Despite this, no other historian has presented such a sweeping overview. Weinberg performs the important task of reminding his readers in the West that much of the fighting--and perhaps the most decisive parts--was done in the East, between the Germans and the Russians. American readers, for their part, may appreciate Weinberg's treatment of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who is portrayed as a courageous wartime leader. This book is an essential part of any library on the Second World War. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly Beginning with the German invasion of Poland and concluding with the Japanese surrender, this majestic overview of WW II concentrates on the tactical decisions made by Allied and Axis leaders and the interrelationship among the various theaters. Weinberg ( The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany ) depicts the struggle to control the oceans, the effort to halt the German and Japanese advances and the development of postwar plans which influenced the course of battle.