“Magnificent… The Fear and the Freedom can justly claim to be one of the best, most useful books on World War II to have emerged in the past decade. It belongs in everyone’s library.”—Paul Kennedy, The Wall Street Journal

“brilliantly reveals how, when trapped between freedom and fear, people tether their emotional and intellectual states to world events. Lowe’s book couldn’t be more timely” – Financial Times

“a masterpiece” – Daily Telegraph

“a testament to the convoluted, contradictory and, in Lowe’s hands, thoroughly compelling impact of the bloodiest war in human history” – Sunday Times

“This is an important book, impossible to summarise, profound in its humanity, bold in its confrontation of sacred myths.” – The Herald

“a very fine work of history” – Literary Review

“Lowe’s book is a compelling work of historical scholarship – but, more than that, it is an intimate portrayal of how human beings carry on when their world has changed forever.” – New Statesman

“brilliant, myth-busting history” – The Scotsman

“[Lowe’s] book is an important and challenging one” – Mail on Sunday

“Lowe has assembled a remarkable chorus of voices and asks the most probing of questions. Their testimony, combined with the author’s pointed analysis, elevates a laudable volume into a very readable and startling book.” – Guardian

“Keith Lowe’s compelling study of the impact of the Second World War over the last seven decades helps explain our world… One of the delights of the book is that it deals with individuals as much as it does big ideas. It is to be enjoyed, even as it illuminates, alarms and provokes.” – Prospect