![]() Roosevelt and Winston Churchill constantly found themselves imprisoned by propaganda,” Hastings explained. “A basic fact about leaders in Western democracies is that Franklin D. ![]() Max Hastings found the question difficult-not because the celebrated British historian couldn’t think of a leader who did not deserve his reputation, but because he sees too many candidates to choose from. Nor were commonly revered figures sacrosanct. I had expected that nationalist pride might influence selection-that a British historian wouldn’t name a fellow Briton that a Russian would avoid embarrassing a countryman, and so on. So to what extent has history treated these revered figures too generously? To answer to that question I asked 16 distinguished historians of World War II to nominate the conflict’s most overrated leader. As British Prime Minister Winston Churchill admitted, “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” But are those reputations justified?ĭo the familiar faces of the Second World War deserve the accolades awarded them? After all, many leaders shamelessly manipulated the media to help gain and maintain their celebrity. Tempered in the furnace of battle, these men, and many others, emerged as titans not merely famous today, but sure to be known to millions for years to come. Eisenhower ’s, from Joseph Stalin ’s to Charles de Gaulle ’ s. World War II made giant reputations-from Winston Churchill ’s to Dwight D. Who Was the War's Most Overrated Leader? Close
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