Stalin inspires fear in both Churchill and Roosevelt. While Roosevelt responds by capitulating to the dictator, fear makes Churchill fight even harder. How have you responded to fear at different points in your life?
The novel begins with an episode highlighting Churchill’s tense relationship with his son. How does this foreshadow the events of the Yalta conference?
This book is about chaos – as much in victory as in war. How does the horror of war extend itself into peace? Are there parallels to this in today’s world?
Stalin, a master of deceit, says “In our alliance, the Allies should not deceive each other.” Do you think this sentiment is true? Or are their times when one should deceive an ally?
“Katyn would be the conscience of them all.” In a novel where characters try hard to ignore their conscience, is this meant to remind the reader of the failure of the Western powers? Or does it simply explain what motivated Churchill to succeed at Yalta?
Photo by Jim Pascoe
Michael Dobbs served as one of the chief advisors to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and has also been a BBC presenter, Deputy Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, and columnist for the Mail on Sunday, and during the Watergate years, a correspondent working in Boston for the Boston Globe. His previous novels include the bestselling House of Cards which was made into a highly popular TV series in England. He has a doctorate in nuclear defense studies and lives not far from a prominent church in Longshire.
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