The Third Man Churchill, Roosevelt, Mackenzie King, and the Untold Friendships that Won WWII by Neville Thompson

This book tells the story of Canadian PM Mackenzie King's relationship with Churchill and Roosevelt before and during the war, and the part that he played in it, relying heavily on his extensive diary entries. I didn't know anything about Mackenzie King before reading this well-researched book, which was quite enlightening. An old-fashioned liberal with a classical education, King shared much in common with these leaders, but he had to stand up to them in the interests of Canada.

Although he was very much against war at first, disagreeing with Churchill, and he found Churchill impulsive and prone to make mistakes, they got on fairly well. However, he was a confidante of Roosevelt, although he often seemed to misunderstand him. Being Australian, I was also interested in his opinion of Menzies, and the author's analysis that King handled Churchill better than the Australians who were too agressive and not diplomatic.

Although this book is useful for students of Canadian history and WW2, it is rather academic and dry for general reading.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.