Was Churchill correct when he claimed the Second World War could easily have been prevented if Chamberlain had not appeased Hitler? How far did Churchill and Chamberlain differ on defence and foreign policy? To what extent was Chamberlain responsible for military defeats in 1940? In this new account of appeasement, G. C. Peden addresses these questions and provides a comparative analysis of Chamberlain and Churchill's views on foreign policy and strategic priorities, explores what deterrence and appeasement meant in the military, economic and political context of the 1930s and where Chamberlain and Churchill agreed and disagreed on how best to deter Germany. Beginning in 1931 when Chamberlain became Chancellor of the Exchequer, this book explores the evolution of British policy towards Germany through to the Munich Agreement and its aftermath within the context of Britain's power to influence international affairs in the 1930s and of contemporary intelligence.

"The book details the course of that historiographical debate, beginning with the earliest accounts on appeasement from l938 through 1940.".

Drawing on a wide range of material, including primary sources, Frank McDonough re-examines the controversial policy of appeasement, and argues that appeasement was part of a broad consensus in British society at the time.

A brilliant reappraisal of one of the most charismatic and powerful politicians of the twentieth century, which by examing Churchill's career in the years leading up to the Second World War posits the notion that, had he only been in power earlier, that war could conceivably have been prevented.'Exemplary . It confirms him as the outstanding authority on British foreign policy in the Thirties.' Kenneth O. Morgan, Independent'A characteristically scrupulous study of Churchill's role in the events that led to the outbreak of war in 1939, with a playfulness in literary exposition to offset its careful judgements and deep scholarship.' The Sunday Times'A balanced, enjoyable, highly readable account of the tumultuous 1930s' Robert Harris, Literary Review'One of the best expositions of Churchill's anti-appeasement stance yet written' Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday

Although remembered and even lauded in the public mind as the British prime minister during the Second World War who played a major role in Allied victory over the Axis Powers and Japan, Winston Churchill had a life and political career before 1939 conditioned by fighting other wars and, in peacetime, thinking about war. While historians debate his achievements and failures between 1939 and 1945, a less explored dimension is Churchill’s earlier connexion with war and warfare. This book explores Churchill’s earlier experience in fighting wars as a soldier and politician.

Deterrence, Coercion, and Appeasement presents a compelling and original survey of British grand strategy in the inter-war period. Whereas most existing accounts privilege either diplomacy and foreign affairs, intelligence, or military affairs more narrowly, this study underlines the inexorable relationships between foreign policy, grand strategy, military force, intelligence, finance and not least, domestic politics and public opinion. Britain was the world's only global power in the inter-war period, and it confronted problems on a global scale. Policy-makers sought two goals: peace with security. They did so successfully in the 1920s, partly due to favourable circumstances that made their task relatively easy, and partly because they understood the strengths and limitations of British power and knew how to wield them. The situation deteriorated rapidly in the 1930s, however, as the international system became increasingly unfavourable to Britain. Policy-makers proved less adept than their predecessors at meeting these new challenges, partly because those challenges were more formidable, but also because they lacked the self-confidence of their predecessors, who had held high office during the most difficult years of the First World War and who lacked their understanding of how to wield the lever of international power. The study ends by providing a new and more sophisticated account of how and why Neville Chamberlain appeased the fascist powers in the late 1930s, and why Winston Churchill opposed him and eventually supplanted him in May 1940.

Former British Prime Minister who will always be remembered for his appeasement policy towards Hitler.

Today, as liberty and truth are increasingly challenged, the figures of Churchill and Orwell loom large. Exemplars of Britishness, they preserved individual freedom and democracy for the world through their far-sighted vision and inspired action, and cast a long shadow across our culture and politics. In Churchill & Orwell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas E. Ricks masterfully argues that these extraordinary men are as important today as they ever were. Churchill and Orwell stood in political opposition to each other, but were both committed to the preservation of freedom. However, in the late 1930s they occupied a lonely position: democracy was much discredited, and authoritarian rulers, fascist and communist, were everywhere in the ascent. Unlike others, they had the wisdom to see that the most salient issue was human liberty – and that any government that denies its people basic rights is a totalitarian menace to be resisted. Churchill and Orwell proved their age’s necessary men, and this book reveals how they rose from a precarious position to triumph over the enemies of freedom. Churchill may have played the larger role in Hitler’s defeat, but Orwell’s reckoning with the threat of authoritarian rule in 1984 and Animal Farm defined the stakes of the Cold War and continues to inspire to this day. Their lives are an eloquent testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it takes to stay true to it.

British historian Chris Wrigley provides an A to Z biographical reference to the life of Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), possibly the 20th century's most renowned statesman. This volume addresses Churchill's life, career, and the people and events with which he was most closely associated. Includes b & w photographs, a chronology, an introduction, and a bibliography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Your students and users will find biographical information on approximately 300 modern writers in this volume of Contemporary Authors(R).