This is an incisive exploration of the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States told from the perspective of the volatile, often fraught, alliance during World War Two. The spotlight falls on Monty and Ike, then takes in the ordinary "squaddie" who becomes a pawn in the game, and finally Montgomery's unsuccessful attempt to assert Britain's superiority in the closing months of the war. Charles Whiting, author of the Spellmount Siegfried Line series, is one of the UK's most prolific military writers, and approaches his subject with his characteristic authority and insight.