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The Devils Will Get No Rest: FDR, Churchill, and the Plan That Won the War
Written with “a cinematic sense of urgency and realism” (Evan Osnos, National Book Award–winning author), this is the first full account of the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, the secret ten-day parlay in Morocco where FDR, Churchill, and their divided high command hammered out a winning strategy at the tipping point of World War II.
The Devils Will Get No Rest is a “vivid and engaging” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author) character-driven account of the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, an Anglo-American clash over military strategy that produced a winning plan when World War II could have gone either way. Churchill called it the most important Allied conclave of the war. Until now, it has never been explored in a full-length book.
In a secret, no-holds-barred, ten-day debate in a Moroccan warzone, protected by British marines and elite American troops, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., Sir Alan Brooke, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Sir Harold Alexander, and their military peers questioned each other’s competence, doubted each other’s visions, and argued their way through choices that could win or lose the war. You will be treated to a master class in strategy by the legendary statesmen, generals, and admirals who overcame their differences, transformed their alliance from a necessity to a bond, forged a war-winning plan, and glimpsed the postwar world.
The Devils Will Get No Rest is a “vivid and engaging” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author) character-driven account of the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, an Anglo-American clash over military strategy that produced a winning plan when World War II could have gone either way. Churchill called it the most important Allied conclave of the war. Until now, it has never been explored in a full-length book.
In a secret, no-holds-barred, ten-day debate in a Moroccan warzone, protected by British marines and elite American troops, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., Sir Alan Brooke, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Sir Harold Alexander, and their military peers questioned each other’s competence, doubted each other’s visions, and argued their way through choices that could win or lose the war. You will be treated to a master class in strategy by the legendary statesmen, generals, and admirals who overcame their differences, transformed their alliance from a necessity to a bond, forged a war-winning plan, and glimpsed the postwar world.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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September 9, 2023
5-Stars All The Way - I thought it was amazing!
Audiobook: 13:19 Hours - Narrator: Fred Sanders
From the blurb: "In a secret, no-holds-barred, ten-day debate in a Moroccan warzone, protected by British marines and elite American troops, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, [General Henri Giraud], George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., Sir Alan Brooke, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Sir Harold Alexander, and their military peers questioned each other’s competence, doubted each other’s vision, and argued their way through choices that could win or lose the war."
I almost never quote anything directly from a book's 'blurb', but the extract above summarises why the Casablanca Conference was held and names many of the very significant number of attendees.
Generally, I am not a great fan of non-fiction these days, but this book totally fascinated me from beginning to end. Obviously deeply researched, with vast numbers of relatively simple quotes included in the main body of the text, The Devils Will Get No Rest was, for me, as interesting and exciting as any 5-Stars fiction I have read/heard in recent times.
The self-belief and self-conceit attributed to many of the men who attended the Casablanca Conference has to be read/heard to be believed, not the least that which was displayed by the all-pervasive ego of General Charles de Gaulle. However, great men, great leaders, do not become so by hiding their lights under a bushel and this aphorism was well demonstrated by US President Roosevelt (FDR), British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and, to possibly a lesser degree, by leader of the Free French forces, General Henri Giraud. Others to emerge during and after the Conference, included Eisenhower, Patton, and Marshall for the US, and Brooke, Mountbatten, and Alexander for Great Britain.
The stakes were stupendous, no less than the continued existence of the free world, as Germany, Italy and Japan engaged in rampaging assaults against the Allies in Europe, Russia, the Mediterranean, Africa and the Pacific. The details of the discussions, arguments, disagreements, negotiations, and agreements outlined in The Devils Will Get No Rest were gripping reading, even though the final victories of WWII are well-known at the time of reading.
Of interest also was FDR's insistence that after victory in WWII, allied colonial powers must forsake their colonies and introduce effective self-rule for colonised countries. A highly noble gesture, given that the US had few colonies of its own, but one that caused great angst with the British, the Dutch and, in particular, the French.
