro, was, unfortunately, smarter, more cunning, and ran circles around our cherished leaders Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Spencer Churchill.

The result was the condemnation of half of mankind to Communism, the continuing threat of its expansion to the rest of mankind, and the eventual rise of the new challenge to World Peace presented by Communist China. You may or may not agree with the author’s analysis, as I do, but I promise that if you read this book, with an open mind, at the end you will realize that everything you thought you knew about WWII and these leaders was oversimplified, and distorted by historians motivated by political considerations, propaganda, and the product of pseudo scholars, too lazy or too coward to write the truth.

This author is a brave man. He deserves to be read or heard in Audible. Every conscientious woman or man would profit from reading, thus, becoming a more informed citizen of the World.
Rogelio Villageliu.

Excellent book for WWII buffs

This long, detailed, controversial book is well worth the read/listen. While I am nor a history buff who can agree or refute the author this was very worthwhile. It is easy to look back at wars and write them off as successes or failures, the reality, especially in this case is much more complex, and the public should not jump to conclusions.

behind the scenes

thorough and well written. addresses the machinations of Stalin and his fellow travelers in the US government and the fecklessness of Roosevelt.

A good rethinking of the narrative.

I came across this title by way of watching an interview/presentation by the author on WW2TV on Youtube. The author does a fine job of documenting the sources of his viewpoint and walking you through how he came to his conclusions. Revisionist? Sure but that is the thing about history, You have to revise your conclusions based on any new information. History is not static. The city of Troy was a myth until someone dug it up. Sean McKeekin is a great digger.

epic work

eye opening story. a new look at a topic I thought I knew something about.

Many parallels to todays Russian/Ukrainian conflict: send arms to preserve American/Western lives!

Although the extreme accounting of all aspects of Lend-lease and combat support the conclusions presented in the epilogue, after the first dozen or so, they become superfluous ! The book did cause me to rethink my feelings about Roosevelt and Churchill, however, it only confirmed my beliefs about Stalin, and by extension, Putin and the Russian people in general!

Amazing work 

This book will really make you take a second look at World War II, and who actually won the war and as much as I hate to say it, Stalin really was a genius 

A New Look on an Old War

This book provides and opens one’s eyes to a bitter side of World War 2 that most Americans have never seen or heard before. This jaw dropping book accounts how America’s politicians of the Great Generation conspired to give Stalin a blank check to murder millions and conquer vast amounts of Eastern European land. It sheds light on the fact that workings and people within our own government provided for these evil deeds and lied to the American people about it. Causing undo suffering on the home front while Stalin reaped the benefits of American stupidity and ignorance. Please, I recommend this book to anyone out there, not only as a fantastic read/listen, but also as a glimpse into the real history of World War 2.

Eye Opening Research

Good lord. What did FDR wrought? listen to this amazing work and find out! Incredible.

New Information Brought to Light

The research and work put into this book stands out with the amount of in depth analysis the author covers.

This book has been a great listen as it’s saturated with new information that brings an entirely new perspective into WWII and the inner workings of the lend lease program. Very thought provoking!