Synopses & Reviews
PRAISE FOR EARLIER EDITIONS:
"At last we have a good survey of Europe's route to World War II. P.M.H. Bell's study is a worthy sequel to its distinguished predecessor, James Joll's The Origins of the First World War. On the whole the accuracy, precision, and balance are outstanding. Bell's words are carefully chosen, and he has produced a remarkable synthesis, complete with concrete detail and intelligent but not excessive use of statistics. The resulting work is reliable and judicious, very erudite but never ponderous." Sally Marks, AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW
"Bell's new book transcends (A.J.P.) Taylor and can replace him. Bell has delved more thoroughly into the intricate problems they both treat. He
handles the evidence more fairly, and is less sure that he knows all the answers."
M.R.D. Foot, ALBION
"This is a vast topic, and all one can do, by way of brief review, is to commend the masterly equity, lucidity and inclusiveness of Philip Bell's survey of its bewildering complexities." Martin Fagg, TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
"lucid, balanced and sane" Eric Summers, HISTORY TEACHING REVIEW
PMH Bell's famous book is a comprehensive study of the period and debates surrounding the European origins of the Second World War. He approaches the subject from three different angles: describing the various explanations that have been offered for the war and the historiographical debates that have arisen from them, analysing the ideological, economic and strategic forces at work in Europe during the 1930s, and tracing the course of events from peace in 1932, via the initial outbreak of hostilities in 1939, through to the climactic German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 which marked the descent into general conflict.
The third edition of this now classic text includes the following new features:
- Up-to-date historiography
- Chronology of principal events
- Whos who guide to participants
- Photos, political cartoons and maps
Written in a lucid, accessible style, the text is an indispensable guide to the complex origins of the Second World War.
P.M.H. Bell is Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of France and Britain 1900-1940: Entente and Estrangement and France and Britain 1940-1994: The Long Separation.
Synopsis
In this famous book Philip Bell examines the European origins of the Second World War from three different angles: first, he sets out the various explanations which have been offered for the war, and discusses the historiographical debates to which they have given rise; he then analyses the major underlying forces - ideological, economic and strategic - that were at work in Europe during the 1930s; and in his final section he traces the course of events from 1932, when Europe was visibly at peace, via the initial oubreak of hostilities in 1939, right through to June 1941, when the German attack on the Soviet Union marked the climax of the acceleration into general conflict.
P.M.H.BELL is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. Longman recently published his two-volume study of Franco-British relations in the twentieth century, as France and Britain 1900-1940: Entente and Estrangement and France and Britain 1940-1994: The Long Separation.
Synopsis
PRAISE FOR EARLIER EDITIONS:
"At last we have a good survey of Europe's route to World War II. P.M.H. Bell's study is a worthy sequel to its distinguished predecessor, James Joll's The Origins of the First World War. On the whole the accuracy, precision, and balance are outstanding. Bell's words are carefully chosen, and he has produced a remarkable synthesis, complete with concrete detail and intelligent but not excessive use of statistics. The resulting work is reliable and judicious, very erudite but never ponderous." Sally Marks, AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW
"Bell's new book transcends (A.J.P.) Taylor and can replace him. Bell has delved more thoroughly into the intricate problems they both treat. He
handles the evidence more fairly, and is less sure that he knows all the answers."
M.R.D. Foot, ALBION
"This is a vast topic, and all one can do, by way of brief review, is to commend the masterly equity, lucidity and inclusiveness of Philip Bell's survey of its bewildering complexities." Martin Fagg, TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
"lucid, balanced and sane" Eric Summers, HISTORY TEACHING REVIEW
PMH Bell's famous book is a comprehensive study of the period and debates surrounding the European origins of the Second World War. He approaches the subject from three different angles: describing the various explanations that have been offered for the war and the historiographical debates that have arisen from them, analysing the ideological, economic and strategic forces at work in Europe during the 1930s, and tracing the course of events from peace in 1932, via the initial outbreak of hostilities in 1939, through to the climactic German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941 which marked the descent into general conflict.
The third edition of this now classic text includes the following new features:
- Up-to-date historiography
- Chronology of principal events
- Whos who guide to participants
- Photos, political cartoons and maps
Written in a lucid, accessible style, the text is an indispensable guide to the complex origins of the Second World War.
P.M.H. Bell is Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of France and Britain 1900-1940: Entente and Estrangement and France and Britain 1940-1994: The Long Separation.
Synopsis
A classic of its kind, PMH Bell's famous book is a comprehensive study of the period and debates surrounding the European origins of the Second World War.
- Content has been updated to take into account the new historiography that has come out since 1997
- Established as one of the classic books in this field
Synopsis
"At last we have a good survey of Europe's route to World War II. P.M.H. Bell's study in Longman's Origins of Modern Wars series is a worthy sequel to its distinguished predecessor, James Joll's The Origins of the First World War. It deals almost entirely with Europe, leaving Japan to Akira Iriye's companion volume, The Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific...On the whole the accuracy, precision, and balance are outstanding. Bell's words are carefully chosen, and he has produced a remarkable synthesis, complete with concrete detail and intelligent but not excessive use of statistics. The resulting work is reliable and judicious, very erudite but never ponderous."Sally Marks, AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW (of the First Edition) In this famous book Philip Bell examines the European Origins of the Second World War from three different angles: first, he sets out the various explanations which have been offered for the war, and discusses the historiographical debates to which they have given rise; he then analyses the major underlying forces - ideological, economic and strategic - that were at work in Europe during the 1930s; and in his final section he traces the course of events from 1932, when Europe was visibly at peace, via the inital outbreak of histoilities in 1939, right through to June 1941, when the German attack on the Soviet Union marked the climax f the acceleration into general conflict. The First Editioon appeared in 1986 to general acclaim. Since then it has been through twelve printings and sold 30,000 copies. Now, in this welcome Second Edition, Philip Bell has fully revised his text to take account of a decade of fresh scholarshio, of newly available sources, and of the opportunities for reconsideration that longer perspectives allow. his main changes are concentrated on the discussions of Hitler and German policy, on the role of France, and on Britain and 'appeasement'. The opportunity has also been take to erset the entire text in a less dense and more user-friendly format. "Bell's new book transcends (A.J.P.) Taylor and can replace him. Bell has delved more thoroughly into the intricate problems they both treat. He scintillates less, but handles the evidence more fairly, and is less sure that he knows all the answers."M.R.D. Foot, ALBION "This is a vast topic, and all one can do, by way of brief review, is to commend the masterly equity, lucidity and inclusiveness of Philip Bell's survey of its bewildering complexities."Martin Fagg, TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT "lucid, balanced and sane"Eric Summers, HISTORY TEACHING REVIEW P.M.H. Bell is Senior Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. Longman recently published his two-volume study of Franco-British relations in the twentieth century, as France and Britain 1900-1940: Entente and Estrangement and France and Britain 1940-1994: The Long Separation.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 342-351) and index.
About the Author
PMH Bell is honorary senior fellow at Department of History, University of Liverpool.
Table of Contents
PART ONE: