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Viking have acquired two books from commentator and Professor of Strategic Studies Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Strategists and War and Power.
The first, The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler – How War Made Them, And How They Made War, is a revisionist history which explores the impact of the First World War on the mindsets and strategic decisions of Second World War’s leaders. Publishing director Daniel Crewe secured UK & Commonwealth rights from Jillian Fata at PRH US. Dutton will publish in the US simultaneously.
War and Power concerns itself with modern misconceptions about the creation of power and the operations of war. Daniel Crewe secured world rights from Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group.
The book challenges our modern understanding that war is mostly focused on weapons, armies and battles – with too little understanding of the underlying factors that created, maintained and operated them. O’Brien shows us why this is wrong, and that when we focus on battles, we miss what really matters in war.
Crewe said: “I’m delighted to be working with Phil, as a huge admirer of his work – his books, his Substack and his tweets. He is a bold and entertaining authority who has important messages to share. The Strategists sheds light on and across five leaders who we may think we know well, while War and Power combines history and current affairs in a powerful, counterintuitive way.”
O’Brien said: "I’m so excited to be able to explore in detail some of the most well-known war leaders in history in The Strategists, and then step back in War and Power and look at some of the most important issues facing the world today. It’s everything that a historian can dream of, to be allowed to delve deeply into a subject and then try and understand its importance in a larger context.”
The first book will be published on 14th August 2024 and the second on 28th August 2025.