From Munich to Pearl Harbor: Roosevelt's America and the Origins of the Second World War

My history instructor used this book to teach his class (along with a couple other books), so it was required reading -- I either read it or I failed the class. Luckily, my instructor knows how to pick good books. I read the whole thing in an afternoon. It was that good! Of course, I love history (especially WW2 history) so it doesn't take much to keep me interested, but this book deviated from the standard "Germany is bad and America saved the day" format. Reynolds introduced a new twist on events leading up to the war. He shows how America's hesitation to "get involved" affected European attitudes and potentially did more harm than good. Clearly, Reynolds did his research. He created a beautiful, rhythmic song from an eclectic and diverse collection of literary instruments. This book will make you think deeply about America's ambiguous policy of isolationist internationalism.

While a very good study of America's entry into World War 2 and the surrounding politics, I did not find this book to be a very "compelling" read. In fact, it read just like a school text book. I found myself asking, "is there going to be a test on this tomorrow?" Still, very informative and considering its short length, I would recommend it.

A must read to comprehend all the politics that were going on during an interesting prelude to WWII.

A great book for understanding the political climatic for adversaries as well as allies.

excellent