History lovers will rejoice at Winston Groom’s newest effort at understanding the personalities behind World War II, The Allies (National Geographic, $30). Focusing on the three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin, Groom weaves together an intricate and detailed analysis of the war from multiple perspectives. This is not just a war history, however—this is a triple biography of these larger-than-life men. From the early Boer War correspondent days of Churchill, to the political rise and scandalous love affairs of Franklin and Eleanor, to the communist in-fighting of Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky, we can see the vastly different formative experiences that ultimately led to this shaky alliance, with many blind eyes turned, to face down the common threat. Groom’s broad war analysis will leave readers with a better appreciation of the dominant leadership personalities that shaped an era.