Chamberlain and the lost peace

Description

Most studies of World War II assume that it was, in some way, a triumph for Britain. John Charmley's important new reappraisal of the immediate origins of the war is based on extensive new work in the Chamberlain papers. It starts from Chamberlain's belief that even a victorious war would be a disaster—it would destroy the foundations of British power and hand over Europe to Russian domination. Reconstructing Chamberlain's policy assumptions, Mr. Charmley argues that they were neither naïve nor foolish. While focusing on the prime minister's personality, he also shows that Chamberlain's views were shared by many other leading politicians and diplomats. Mr. Charmley thus resurrects a whole school of thought on foreign policy which was forgotten in the wake of Churchill's triumph. Unlike Churchill, Chamberlain was not prepared to gamble an empire; but events produced, according to Mr. Charmley, indeed a “human tragedy.” Early British reviews of the book have called it “important,” “entertaining and absorbing,” “concise and spirited,” and “provocative.” The Guardian wrote: “Chamberlain hardly emerges a hero from these pages, but at least there is no excuse left for regarding him as no more than a wimp in a wing-collar.” The Prime Minister and the Ambassador - May — November 1937 Holy Fox and the Gamekeeper - November 1937 Eden and Chamberlain - May — November 1937 Chamberlain and Co. - November — December 1937 The Extrusion of Eden - January — February 1938 The Cave of Adullam - February 1938 The Traditions of British Foreign Policy - February — March 1938 Towards a Commitment - March — May 1938 Chamberlain and Halifax - May — August 1938 The Dove of Peace - August— 15 September 1938 Dealing with Hitler - 15-20 September 1938 Exercises in Cartography - 21-28 September 1938 Light After Darkness? - October 1938 ‘Morbid Anatomy’ - October 1938 — March 1939 The Persistence of Appeasement - November 1938 — March 1939 The End of Appeasement? - March 1939 Facilis Descensus Averni - March — May 1939 ‘Die for Danzig?’ - May — July 1939 Chamberlain’s War - July — September 1939 Epilogue