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 materiél 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 essential reading for anyone looking to understand the current world order.

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

“Brilliantly inquisitive.”—National Review

“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

“The volume is impressive even by the standard of histories of the second world war…The book is well researched and very well written. It puts forward new ideas and revives some old ones to challenge current mainstream interpretations of the conflict… a new look at the conflict, which poses new questions and, one should add, provides new and often unexpected answers to the old ones.”—Guardian

“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

“McMeekin is a superb writer. There isn’t a boring page in the book. His familiarity with the archives of several countries is extraordinary.”—The Times (UK)

“This remarkable book… meticulously researched, elegantly written… Stalin’s War is that rare thing: a book that forces us to think again, and to challenge our narrative of that most well-trodden subject.”—BBC History Magazine

“Criticisms of the British for living in a Second World War past are frequent. Sean McMeekin, professor of history at Bard College and a talented scholar of the First World War, takes an alternative view by arguing that we are generally living in the wrong war. Drawing on an impressive array of international archives, McMeekin…directs attention to Soviet activity….The book is pertinent because of the extent to which modern cultural wars draw on historicised identities and historical controversies.”—The Critic (UK)

“Based on a vast amount of research.”—Prospect (UK)

Sean McMeekin Does It Again!

This is one of the most important nonfiction books I’ve found about the Second World War. Often you hear of the European war as Hitler’s war or Germany’s war and I’ve heard of the Second World War referred to as two wars (or more) with one name. But really these are all misleading characterizations since when looked at the right way, the entire conflagration becomes a conflict between flavors of Capitalism versus Soviet-led Communism. I actually would have thought that argument would be a silly construction made by an author trying to sell a book about Stalin. But having read this book carefully and thoroughly scrutinized it, I feel the author has presented a valid thesis. It is only by Stalin’s shrewd diplomatic engineering that he is able to turn the Capitalist ‘Allies’ against each other until well into the war. It is almost as though the Cold War had a hot phase before the traditional conflict we all know.

This book offers one of the most uniquely refreshing ways of looking at the war that I’ve read in quite a long time. To me the narrator is very important as well and here this title excels.

Excellent writing, Sean.
Excellent narration, Kevin.

Audience, please consider Dr. McMeekin’s other three Audible titles:
(1) The Russian Revolution
(2) Ottoman End Game
(3) July 1914

Audible, please get busy recording his other three titles, especially
(1) Russian Origins of the First World War
(2) Berlin - Baghdad Express
(3) History’s Greatest Heist
These are loved by fans of the historical era and would make great selling audio titles. Please do them up right, and in the listed order.

Fascinating Perspective - but heavy on details

I loved the retelling of the lead-up to the Eastern front war from Russia's perspective. Stalins manipulations of American production was also new and interesting.

However, a bit too much of the book is dedicated to listing X amount of some supplies being shipped from X county to the soviets. Parts of the book read like a shipping invoice.

Interesting book though.

An absolute must read for military historians.

And I thought I was knowledgeable about WW2. This book has so many aspects that I never considered, well, I am humbled. For the casual reader there may be too much detail but for me the numbers were absolutely necessary.

When you put it that way

definitely a different take on events that sheds a lot of light on the war and the events that shaped history following it. the less than objective good versus evil narrative of the war which is so standard in histories is absolutely shattered in this work. Although in a few areas I felt that not all sides were considered in forming an opinion, generally I think the author gave a very well rounded account that took into account other explanations for why certain things were done.

Simply superb

The best book on WW II ever written. Should be required reading for all foreign policy students, experts, and decision makers.

The audiobook is clearly read and enjoyable. The pace is good. The pronunciation is consistent.