An important new book on World War Two

From the review in The Telegraph:

This is the first to focus on the leaders and their army chiefs of staff, the relatively unheralded George C. Marshall and Sir Alan Brooke (later Viscount Alanbrooke), who had the thankless task of advising their political masters on military strategy.

Given the popularity of the period, Andrew Roberts has done exceptionally well to unearth some new material....

Armed with these and a wealth of other primary sources - including the private papers of nearly 70 contemporaries - he demonstrates in minute detail the way in which many of the key decisions of the war depended upon the personalities and relationships of his chosen subjects.

Bottom line-- leadership matters.

Other reviews:

Christian Science Monitor

New York Times

I wrote about Marshall here.