One Christmas in Washington is the fascinating, in-depth look at one of the most crucial periods in modern history: the weeks between December 1941 and January 1942, when Churchill and Roosevelt secretly met at the White House, forging what turned out to be the Grand Alliance-while in the background, a gloomy and confused America went about its Christmas celebrations. Herwig and Bercuson grippingly recreate the dramatic days of the Washington War Conference of 1941-2, code-named ARCADIA, using the diaries, meeting notes, personal letters, and detailed minutes that contain day-by-day, almost hour-by-hour accounts of these historic events. The authors-whose previous book, The Destruction of the Bismarck, was the companion to James Cameron's Discovery Channel special Expedition: Bismarck-take a penetrating look at the high-level meetings that lasted long into the night and at the scenes behind the scenes: the social events and intrigues; Churchill's booming intrusion into the daily life of the White House; the strained relationship between Churchill and Eleanor Roosevelt; the key role played by Roosevelt's close advisor Harry Hopkins. As with any momentous gathering of world leaders, there was high politics and there was low gossip. Both contributed to the earth-shaking events of this momentous time. One Christmas in Washington is an authoritative and emotional story of two proud and accomplished men struggling to overcome their own biases, suspicion, and hubris to create what turned out to be the war-winning alliance that defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.