The Daughters of Yalta

About this book

A stirring account of one momentous week that would unleash fifty years of tyranny for half of Europe and plunge the world into the Cold War, as seen through the eyes of three young women. Catherine Grace Katz's debut book, The Daughters of Yalta, is a marvelous and extraordinary work that reveals the human experience of the conference, with all its tragedy, love, betrayal, and even humor. She defines the relationships that shaped our world, and continue to shape our future." --Julian Fellowes, Oscar-winning writer and creator of Downton Abbey The untold story of the three intelligent and glamorous young women who accompanied their famous fathers to the Yalta Conference in February 1945, and of the conference's fateful reverberations in the waning days of World War II.Tensions at Yalta threatened to tear apart the wartime alliance of Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin just as victory was close at hand. In this compelling WWII biography, Catherine Grace Katz uncovers the dramatic story of the three young women who were chosen by their fathers to travel with them to Yalta, each bound by fierce family loyalty, political savvy, and intertwined romances that powerfully colored these crucial days. Kathleen Harriman, daughter of U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union Averell Harriman, was a war correspondent and champion skier. Sarah Churchill, an actress-turned-RAF officer, was devoted to her brilliant father, who depended on her astute political mind. Roosevelt's only daughter, Anna, chosen instead of her mother, Eleanor, to accompany the president to Yalta, arrived there as keeper of her father's most damaging secrets. Situated in the political maelstrom that marked the transition to the postwar world, The Daughters of Yalta is a remarkable work of narrative nonfiction and a story of fathers and daughters whose relationships were tested and strengthened by the history they witnessed and the future they crafted together.This meticulously researched story of the Yalta Conference offers a new perspective on: A Female Perspective on History: Discover the untold story of Sarah Churchill, Kathleen Harriman, and Anna Roosevelt, three young women who held influential roles at a pivotal moment in World War II. The Dawn of the Cold War: Witness the tensions between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin that would tear their alliance apart and shape fifty years of world history. High-Stakes Diplomacy: Go behind the scenes of the political maelstrom as fierce family loyalty, political savvy, and even romance color the most crucial negotiations of the 20th century. Fathers and Daughters: Explore the powerful, complex relationships between these women and their famous fathers, particularly Anna Roosevelt, who was the keeper of her father's most damaging secrets.