Brad Clawsie
It is useful for Americans to have alternative views of history, even if biased. Stone actually doesn't veer off the mainstream that much, but periodically when he does, his views are weak and self-contradictory. For example, when Stone claims that the Atomic Bomb wasn't needed since Japan was intent on surrender in the summer of 1945...he then provides a detailed account of how repeated aerial bombardments didn't break the will of the Japanese people (what Stone suggests broke their will was actually the threat of Soviet invasion). So either the Japanese wanted to surrender or not. Stone wants it both ways when it suits his argument. Stone is also ridiculously sympathetic to Stalin. He is correct that the Soviets bore the brunt of the effort to destroy Nazi Germany, but Stalin's own bungling prolonged and worsened this struggle. In the end, Stone's work is a commendable effort but never rises above being a middlebrow dismissal of the mainstream that lacks real depth. All that said, I still believe Stone is a truly great American who is legitimately interested in a genuine history of this country.
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