Shortlist year: 2014
Shortlist category: Non-fiction
Published by: Penguin Random House
In the dark days between Hitler's invasion of Poland and the attack on Pearl Harbor, a group of highly unorthodox emissaries dispatched to Europe by President Franklin D. Roosevelt paved the way for America's entry into the war.
There was Sumner Welles, the buttoned-down diplomat; William 'Wild Bill' Donovan, war hero and future spymaster; Harry Hopkins, frail social worker and New Dealer; Averell Harriman, banker and railroad heir; and Wendell Willkie, the charismatic former Republican presidential candidate.
Together, they shaped the future of America, the Second World War, and the modern world.
About the author
Dr Michael Fullilove
Dr Michael Fullilove is the Executive Director of the Lowy Institute in Sydney and one of Australia's leading thinkers on international affairs. A Rhodes Scholar and former prime ministerial adviser, he writes widely for publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald.