April 1945: The Hinge of History - book cover
World
  • Publisher : Thomas Nelson
  • Published : 22 Feb 2022
  • Pages : 528
  • ISBN-10 : 1400217083
  • ISBN-13 : 9781400217083
  • Language : English

April 1945: The Hinge of History

Acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Craig Shirley delivers a compelling account of 1945, particularly the watershed events in the month of April, that details how America emerged from World War II as a leading superpower.

In the long-awaited follow-up to the widely praised December 1941,Craig Shirley's April 1945 paints a vivid portrait of America--her people, faith, economy, government, and culture. The year of 1945 bought a series of watershed events that transformed the country into an arsenal of democracy, one that no longer armed the world by necessity but henceforth protected the world by need.

At the start of 1945, America and the rest of the world were grieving millions of lives lost in the global conflict. As President Roosevelt was sworn into his fourth term, optimism over an end to the bloody war had grown--then, in April, several events collided that changed the face of the world forever: the sudden death of President Roosevelt followed by Harry S. Truman's rise to office; Adolph Hitler's suicide; and the horrific discoveries of Dachau and Auschwitz. Americans doubled down on their completion of the atomic bomb and their plans to drop them on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the destruction ultimately leading the Japanese Empire to surrender on V-J day and ending World War II for good.

Combining engaging anecdotes with deft research and details that are both diminutive and grand, April 1945 gives readers a front-row seat to the American stage at the birth of a brand-new world     

Readers Top Reviews

F. L. Lavinrob schro
Shirley has selected a month that defined the world we lived in and remains consequential to this day. Anyone interested in global politics or US domestic politics would do well to familiarize himself or herself with Shirley's book and get a grounding in the currents of history. Bravo to Craig Shirley for another splendid work.
Great narrative focusing on the period towards the end of WWII.
Dorothy Newcomb
Book history of The Hinge of History-April 1945! Long wanted book! Perfect new & perfect delivery!
HistoryGuy217
very intense and deeply revealing, most notably with the revelations about the last days of Adolf Hitler. 10/10
Another Matt
Craig Shirley's tome, April 1945, is a terrific bookend to his other magnificent history of World War II, December 1941, and telling the narrative of the war from those who endured it stateside, the information they learned, the textures of the moment, and how it changed the country and the world. Absolutely terrific, highly recommended for that person you know looking for a fresh angle on the end of that war. And, perhaps unfortunately, it's all too prescient, too.

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