Praise for Eight Days at Yalta:
“A colorful chronicle of high-stakes negotiations and a study in human frailties, missteps, and ideological blunders.”—Washington Post
“Ms. Preston’s conference narrative abjures authorial hindsight judgments, placing the spotlight instead on the characters’ natural blind spots and biases. She also devotes a full third of the book to the summit’s historical context and personalities, the latter of which are nicely developed.”—Wall Street Journal
“A highly readable, highly detailed account of the historic meetings and often difficult and contentious negotiations between Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, and their staffs, and a vivid description of the once ornate Tsarist palaces and their much deteriorated wartime condition that served as the setting for meetings, dinners, and private talks.”—New York Journal of Books
“Lively and nuanced . . . Shrewd on the main personalities . . . Preston goes beyond the horse-trading of three old men, with vivid scene-setting of the tsarist palaces where the conference took place.”—Times (UK)
“In this well-written and absorbing book, Diana Preston provides a chronological narrative of these crucial eight days.”—Airmail
“On the Yalta conference’s 75th anniversary, this insightful history recounts its enormous, if teeth-gnashing, accomplishments . . . Impressively researched . . . An expert account of an unedifying milestone at the dawn of the Cold War.”—Kirkus Reviews
“[A] spirited, behind-the-scenes account of the February 1945 Yalta Conference. Preston mixes foreign policy critique . . . with vibrant descriptions of backstage activities . . . Colorful personalities, piquant details, and a diverse array of perspectives make this a satisfying introduction to the subject.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Diana Preston:
“Preston deftly and graphically weaves the complex stories—hitherto kept distinct—of these land, sea, and air innovations into a connected narrative. For the first time, readers can grasp the mounting cognitive assault on civilians, soldiers, and politicians of the curious clustering of events that spring.”—New York Times Book Review, on A Higher Form of Killing
“A gripping and excellent book . . . [Preston’s] extensive archival research fills in the historical chronology with well-selected quotations from personal accounts of participants at every level of civilian and military life.”—Washington Post, on A Higher Form of Killing
“Unforgettable . . . The definitive account of the Lusitania.”—Philadelphia Inquirer, on Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy
“As majestic as its subject . . . Extraordinarily readable.”—Chicago Sun-Times, on Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy
“An engaging narrative . . . Rich in detail and texture.”—San Diego Union Tribune, on Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima
“Ultimately this book is about survival, and the author engagingly recounts the nearly impossible task of trying to establish a penal colony with few supplies and poor agricultural conditions. Preston shines in her description of the true nature of Captain Bligh . . . A wonderful look into the beginnings of Australia and the remarkable strength of the survivors of these dangerous voyages.”—Kirkus Reviews, on Paradise in Chains
