The Devils Will Get No Rest: FDR, Churchill, and the Plan That Won the War

by James B. Conroy

Overview

Written with “a cinematic sense of urgency and realism” (Evan Osnos, National Book Award–winning author), this is the first full account of the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, the secret ten-day parlay in Morocco where FDR, Churchill, and their divided high command hammered out a winning strategy at the tipping point of World War II.

The Devils Will Get No Rest is a “vivid and engaging” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize­­–winning author) character-driven account of the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, an Anglo-American clash over military strategy that produced a winning plan when World War II could have gone either way. Churchill called it the most important Allied conclave of the war. Until now, it has never been explored in a full-length book.

In a secret, no-holds-barred, ten-day debate in a Moroccan warzone, protected by British marines and elite American troops, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., Sir Alan Brooke, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Sir Harold Alexander, and their military peers questioned each other’s competence, doubted each other’s visions, and argued their way through choices that could win or lose the war. You will be treated to a master class in strategy by the legendary statesmen, generals, and admirals who overcame their differences, transformed their alliance from a necessity to a bond, forged a war-winning plan, and glimpsed the postwar world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982168681
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	39,694
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

James B. Conroy is an award-winning author and an honorary fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Having worked on Capitol Hill as a Senate press secretary and a congressman’s chief of staff and served for six years in the Naval Air Reserve, Conroy graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center and practiced law in Boston until 2020. His first book, Our One Common Country, was a finalist for the prestigious Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize. His second, Lincoln’s White House, shared the Lincoln Prize and won the Abraham Lincoln Institute’s annual book award. He and his wife, Lynn, divide their time between Hingham, Massachusetts, and Martha’s Vineyard.

Editorial Reviews

02/20/2023

As lawyer-turned-historian Conroy (Jefferson’s White House) notes in this in-depth account of the January 1943 Casablanca Conference, by the time Allied leaders met in Morocco, it was more than two years since France had fallen and the British had barely escaped Dunkirk. Meanwhile, the U.S. had only arrived in the European theater two months earlier, when Gen. George Patton (“a cursing comic book warlord with a high-pitched voice”) landed his troops in North Africa. Seeking to hammer out a plan for victory, Churchill and Roosevelt brought their top lieutenants to Casablanca, including White House adviser Harry Hopkins, U.S. Army chief of staff George C. Marshall, and British generals Alan Brooke and Bernard Montgomery. In 10 days of rigorous planning, attendees plotted amphibious landings, discussed the merits of daytime versus nighttime bombing raids, and debated whether to launch or delay an Anglo-American invasion of northwest Europe; the British, mindful of the horrors of WWI, wanted the latter; Marshall and other Americans preferred the former. Conroy vividly describes daily conference sessions at the Anfa Hotel and draws sharp, memorable character sketches of the participants (“no one admired Charles de Gaulle more than Charles de Gaulle”). This gaze into the corridors of power enlightens. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Spiced with droll humor and studded with deft character sketches, telling anecdotes, and vivid scene painting, this riveting book places the reader in a front row seat at the tense drama in which FDR and Churchill, along with their cantankerous staffs, disagreed, wrangled, and finally hammered out the overall strategy that won WW II. In his account of this crucial meeting where the die was cast, James Conroy lives up to the high standard he set in his estimable works on Lincoln and Jefferson."

Michael Burlingame

2023-01-28
Despite a clash of egos and deep-seated differences, a crucial conclave mapped out a war-winning path.

Planning military strategy is an enormously difficult task; when several nations are involved, it becomes even more problematic. Conroy, the author of Lincoln’s White House, chronicles the Casablanca Conference of January 1943, when Churchill, Roosevelt, and their senior generals met to plan the next phase of World War II. The conflict was beginning to turn in favor of the Allies but was a long way from over, and there were serious divisions about how to proceed. A faction of the American delegation wanted to focus their attention on fighting the Japanese, while the British saw the Nazis as the principal enemy. There were also questions about when and how to launch an invasion of Europe and the likely postwar landscape. The French leaders, apparently more concerned with scoring political points than winning the war, were a constant irritant. Disagreements became heated and personal, but the delegation eventually hammered out a feasible plan. It involved the capture of Sicily to secure Mediterranean supply routes, an increase in the bombing campaign aimed at Germany, and a deferral of the invasion of Western Europe until more forces were gathered. While the British achieved most of what they wanted, it became clear that the U.S., as the critical source of manpower, materiel, and money, would henceforth be the dominant player of the Allies. The official minutes of the conference were published in 1973, but Conroy is a diligent researcher and finds some new material in participants’ diaries and correspondence, providing extra depth and color. Even though this is the first book-length analysis of the conference, the substance of the proceedings is already well known. For this reason, it will appeal mainly to aficionados of WWII history.

Conroy adds personality and background to the official account of the crucial Casablanca Conference.

Kirkus Reviews

James Conroy has brought a pivotal moment in world history to vivid and engaging life. With sophisticated analysis and an eye for the telling detail, this illuminating account of the Casablanca Conference and the war that raged before and after has much to tell us about diplomacy and human nature.

Jon Meacham

"This is World War II gamesmanship at its most gripping, deserving of a place alongside the best of Erik Larson and Ben Macintyre. James B. Conroy writes with panache, wisdom, humor, and razor-sharp precision. He gives the reader a cinematic sense of urgency and realism, with characters that spring to life with brilliant humanity."

Evan Osnos

"The Devils Will Get No Rest is compelling reading. It not only vividly recaptures the struggle to defeat the Axis powers it also reminds us of how fortunate we were to have two great leaders in Churchill and FDR."

Robert Dallek

"This is a spellbinding, character-driven account of what Franklin Roosevelt called the 'Unconditional Surrender Meeting,' the ten days at Casablanca that altered the course of World War II. It is freshly researched, crisply written, and supremely interesting. James Conroy, a richly gifted storyteller, has given us the finest account yet published on this momentously important turning point in world history."

Donald L. Miller

“Conroy writes with panache, wisdom, humor, and razor-sharp precision.”

National Book Award–winner Evan Osnos

In re-creating the 1942 Casablanca Conference, narrator Fred Sanders effectively juggles a crowded cast of historical figures and issues. That heavily guarded meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill, and the recalcitrant French set the Allied course for WWII. Sanders positions himself midway between hindsight and the outlook at the time. It helps to have some background on the era, but author Conroy is an expert in providing the most important details while keeping the narrative in motion. The story is packed with arresting characters and anecdotes. The relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill, part "bromance," part fencing match, is particularly rich, a tale of mutual affection, playfulness, and deadly consequence. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

In re-creating the 1942 Casablanca Conference, narrator Fred Sanders effectively juggles a crowded cast of historical figures and issues. That heavily guarded meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill, and the recalcitrant French set the Allied course for WWII. Sanders positions himself midway between hindsight and the outlook at the time. It helps to have some background on the era, but author Conroy is an expert in providing the most important details while keeping the narrative in motion. The story is packed with arresting characters and anecdotes. The relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill, part "bromance," part fencing match, is particularly rich, a tale of mutual affection, playfulness, and deadly consequence. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile