Appeasement; Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War
New York: Tim Duggan Books, 2019. Uncorrected Proof of the First U.S. Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. xii, 448 pages. Occasional Footnotes. Notes. Very slightly cocked. (Uncorrected proof does not have the bibliography or the index.) A New York Times Editors' Choice and Sunday Times (UK) Bestseller. A gripping new history of the British appeasement of Hitler on the eve of World War II. An eye-opening narrative that makes for exciting but at times uncomfortable reading as one reflects on possible lessons for the present-- Antonia Fraser, author of Mary Queen of Scots. Tim Bouverie studied history at Christ Church, Oxford. Between 2013 and 2017 he was a political journalist for Channel 4 News in the UK. He regularly reviews books on history and politics for The Spectator, The Observer, and The Daily Telegraph. He lives in London. Bouverie's first book, Appeasing Hitler, was published by Bodley Head in April 2019. Appeasing Hitler [this work was entitled Appeasement in the U.S.] was a Sunday Times Bestseller and described as an "astonishingly accomplished debut" by Antony Beevor. Appeasement, in an international context, is a diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power with intention to avoid conflict. The term is most often applied to the foreign policy between 1935 and 1939 of the British governments of Prime Ministers Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin and most notably Neville Chamberlain towards Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Under British pressure, appeasement of Nazism and Fascism also played a role in French foreign policy of the period but was always much less popular there than in the United Kingdom. On a wet afternoon in September 1938, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stepped off an airplane and announced that his visit to Hitler had averted the greatest crisis in recent memory. It was, he later assured the crowd in Downing Street, "peace for our time." Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began. Appeasement is a groundbreaking history of the disastrous years of indecision, failed diplomacy and parliamentary infighting that enabled Hitler's domination of Europe. Drawing on deep archival research and sources not previously seen by historians, Tim Bouverie has created an unforgettable portrait of the ministers, aristocrats, and amateur diplomats who, through their actions and inaction, shaped their country's policy and determined the fate of Europe. Beginning with the advent of Hitler in 1933, we embark on a fascinating journey from the early days of the Third Reich to the beaches of Dunkirk. Bouverie takes us not only into the backrooms of Parliament and 10 Downing Street but also into the drawing rooms and dining clubs of fading imperial Britain, where Hitler enjoyed surprising support among the ruling class and even some members of the royal family. Both sweeping and intimate, Appeasement is not only an eye-opening history but a timeless lesson on the challenges of standing up to aggression and authoritarianism--and the calamity that results from failing to do so. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Neville Chamberlain, Italo-Ethopian War, Anchluss, Munich Agreement, Dictatorship, Third Reich, Czechoslovakia, Deterrence, National Socialism, Fascism, Ramsey McDonald, Stanley Baldwin
ISBN: 9780451499844
[Book #89104]
Price: $45.00