The Winds of War (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Herman Wouk
- First Published: 1971
- Type of Plot: Historical romance
- Time of Work: From 1939 to 1941, beginning shortly before Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland and ending with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
- Setting: Washington, D.C., England, Germany, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, Italy, and other major sites of World War II
- Principal Characters: Victor (Pug) Henry, Rhoda Henry, Warren, Byron (Briny), Madeline, Natalie Jastrow, Pamela Tudsbury
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction, War fiction
- Subjects: Family or family life, Politics, Love or romance, 1940’s, World War II, 1930’s, Washington, D.C., Anti-Semitism, Military life or service, Presidents, Pearl Harbor, Battles, Diplomacy or diplomats, International relations
- Locales: Washington, D.C.
The Novel
The action of the novel projects the lives of the principal characters against the events leading to American entry into World War II. Victor Henry and his family are “tumbleweeds,” blown around the globe by the “winds of war.” Victor is an ambitious and frustrated naval captain who stumbles into favor with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt through a fluke prediction. As a result, Victor becomes Roosevelt’s untitled emissary to various nations and in the process meets most of the world’s leading figures: Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Benito...
[The entire page is 2110 words long]
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