Rendezvous With Destiny

Description

In the dark days between Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt sent five remarkable men - Sumner Welles, William 'Wild Bill' Donovan, Harry Hopkins, Averell Harriman and Wendell Willkie - on dramatic and dangerous missions to Europe.  The five envoys' highly unorthodox missions took them into the middle of the war and exposed them to the leading figures of the age. Taken together, they plot the arc of America's transformation from a divided and hesitant middle power into a global leader. Drawing on vast archival research, Rendezvous with Destiny is narrative history at its most delightful, stirring and important. 'Michael Fullilove has produced a fascinating account of how Franklin Roosevelt and the brightest statesmen of their day helped save a civilisation.' Paul Keating 'Fullilove proves these crucial figures were more than just the servants of the American Goliath's move from isolationism - they were shapers of destiny in their own right.  And he achieves this with a gripping narrative power.' Thomas Keneally 'Real Team of Rivals stuff: smart, engaging, historical storytelling.' Time 'Fullilove infuses each chapter with the danger, romance, and deadly seriousness of war.' Wall Street Journal 'A fascinating and well-written accont of a little-known chapter that was crucial to the course of World War 11.' Henry Kissinger  

Author description

Michael Fullilove is the executive director of the Lowy Institute in Sydney. A Rhodes Scholar and former prime-ministerial adviser, he writes widely on global issues for publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, the New York Times, the Financial Times and Foreign Affairs. His previous books include Reports from a Turbulent Decade (2013), co-edited with Anthony Bubalo, and Rendezvous with Destiny (2013), which was awarded the 2014 Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction. michaelfullilove.com Follow the author on Twitter (@mfullilove)