Books by "Norman A. Chamberlain"
4 books found
The Versailles Treaty and its Legacy
by Norman A. Graebner, Edward M. Bennett
2011 · Cambridge University Press
This study, a realist interpretation of the long diplomatic record that produced the coming of World War II in 1939, is a critique of the Paris Peace Conference and reflects the judgment shared by many who left the Conference in 1919 in disgust amid predictions of future war. The critique is a rejection of the idea of collective security, which Woodrow Wilson and many others believed was a panacea, but which was also condemned as early as 1915. This book delivers a powerful lesson in treaty-making and rejects the supposition that treaties, once made, are unchangeable, whatever their faults.
The sixth edition of this bestselling book takes students on a journey through the 20th century and provides a clear overview of the key events which have shaped modern world history. Unrivalled in its broad coverage, it: - Surveys international relations and war, from 1900 to the present day - Examines the rise and fall of fascism and communism around the globe - Explores the international affairs of the major superpowers: the USA, Russia/USSR and China - Assesses the experience of decolonization in India, Africa and Latin America - Unpicks global issues, including economic crises and population increase Chapters feature maps, diagrams and end-of-chapter questions to support and reinforce understanding. This new edition has been updated to take account of new scholarship, and provide a more global approach to key chapters in modern world history. Key changes include: - New material on the Second World War, beginning with the outbreak of war between China and Japan, and touches upon Italy's campaigns in East and North Africa and Civil Wars taking place in China, Spain and the Ukraine - Coverage of new historical interpretations of the events that led to the First World War - New chapters on the history of the United States of America - A new chapter on Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Mastering Modern World History is the go-to textbook for secondary school students and undergraduates studying modern world history and international relations, and an ideal companion for anyone with an interest in how the world got into its present state.
The new edition of this best-selling text includes a new section on the final years of the Labour government after Blair's resignation and a new chapter on the subsequent Coalition and Conservative governments. It is the ideal companion for students taking a first-level course in modern British History, as well as for undergraduates in history.
Most strongly associated with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is often stated that Britain's policy of appeasement was instituted in the 1930s in the hope of avoiding war with Hitler's Nazi Germany. At the time, appeasement was viewed by many as a popular and seemingly pragmatic policy. In this book the author sets out to show how appeasement was not a naïve attempt to secure a lasting peace by resolving German grievances, but a means of buying time for rearmament. By the middle of the 1930s, British policy was based on the presumption that the balance of power had already dramatically shifted in Germany's favour. It was felt that Britain, chiefly for economic reasons, was unable to restore the balance, and that extensive concessions to Germany would not satisfy Hitler, whose aggressive policies intensified the already high risk of war.. The only realistic option, and one that was clearly adopted by Neville Chamberlain, was to try to influence the timing of the inevitable military confrontation and, in the meantime, pursue a steady and economically sustainable program of rearmament. Appeasement would 'buy' that time for the British government. Crucially this strategy required continuously updated and accurate information about the strength, current and future, of the German armed forces, especially the Luftwaffe, and an understanding of their military strategy. Piercing the Nazis' veil of secrecy was vital if the intelligence services were to build up a true picture of the extent of German rearmament and the purposes to which it might be put. The many agents, codebreakers, and counter-espionage personnel played a vital role in maximising the benefits that appeasement provided – even as war clouds continued to gather. These individuals were increasingly handed greater responsibility in a bid to inform British statesmen now scrambling to prepare for a catastrophic confrontation with Germany. In Reading Hitler's Mind, Norman Ridley reveals the remarkable efforts made by the tiny, underfunded and often side-lined British intelligence services as they sought to inform those whose role it was to make decisions upon which the wheels of history turned.