Sean McMeekin challenges conventional narratives of World War II in Europe, arguing that Stalin played a more consequential role than typically acknowledged. Where Hitler is usually portrayed as the war's driver and Stalin as responder, McMeekin shows Soviet initiative: the Nazi-Soviet Pact that enabled Germany's invasion of Poland, Soviet aggression against Finland and the Baltic states, Stalin's calculated delays before engaging Germany, and the territorial gains Russia achieved at war's end. The book draws on Soviet archives opened since the Cold War's end to illuminate Stalin's calculations. McMeekin also critiques Western aid to the Soviet Union, arguing that Lend-Lease enabled Stalin's conquests while America's focus on defeating Hitler first served Soviet interests. The interpretation is controversial; critics argue McMeekin understates Nazi aggression and overreads Soviet sources. But the book contributes to ongoing debates about the war's origins and outcomes, asking readers to reconsider familiar narratives about the conflict that shaped the modern world.