Hitlers American Gamble, Brendan Simms
Hitlers American Gamble, Brendan Simms
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Hitler's American Gamble
Pearl Harbor and Germany's March to Global War

Author: Brendan Simms, Charlie Laderman

Narrator: Damian Lynch

Unabridged: 16 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 11/16/2021

Synopsis

A riveting account of the five most crucial days in twentieth-century diplomatic history: from Pearl Harbor to Hitler’s declaration of war on the United StatesBy early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned China into a battleground. But these conflicts were not yet inextricably linked—and the United States remained at peace.Hitler’s American Gamble recounts the five days that upended everything: December 7 to 11. Tracing developments in real time and backed by deep archival research, historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman show how Hitler’s intervention was not the inexplicable decision of a man so bloodthirsty that he forgot all strategy, but a calculated risk that can only be understood in a truly global context. This book reveals how December 11, not Pearl Harbor, was the real watershed that created a world war and transformed international history.

About Brendan Simms

Brendan Simms is a professor of the history of international relations and a fellow at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. He is the author of Unfinest Hour, Three Victories and a Defeat, and Europe, which was shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize. Brendan lives in Cambridge, England.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Manny

At 08.00 local time on December 7, 1941, Japanese planes launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and sank or put out of commission a large part of the US Pacific Fleet. At 15.00 local time on December 11, Hitler declared war on the US. But why did Hitler do that, and what happened between these t......more

Goodreads review by Bill

The title of the book by Simms, Hitler's American Gamble, was somewhat deceptive and led me to believe this work would address in depth Hitler's calculation in declaring war on the U.S. To my disappointment, the book turned out to be a rather long history of the events leading up to America's entry......more

Goodreads review by Ben

I liked the approach, focusing on one day at a time, all around the world. The story was quite absorbing. Still, there was too much focus on the Americans, with relatively little on Germany and Japan, and next to nothing on Stalin. The book didn't really live up to its title or central argument, bec......more

Goodreads review by Sacha

Fünf Tage im Dezember von Brendan Simms ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4*) Nach mehr als 2 Monaten habe ich es endlich geschafft. 😁 Ich habe dieses Buch direkt zu Weihnachten bekommen, als es im Dezember erschienen ist und ich muss sagen, es war keine einfache Lektüre aber win wirklich tolles, spannendes Buch. Das ganze da......more

Quotes

“[An] absorbing new book… The greatest strength of Simms and Laderman’s book is its success in accomplishing something supremely difficult: It reminds us how contingent even the most significant historical events can be, how many other possibilities lurked beyond the familiar ones that actually happened – and how even the greatest leaders often have only a shaky grasp of what is happening… Simms and Laderman give us a visceral sense of these events as they unfolded, in real time, with historical actors not always quite sure what was happening – a dimension of history that is both crucial and fiendishly difficult to recover.”
 —New York Times Book Review

“An engaging and insightful account of the forces that shaped Hitler’s fateful decision.”—Wall Street Journal

“[A] well-written and highly original study[.]”—The Times (UK)

“[A] crisp and pacey analysis.” —David Reynolds, The New Statesman

“In a detailed reconstruction of the events of those few days, illuminating the importance of confusion, chance, and choice in the stream of history, Simms and Laderman explain that Hitler assumed that war with the United States was inevitable…”—Foreign Affairs

“In this fascinating book, which combines detailed analysis with a page turning account of the day by day shifts in Berlin, Washington, London and Tokyo, the story of that extraordinary and, as it turned out, fatal decision by Hitler – the ‘American gamble’ of the title – is laid out in detail. … [a] stimulating book.”—Rana Mitter, Literary Review

"A fast‑moving, even gripping story that informs as well as enlightens."—New York Journal of Books

"Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman's collaborative work is as gripping as it is well researched.... Simms and Laderman have created a truly thought provoking book."—Aspects of History

“A thoughtful chronology… Hitler’s American Gamble offers fine, well-researched insights into the psyches of leaders who made decisions that changed the course of world history… For readers seeking a deeper understanding of the realpolitik that drove Germany to war against America, Hitler’s American Gamble offers an outstanding narrative.”  —World War II Magazine

“[A] fresh angle on the buildup to WWII.”—Publishers Weekly

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