Five Days in London: May 1940

Buy Five Days in London: May 1940 here, one of 709 Gallic Wars books offered for sale at discount prices here in the history books section at R bookshop. There are currently 75360 history books in our history books section, and over 1,000,000 books listed in our book store. We greatly appreciate your patronage at R bookshop and look forward to offering you a large selection of great books at discount prices now and in the future. Thank you for shopping at R Bookshop!

You Are Here: Home > History Books > Gallic Wars > Item 41

	Five Days in London: May 1940
	by John Lukacs Sales Rank: 25837	Discount: 20 % ~~List Price: $11.95~~ $9.56 At Amazon on 6-21-2008.

*Features* Cover Type: Paperback with 256 pages Published by: Yale University Press September 1, 2001 Written in: English ISBN 10 Number: 0300084668 ISBN 13 Number: 978-0300084665 Book Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches Weighs: 7 ounces *Product Review* In his six-volume history of World War II, Winston Churchill deemed the year 1942 as "the hinge of fate," the year in which the German and Japanese armies began to be turned back. John Lukacs suggests that the last days of May 1940 were more important still in turning the tide of war in democracy's favor, for it was in those few days that Churchill convinced his cabinet that Britain should fight on, alone, if need be, against Adolf Hitler's regime. Even as a quarter of a million British troops were being evacuated from Dunkirk, Churchill struggled to reverse the British government's policy of appeasement. In this, he faced opposition from several quarters, including prominent figures within his own Conservative Party. Writing with evident admiration for Churchill--who, he points out, was not well liked, and who had been prime minister for only two weeks when war broke out--Lukacs gives his readers a fly-on-the-wall view of the heated conferences between such well-known participants as Harold Nicholson, Lord Halifax, Neville Chamberlain, and Alexander Cadogan. "Churchill understood something that not many people understand even now," Lukacs writes in the closing pages of his book. "The greatest threat to Western civilization was not Communism. It was National Socialism. The greatest and most dynamic power in the world was not Soviet Russia. It was the Third Reich of Germany. The greatest revolutionary of the twentieth century was not Lenin or Stalin. It was Hitler." By convincing his government that his view was correct, Churchill afforded Western civilization a slim chance at survival--no small achievement, and one well worth honoring with this fine study. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. *From Publishers Weekly* Eminent historian Lukacs (Thread of Years, etc.) delivers the crown jewel to his long and distinguished career with this account of five daysAMay 24-28, 1940A"that could have changed the world." Lukacs posits that it was during those five days in London "that Western civilization, not to mention the Allied cause in WWII, was saved from Hitler's tyranny." A grand view, to be sure, but the consequences are not in dispute: "Had Britain stopped fighting in May 1940, Hitler would have won his war," writes Lukacs. "Thus he was never closer to victory than during those five days in May 1940." A quarter-million British troops were trapped by the Germans at Dunkirk. The British public, ill-informed about this reality, remained apathetic, and the War Cabinet was divided over what action to take. Neither the United States nor the Soviet Union had yet entered the war, but Churchill resolved to fight "till Hitler is beat or we cease to be a state." Lukacs draws heavily on newspapers and public opinion research of the time to re-create the rapid series of events that turned the tide, swaying both the citizenry and the War Cabinet to rally behind Churchill. Though Churchill did not win the war in May 1940, as Lukacs puts it, he "did not lose it" then. Lukacs covered some of the same turf in The Duel, yet this new work focuses on these five days with a microscopic view. It is the work of a man who lives and breathes history, whose knowledge is limitless and tuned to a pitch that rings true. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. *Reader Reviews* This review is from: Five Days in London, May 1940 (Hardcover) This book is a thrill to read: the crucial five day period during which a very small group of determined people, led by one particularly - determined man, persuaded England and The West to hold the line against Hitler, and at least arguably saved The World... The story is not new, but this presentation of it is. A generation -- or so, now -- raised on Wheeler - Bennett and AJP Taylor, and Nicolson and Namier and all the very many others, knows very well the story of Winston Churchill and his country's lonely stand against the Axis just following the Fall of France. What never has been presented as dramatically as John Lukacs now presents it are the machinations, and the political follies and wisdom, and the ultimately very personal story of just how Churchill and a few others convinced the British at the time to do what they did: not in broad brushstrokes -- those are far easier to paint, as so many have on this topic -- but in the meticulous details which, alone, can show the individual frustrations, fears, jealousies, and uncertainties which characterize any truly historic human situation. Detailed and meticulous as it is, however -- Lukacs is a well - respected historian -- the book is very short, and very dramatic, not at all pedantic or defensive as books about the period increasingly tend to be. His writing style flows smoothly. His aim, the author says in his Preface, is to explore an idea he has held for "forty, perhaps even fifty, years" that the five days specified in the title were critical not only because of the Fall of France but also because, "Churchill's situation within the War Cabinet was much more difficult than most people, including historians at that time, thought". The result is a fascinating, day - by - day, account of how single - minded and occasionally - brilliant but nevertheless inexorably - human politicians maneuvered, and ultimately out - maneuvered, each other into positions -- positions which can be seen to be clear and on the side of the angels, or on the other, only in retrospect. At the time, all was very murky, as it perhaps is at any truly significant historical turning point, and Lukacs the careful historian practically forces us to appreciate this. Defenders of Edward Wood, Lord Halifax will be upset by this book, and so perhaps will be the increasing numbers of armchair revisionists of the period now making historical hay from views ranging from "World War II need not have happened" to "World War II did not happen" to "World War II was not a war". There will be arguments -- there are any time someone saves The World, or is suggested to have done so. There also are heroes, occasionally, or at least heroic actions -- and there are traitors, and cowards and fools -- and always there is foolishness, and some bravery and many errors, committed as much by the heroes as by their counterparts. But Lukacs is not chiefly concerned in his book with such after - the - fact debates -- although he does not avoid them, and although they may engulf him when his critics take on this book simply because he has chosen this particular highly - controversial period. He instead addresses most directly a more immediate and at once a more universal theme: how do people act, and react, under enormous pressure, particularly when the "correct" decisions to make are not popular or, worse, are not clear. Churchill, and Halifax and the others, all were operating under such conditions during these five crucial days in May in 1940. It is instructive for any of us too accustomed to comfortable certainties in history to see just how uncertain all of this was at the time; chastening to be reminded just how imperfect human decision - making processes are; breathtaking to realize how rapidly situations and events unfold for political leaders who in fact often have all too little power really to influence results. This book is a very good read, for anyone interested in its particular war, but also for anyone interested generally in politics, power, or personality. Comment \| \| (Report this) Back To Top
Five Days in London: May 1940 Available from Amazon Price: $9.56 Updated on 6-21-2008.

NOTICE: All prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.

We offer Five Days in London: May 1940 and other related Gallic Wars Books here at Rbookshop.com. To view more books about Gallic Wars please use the previous and next buttons near the top of this page.