Synopses & Reviews
Did the arms race of the 1930s cause the Second World War?
In Cry Havoc, historian Joseph Maiolo shows, in rich and fascinating detail, how the deadly game of the arms race was played out in the decade prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. In this exhaustively researched account, he explores how nations reacted to the moves of their rivals, revealing the thinking of those making the key decisionsand#151;Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, Stalin, Rooseveltand#151;and the dilemmas of democratic leaders who seemed to be faced with a choice between defending their nations and preserving their democratic way of life.
An unparalleled account of an era of extreme political tension, Cry Havoc shows how the interwar arms race shaped the outcome of World War II before the shooting even began.
Review
Richard Overy, author of Why the Allies Wonand#147;The issues surrounding the rearmament of the major powers before World War II are immensely complex, bound up not only with the conventional problems of international security but with domestic politics and the rapid and often unpredictable pattern of technical change. Joe Maiolo has succeeded in juggling all these many balls in the air to produce a master synthesis of one of the major forces driving the world once again to total war. This is a book of great learning and intelligence.and#8221;
Odd Arne Westad, Professor of International History,and#160;London School of Economics, and author of The Global Cold War
and#147;By placing arms races in central positions on the road to war, Maiolo has helped develop our understanding both of the international history of the 1930s and the cataclysm that followed. This is a hugely impressive book, full of material that will enlighten general readers and that historians will make use of for a generation to come.and#8221;
Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman
and#147;Joe Maiolo has taken one of the most studied periods in international history and managed to find a completely new angle, not by denying the role of the national leaders but by stressing the remorseless logic of rearmament and military mobilization in shaping their choices.and#8221;
and#160;
Publishers Weekly
and#147;Maiolo makes a strong case that by 1939 the Axisand#8217;s enemies had taken a sufficient lead that Italy, Japan, and Germany sought to create windows of opportunity using what they had. The result was a global, total war--and continuation of the arms race in thermonuclear, superpower contexts that continued until the U.S.S.R.and#8217;s implosion.and#8221;
History Today
and#147;A compelling read.... While this is an academically informed book, Maioloand#8217;s skill rests in his ability to distil complex, and at times technical subjects, into very readable prose.... The book is important because it provides a thorough examination of a neglected aspect of the cause of the Second World War.and#8221;
Kirkus Reviews
and#147;Provocative examination of modern history, showing that World War II was all but inevitable given the military-industrial-political complex of the day....and#160;A fruitful, timely work in an era of ever-increasing military spending.and#8221;
The Rusi Journal
and#147;Joe Maioloand#8217;s beautifully written book about the arms race is a...narrative awash with trenchant insights and profound observations. This superb, multilateral analysis of the interplay between key leaders of the different states is based on an exhaustive use of sources from Britain, the US, France, Italy, Germany, the USSR and Japan andmdash; and Joe Maiolo reads all these languages, except for Russian. The language flows so smoothly and the words are so judiciously chosen that this is a riveting readand#133;and#8221;
Richard Bosworth, Times Higher Education Supplement
and#147;As I am an old (critical) fan of A.J.P. Taylor's The Origins of the Second World War, it is great to read a replacement volume, written by Maiolo in the same trenchant manner, with the same refusal to endorse cliched interpretations and with more determination to ensure accuracy than its predecessor.and#8221;
The Michigan War Studies Review
and#147;[Cry Havoc] reminds us of the benefits of careful integration of international history with the study of domestic pressures and threat perceptions; it incisively explores the role and direction of state power in the history of the violent twentieth century.... The resulting narrative and analysis are wonderfully lucid and comprehensive.... It will force students of the interwar period and of World War II to rethink old assumptions about appeasement and to consider the interactions of the great powers from economic, diplomatic, political, and military angles. This truly international history will richly reward not only scholars but any reader interested in the Second World War or the genesis of the military-industrial-political complex.and#8221;
Time Out for Entertainment
and#147;[Maiolo argues] the war was preordained by a self-perpetuating, overriding, and impersonal force andmdash; rearmament.and#160;Itand#8217;s an interesting hypothesis and Maiolo makes it forcefully and readably.and#8221;
Contemporary Review
and#147;Dr. Maiolo follows a chronological approach as it was a chronological phenomenon based on action and reaction and this allows him to show how each step forward affected others. This is an excellent example of revisionist (as well as comparative) history that will do much to shape future generations' understanding of the war.and#8221;
Chris Barsanti, PopMatters.com
and#147;Last year, Joseph Maioloand#8217;s Cry Havoc: How the Arms Race Drove the World to War 1931and#150;1941 [burrowed] deep into the historical archives to show how government planners created an inexorable tide of armament that essentially made the Second World War inevitable.and#8221;
Choice
and#147;[An] incisive reexamination of the interwar arms race.... Maiolo has much to offer that is new, and his book is certain to become both a standard reference and a departure point for subsequent scholarship. It is grounded by impressive scholarship in archival sources, presents a balanced and nuanced international perspective, and is cogently argued and convincingly written. It offers its readersand#133; a thoughtful, accessible text that is enjoyable and erudite.and#160; The author displays an enviable ability to delineate and explain the most complex aspects of diplomatic policy and military technology.. ..Essential.and#8221;
Journal of Contemporary History
and#147;[T]houghts about procurement and strategy turn us back to previous arms races and this book [Cry Havoc] by Maiolo, a Canadian veteran who lectures in the Department of War Studies at Kingand#8217;s College London, is especially interesting.and#160; In a study that is impressive largely for its wide-ranging natureand#133; Maiolo links the interwar arms race to the strategic culture of particular states and shows how it gained a worldwide impact.and#8221;
BBC History Magazine
and#147;Maioloand#8217;s book is necessarily replete with statistics and comparisons, but achieves the feat of being both readable and thoroughgoing. A formidable work of research, it illuminates an important and little-known aspect of the history of the war.and#8221;
Synopsis
A leading military historian chronicles the global arms race of the 1930s as it led inexorably to the unleashing of the dogs of war
About the Author
Joseph Maiolo is Senior Lecturer in International History in the Department of War Studies, Kingand#8217;s College London. The author of
The Royal Navy and Nazi Germany, 1933-1939, he has won several awards, including the Julian Corbett Award in Modern Naval History.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Deep War and Red Militarism
2. Colonel Ishiwara Goes to Manchuria
3. and#147;Rearm and Get Readyand#8221;
4. and#147;We Are Moving Among Giantsand#8221;
5. and#147;Should We Accept the Rearmament of Germany?and#8221;
6. The Military-Industrial Complex
7. The Naval Arms Races Begin
8. and#147;We Have Reached a Plateauand#8221;
9. Guns and Butter
10. and#147;Next Time Weand#8217;ll Urge On the Other Sideand#8221;
11. and#147;They Are Serious, the Englishmenand#8221;
12. and#147; . . . A Different Kind of Nationand#8221;?
13. The Great Acceleration, 1938andndash;39
14. and#147;The Acid Test . . . Is Whether Anyone Is Ready to Disarmand#8221;
15. and#147;Miracles Cannot Happenand#8221;
16. Wars of Rapid Decision?
17. and#147;Is Total War, Then, the Path to Freedom?and#8221;
Conclusion: The Race Goes On