"A provocative revisionist take on the Second World War...an accomplished, fearless, and enthusiastic 'myth buster'...McMeekin is a formidable researcher, working in several languages, and he is prepared to pose the big questions and make judgments....The story of the war itself is well told and impressive in its scope, ranging as it does from the domestic politics of small states such as Yugoslavia and Finland to the global context. It reminds us, too, of what Soviet 'liberation' actually meant for eastern Europe....McMeekin is right that we have for too long cast the second world war as the good one. His book will, as he must hope, make us re-evaluate the war and its consequences."–Financial Times