1945: The Reckoning: War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World
Phil Craig
Apr 2025 · Hodder & Stoughton · Narrated by Beth Eyre, Homer Todiwala, and Richard Attlee
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12 hr 22 min
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As the fate of the world is decided, so too is that of the British, Dutch and French empires.
In India a generation committed to independence must decide whether to support 'the Raj' or fight alongside the Japanese. One military family is bitterly divided. Will it be the brother who serves under British command, or the one who follows Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, who goes on to help build a new and free India?
In Borneo a little known Australian special forces campaign - secretly controlled from London - goes horribly wrong as questions are asked about whether its true purpose is military or imperial.
And in Indochina and the East Indies British Generals free and arm Japanese prisoners of war and use them in savage campaigns that aim to put colonial rulers back into their palaces.
Clearing away the haze of nostalgia, many uncomfortable truths emerge - but so too does a humane and balanced exploration of what victory in the Second World War truly means.
In India a generation committed to independence must decide whether to support 'the Raj' or fight alongside the Japanese. One military family is bitterly divided. Will it be the brother who serves under British command, or the one who follows Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian National Army, who goes on to help build a new and free India?
In Borneo a little known Australian special forces campaign - secretly controlled from London - goes horribly wrong as questions are asked about whether its true purpose is military or imperial.
And in Indochina and the East Indies British Generals free and arm Japanese prisoners of war and use them in savage campaigns that aim to put colonial rulers back into their palaces.
Clearing away the haze of nostalgia, many uncomfortable truths emerge - but so too does a humane and balanced exploration of what victory in the Second World War truly means.
As the fate of the world is decided, so too is that of the British, Dutch and French empires.
In India a generation committed to independence must decide whether to support 'the Raj' or fight alongside the Japanese. One military family is bitterly divided. Will it be the brother who serves unde...
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About the author
Phil Craig is a best selling author and multiple-award-winning film-maker.
He studied history at Cambridge university, was a BBC graduate trainee and built his career working for iconic British TV series World in Action and Panorama. Later he held senior positions at the prestigious Brook Lapping production company, at Channel Four, at the Discovery Channel and at ABC Television in Australia where he ran the entire factual output including its high profile ANZAC centenary project. Throughout his TV and writing career Phil has spent many years researching and reinterpreting the story of Britain and its Empire during the Second World War, including his definitive and bestselling account of 1940 - Finest Hour.
He now runs The Scandal Mongers Podcast with his friend and fellow writer Andrew Lownie.
He studied history at Cambridge university, was a BBC graduate trainee and built his career working for iconic British TV series World in Action and Panorama. Later he held senior positions at the prestigious Brook Lapping production company, at Channel Four, at the Discovery Channel and at ABC Television in Australia where he ran the entire factual output including its high profile ANZAC centenary project. Throughout his TV and writing career Phil has spent many years researching and reinterpreting the story of Britain and its Empire during the Second World War, including his definitive and bestselling account of 1940 - Finest Hour.
He now runs The Scandal Mongers Podcast with his friend and fellow writer Andrew Lownie.
Phil Craig is a best selling author and multiple-award-winning film-maker.
He studied history at Cambridge university, was a BBC graduate trainee and built his career working for iconic British TV series World in Action and Panorama. Later he held senior positions at the prestigious Brook Lappin...
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