Highly recommended for those interested in WWII and how the Casablanca Conference became the single most important operation by the Allied Forces to counter the atrocities being wrought by Hitler and his evil cohorts.
My Listening Activity:
@11%: "The first hour and a half have been most interesting listening!"
@26%: "This is an absolutely gripping listen so far! Born in 1941, I was a baby, of course, but I can't escape the "This all happened in my lifetime" feeling!"
@63%: "This audiobook is absolutely engrossing!"
Why I chose to listen to "The Devils Will Get No Rest: FDR, Churchill, and the Plan That Won the War":
I was born in April 1941, in the middle of WWII, and my father was killed in a naval action in November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost with all 645 hands in a battle with a German raider, SS Kormoran. My mother was re-married in 1945 to my godfather, another naval officer, after whom I was named and who was my birth father's best friend. WWII and its aftermath loomed large and long for my older brother and me as our step-father, a loving man but strict disciplinarian, was a career naval officer well into the late 1950s. The Royal Australian Navy was his life and thus was ours as well. Discussions about WWII naval actions and other military activities were encouraged and regularly talked about around the dinner table as my brother and I were enlightened by our step-father about the horrors of war and the frequent irresponsibility and ineptitude of its prosecutors.
Audiobook: 13:19 Hours - Narrator: Fred Sanders
From the blurb: "In a secret, no-holds-barred, ten-day debate in a Moroccan warzone, protected by British marines and elite American troops, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, [General Henri Giraud], George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., Sir Alan Brooke, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Sir Harold Alexander, and their military peers questioned each other’s competence, doubted each other’s vision, and argued their way through choices that could win or lose the war."
I almost never quote anything directly from a book's 'blurb', but the extract above summarises why the Casablanca Conference was held and names many of the very significant number of attendees.
Generally, I am not a great fan of non-fiction these days, but this book totally fascinated me from beginning to end. Obviously deeply researched, with vast numbers of relatively simple quotes included in the main body of the text, The Devils Will Get No Rest was, for me, as interesting and exciting as any 5-Stars fiction I have read/heard in recent times.
The self-belief and self-conceit attributed to many of the men who attended the Casablanca Conference has to be read/heard to be believed, not the least that which was displayed by the all-pervasive ego of General Charles de Gaulle. However, great men, great leaders, do not become so by hiding their lights under a bushel and this aphorism was well demonstrated by US President Roosevelt (FDR), British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and, to possibly a lesser degree, by leader of the Free French forces, General Henri Giraud. Others to emerge during and after the Conference, included Eisenhower, Patton, and Marshall for the US, and Brooke, Mountbatten, and Alexander for Great Britain.
The stakes were stupendous, no less than the continued existence of the free world, as Germany, Italy and Japan engaged in rampaging assaults against the Allies in Europe, Russia, the Mediterranean, Africa and the Pacific. The details of the discussions, arguments, disagreements, negotiations, and agreements outlined in The Devils Will Get No Rest were gripping reading, even though the final victories of WWII are well-known at the time of reading.
Of interest also was FDR's insistence that after victory in WWII, allied colonial powers must forsake their colonies and introduce effective self-rule for colonised countries. A highly noble gesture, given that the US had few colonies of its own, but one that caused great angst with the British, the Dutch and, in particular, the French.
Highly recommended for those interested in WWII and how the Casablanca Conference became the single most important operation by the Allied Forces to counter the atrocities being wrought by Hitler and his evil cohorts.
My Listening Activity:
@11%: "The first hour and a half have been most interesting listening!"
@26%: "This is an absolutely gripping listen so far! Born in 1941, I was a baby, of course, but I can't escape the "This all happened in my lifetime" feeling!"
@63%: "This audiobook is absolutely engrossing!"
