This is a day-by-day account of the eighty-day struggle in 1940 between Hitler-poised on the edge of absolute victory-and Churchill-threatened by imminent invasion and defeat--on the eve of the second World War.

"A masterful book-masterful in its portrayal of its protagonists, masterful in its overall understanding of the death-struggle in which they engaged, masterful, above all, in its vivid, suspenseful chronicling of the most momentous eighty days in the history of this century." -Geoffrey Ward

"This is a marvelous book. John Lukacs has lucid, unsentimental insight into the mind and character of both Churchill and Hitler." -Conor Cruise O'Brien

"A wonderful story wonderfully told." -George F. Will

"It is salutary to be reminded in this powerful study how close Hitler came to winning in 1940. . . . An impressive study . . . [written] with elegance and panache." -Peter Stansky, New York Times

"A master of narrative history on a par with Barbara Tuchman and Garrett Mattingly." -Kirkus Reviews