Everyone knows who were the most famous people of World War II. But who were the most influential? Whose words and deeds had the greatest impact on the war, before, during or afterwards? The most famous individuals of the war were probably Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle, Dwight D Eisenhower, Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, Douglas MacArthur, Benito Mussolini, Pope Pius XII, Franklin D Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. How do these figures rank against each other within a field of a 100 competitors? Who would be number one and why? In addition there are individuals far less famous - and in some cases, just as influential as some of those listed above. Some of these heroic individuals include Mordecai Anielwicz, Douglas Bader, Reinhard Heydrich, Breckinridge Long, Stewart Menzies, Bertram Ramsey or Isoruku Yamamoto. Some of these people are representative of a group of people: the code breakers who solved the riddle of Enigma, the Royal Navy and the weekend sailors who plucked the British army of the beaches at Dunkirk, the Jews who revolted in the death camps.
This lavishly illustrated book is about heroes and villains, with brief vignettes both factual and analytical about The World War II - 100. It is guaranteed to set off debate and controversy. Each vignette is tightly written, loaded with facts and opinions, and assessments about how individuals influenced the most brutal war in the memory of humankind. It will give you insights into the minds and characters of flawed and heroic human beings locked in the deadly embrace of a war without mercy.