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1939
1939
Oct 6, 2024 4:18 AM

Author:Richard Overy

1939

'A gripping analysis of the final days of peace ... indispensable' M. R. D. Foot, The Times

Richard Overy's 1939: Countdown to War re-creates hour-by-hour the last desperate attempts to salvage peace before the outbreak of World War Two.

24 August 1939: The fate of the world is hanging in the balance. Hitler has ambitions to invade Poland and hopes Stalin will now help him. The West must try to stop him. Nothing was predictable or inevitable. The West hoped that Hitler would see sense if they stood firm. Hitler was convinced the West would back down. And both sides acted knowing that they risked being plunged into a war that might spell the end the end of European civilization.

Reviews

To say that Catherine Bailey makes history come alive is such a cliché and yet it's so true, she is absolutely one of my favourite writers

—— Kate Atkinson

Bailey has an extraordinary talent for bringing history to life and The Lost Boys is as thrilling as any novel

—— Daily Mail

Extraordinary. A rich and deep portrait. . . a gripping read

—— Guardian

Riveting, important, reads like a terrifying thriller. So harrowing there were moments I had to put the book down. Bailey has an extraordinary ability to penetrate right to the heart of a family and uncover painful stories

—— Daily Telegraph

Bailey has a knack for bringing characters to life . . . Fascinating

—— Times

A brilliant analysis of senseless cruelty, and an inspiring account of how hope can still triumph over all odds

—— Julian Fellowes

Gripping ... Watson's book is an impressive telling of a story almost entirely unknown, and it makes clear how much we have yet to learn about the first world war away from the western front.

—— Mark Mazower , Financial Times

Roberts has a gift for finding the anecdote or quotation which reveals an essential truth about his subject.

—— Nigel Jones , History Today

Few authors compare to Andrew Roberts. He dips his pen in the most eloquent ink to bring to life figures who have heaps of lessons to teach us

—— Marc Nadeau , Bookmarc

His analyses of the criteria needed for success are succinct and... convincing. ... The mysteries of leadership in times of conflict probably evade ultimate explanation, but Roberts, the biographer of Napoleon and Churchill, does much to throw new light on them,

—— Nick Rennison , Sunday Times

In a single volume, Andrew Roberts has captured the essence of one of the world's most impactful, most memorable statesmen. It is the crowning achievement of his career - and will become the definitive biography of its subject.

—— Henry Kissinger

It is a rare writer who is not afraid to deal with the toughest conflicts, ask the hardest questions, show the darkest side of even heroes, and still manage to renew our faith in humanity.

—— Elif Shafak, author of The Bastard of Istanbul

Elliot Ackerman was a young Marine Corps officer during the battle of Fallujah in 2004. I was an embedded journalist with his unit, which lost 20 men in the first week of fighting. I remember him as clever, direct and sometimes playfully ironic, all qualities on display in his book about what he has seen of war, Places and Names. His account of how he won a Silver Star is gripping, the chaotic reality on the ground contrasting with the po-faced and supremely uninformative official citation. His descriptions of Syria, which he visited as a writer, were so painfully evocative for me that I had to stop reading for a time. His vivid, sparse prose bears comparison to that of Tim O'Brien in The Things They Carried or Norman Lewis in Naples '44; Places and Names has the same clear-eyed view of what war is.

—— Paul Wood , The Spectator

Beautiful writing about combat and humanity and what it means to 'win' a war.

—— Mary Louise Kelly , NPR, All Things Considered

Green on Blue is harrowing, brutal, and utterly absorbing. With spare prose, Ackerman has spun a morally complex tale of revenge, loyalty, and brotherly love ... a disturbing glimpse into one of the world's most troubled regions.

—— Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner

This novel as a whole attests to Mr. Ackerman's breadth of understanding - an understanding not just of the seasonal rhythms of war in Afghanistan and the harsh, unforgiving beauty of that land, not just of the hardships of being a soldier there, but a bone-deep understanding of the toll that a seemingly endless war has taken on ordinary Afghans who have known no other reality for decades.

—— Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

Elliot Ackerman has done something brave as a writer and even braver as a soldier: He has touched, for real, the culture and soul of his enemy

—— Tom Bissell, (The New York Times Book Review)

Bouverie… retells [the story of appeasement] with gusto

—— Dominic Sandbrook , Sunday Times

Bouverie gives a lucid account… [and] skilfully traces each shameful step to war… which he describes in moving and dramatic detail

—— Lewis Jones , Sunday Telegraph

Gripping.. Bouverie has written a searching, wide-ranging, and above all readable chronology of a shameful era of British history… a very cautionary tale

—— Nigel Jones , Spectator

[An] impressive and very readable account

—— Tony Rennell , Daily Mail

Tim Bouverie’s first historical work… is a well-argued, lucid case for the prosecution of the appeasers

—— David Aaronovitch , The Times, *Book of the Week*

So assured is Bouverie’s writing, and so sound his judgments, that it is hard to believe that Appeasing Hitler is his first book. It is a wonderful debut that marks the arrival of a young historian to watch

—— Saul David , Evening Standard, *Book of the Week*

[An] accomplished and lucid account

—— Josh Ireland , Prospect

Bouverie’s well-written Appeasing Hitler aims to provide a timeless lesson on the challenges of standing up to aggression.

—— Jo Johnson , Financial Times

Bouverie has mined an impressive range of sources and quotes from them judiciously. His narrative is lucid, his prose efficient, his put-downs witty… [he] tells an important story well.

—— Lucy Hughes-Hallett , New Statesman

The skill with which Tim Bouverie navigates here through the worlds of politics, officialdom and diplomacy is quite exemplary… his explanations of complex issues are always lucid; his narrative style is thoughtful, unshowy and always a pleasure to read… This is, quite simply, the best book ever to have appeared on this whole subject

—— Noel Malcolm , Oldie

Bouverie’s Appeasing Hitler provides a meticulous picture of a Britain that faced very different problems from our own

—— Thelma Lovell , Catholic Herald

Scrupulously fair, [and a] readable account… [an] excellent book

—— Marcus Tanner , Tablet

Appeasing Hitler…is a staggeringly good account of the build-up to the Second World War… gripping, dramatic and revelatory

—— Christian May , City AM

Bouverie’s prose is fluent and assured throughout. Those in search of an entertaining read will find one… an admirable retelling of traditional history

—— Robert Crowcroft , History Today

An enthralling, nuanced tale… the narrative is absolutely compelling

—— Times Literary Supplement

An elegantly written account by a rising young historian

—— The Times, *Summer reads of 2019*

This is a gripping account of the wishful thinking that led us to the precipice

—— Neil Armstrong and Hephzibah Anderson , Mail on Sunday, *Summer reads of 2019*

There is a sure command of narrative and judgment in faultlessly lucid prose, with subtexts of pathos

—— Bruce Anderson , Spectator

A fascinating narrative on the politics of wishful thinking and the law of unintended consequences in international relations

—— Ali Ansari , History Today, *Books of the Year*

[A] finely researched and well-argued book

—— Daily Mail, *Books of the Year*

[A] phenomenal book

—— William Keegan , Observer

Excellent

—— Andrew Roberts , Wall Street Journal

Excellent and compelling

—— William Leith , Evening Standard
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