Why I chose to listen to "The Devils Will Get No Rest: FDR, Churchill, and the Plan That Won the War":
I was born in April 1941, in the middle of WWII, and my father was killed in a naval action in November 1941 when HMAS Sydney II was lost with all 645 hands in a battle with a German raider, SS Kormoran. My mother was re-married in 1945 to my godfather, another naval officer, after whom I was named and who was my birth father's best friend. WWII and its aftermath loomed large and long for my older brother and me as our step-father, a loving man but strict disciplinarian, was a career naval officer well into the late 1950s. The Royal Australian Navy was his life and thus was ours as well. Discussions about WWII naval actions and other military activities were encouraged and regularly talked about around the dinner table as my brother and I were enlightened by our step-father about the horrors of war and the frequent irresponsibility and ineptitude of its prosecutors.
July 10, 2023
The British were arrogant. The Americans were unprepared. Somehow, Germany was in trouble.
James B. Conroy tells the story of the meeting which found two of the most powerful countries on Earth at each other's throats while knowing they needed each other to end World War II. The Casablanca Conference (which had nothing to do with the movie) is a riveting look at the Allied planning of the most vital time in World War II. While I am sure there are many readers who would roll their eyes at the thought that a military planning conference could contain the type of drama which would be an entertaining read, allow me to enlighten you with just a few highlights.
FDR and Churchill are best friends. Well, sort of. Churchill loves FDR, but FDR only loves people who are politically useful. FDR won't quite stab Churchill in the back (yet) but the seeds will be planted.
FDR and Churchill aren't even the most out of control egos at the conference. No, that honor would go to two Frenchmen who do not like each other and who drive everyone around them nuts.
These are just the tip of the iceberg. This book is the World War II equivalent of a reunion special on a reality show. Everyone is nice to the cameras and then you get to read their confessional diaries. No big deal. It was just the fate of the free world on the line.
(This book was provided for review by the publisher, Simon & Schuster.)
James B. Conroy tells the story of the meeting which found two of the most powerful countries on Earth at each other's throats while knowing they needed each other to end World War II. The Casablanca Conference (which had nothing to do with the movie) is a riveting look at the Allied planning of the most vital time in World War II. While I am sure there are many readers who would roll their eyes at the thought that a military planning conference could contain the type of drama which would be an entertaining read, allow me to enlighten you with just a few highlights.
FDR and Churchill are best friends. Well, sort of. Churchill loves FDR, but FDR only loves people who are politically useful. FDR won't quite stab Churchill in the back (yet) but the seeds will be planted.
FDR and Churchill aren't even the most out of control egos at the conference. No, that honor would go to two Frenchmen who do not like each other and who drive everyone around them nuts.
These are just the tip of the iceberg. This book is the World War II equivalent of a reunion special on a reality show. Everyone is nice to the cameras and then you get to read their confessional diaries. No big deal. It was just the fate of the free world on the line.
(This book was provided for review by the publisher, Simon & Schuster.)
May 14, 2024
“The Devils Will Get No Rest” Is a marvelous account of the conference in Casablanca between the most senior British and American military personnel attended by Churchill and Roosevelt in January 1943 to determine the Anglo-American strategy for defeating Germany and Japan in World War II. A meeting held in recently liberated Morocco, then a French Protectorate, within range of Luftwaffe bombers. It was a difficult process with strong personalities on both sides of the table (no surprise) and a remarkable amount of mistrust and animosity. James Conboy’s crisp and candid writing style, his attention to the personalities and his use of revealing quotations make reading this book a delight. To me, the stars of the show were Field Marshall Sir John Dill, one of the few British officers the Americans trusted, who acted as a mediator, and the lesser known Air Vice Marshal Sir John Cotesworth Slessor, who was able to find the common ground that was seemingly invisible to the main protagonists. On top of this you have the Roosevelt, Churchill and Hopkins sons who show up for the fun, General George Patton the titular host and the French prima donnas and rivals for power de Gaulle and Giraud added into the mix.
September 26, 2023
This riveting, detailed account of the Conference at Casablanca between FDR, Churchill, and their respective, top military chiefs, highlights the difficulties faced by the Anglo-American forces to present a united front during World War II … After dealing with the build- up and precautions taken (after all, Casablanca was in range for the Luftwaffe), the book moves to a day-by-day chronicle of the tremendous achievements of the combined personnel … a fitting complement to Rick Atkinson’s “An Army at Dawn” …
by
Rick Atkinson
by
Rick AtkinsonJuly 13, 2023
The Devils Will Get No Rest is a masterful work of historical nonfiction that tells the story of the Casablanca Conference of 1943. The conference was a pivotal moment in World War II, as it was where the Allies decided to pursue a policy of unconditional surrender for the Axis powers.
Conroy does a masterful job of bringing the conference to life. He uses vivid descriptions, illuminating anecdotes, and insightful analysis to transport the reader to Casablanca in 1943. He also does an excellent job of capturing the personalities of the key players, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Charles de Gaulle.
The Devils Will Get No Rest is not just a history book, however. It is also a page-turning thriller. Conroy's narrative is full of suspense and intrigue, as he reveals the behind-the-scenes maneuvering and negotiations that took place at Casablanca. He also does a great job of showing the human drama of the conference, as the leaders of the Allied powers grappled with the difficult decisions that would determine the course of the war.
The Devils Will Get No Rest is a must-read for anyone interested in World War II or in the history of diplomacy. It is a well-written, informative, and entertaining book that will keep you hooked from beginning to end.
Conroy does a masterful job of bringing the conference to life. He uses vivid descriptions, illuminating anecdotes, and insightful analysis to transport the reader to Casablanca in 1943. He also does an excellent job of capturing the personalities of the key players, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Charles de Gaulle.
The Devils Will Get No Rest is not just a history book, however. It is also a page-turning thriller. Conroy's narrative is full of suspense and intrigue, as he reveals the behind-the-scenes maneuvering and negotiations that took place at Casablanca. He also does a great job of showing the human drama of the conference, as the leaders of the Allied powers grappled with the difficult decisions that would determine the course of the war.
The Devils Will Get No Rest is a must-read for anyone interested in World War II or in the history of diplomacy. It is a well-written, informative, and entertaining book that will keep you hooked from beginning to end.
August 26, 2023
Conroy’s research into the Anfar (hotel) meetings in Casablanca in early January 1943 is in-depth, thorogouh, broad and, at times, the beneficiary of Conroy’s insightful and sometimes snarky (and funny) comments. If you wonder why the Allies attacked Sicily and Italy before attacking the Germans to attempt to recover France, this is your book. Conroy’s clearly delineates all of the players and highlights the political in-fighting about who would control France; the disagreements between de Gaulle and Giraud seemed to be less about recovering France and more about who would get the credit. The way the rapport between Churchill and Roosevelt, among the lack of respect between both country’s generals and their staff, was fascinating and made the PM and the President more human.
April 30, 2023
In January 1943, Churchill and FDR met for ten days in French Morocco, following the successful landings in North East Africa in November 1942 (Operation Torch). The main issues were what to do next, and how to prioritize the War against Germany/Italy and Japan. A major side issue was how to deal with the "Free French" and General de Gaulle and General Giraud.
What comes across most strongly is that the British came loaded for Bear while Roosevelt seems to have planned to "wing-it" and depend on his ability to manipulate people using his personality. In the end the British got practically everything they wanted and the American left looking like some hayseed from the country.
What comes across most strongly is that the British came loaded for Bear while Roosevelt seems to have planned to "wing-it" and depend on his ability to manipulate people using his personality. In the end the British got practically everything they wanted and the American left looking like some hayseed from the country.
July 14, 2024
An Extraordinary Account of an Extraordinary Partnership
I am a long time student of history and this is history at its best. It is written wit and wisdom and though challenging with its detail it cannot be put down. Bravo.
I am a long time student of history and this is history at its best. It is written wit and wisdom and though challenging with its detail it cannot be put down. Bravo.
November 28, 2023
I could not get into the book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews