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Peter Neville (1)

Author of A Traveller's History of Ireland

For other authors named Peter Neville, see the disambiguation page.

12 Works 230 Members 4 Reviews

About the Author

Peter Neville has taught history at the University of the West of England, Queen Mary and Westfield College, Middlesex University and Westminster University.

Works by Peter Neville

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Common Knowledge

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male

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Reviews

"Appeasement" is a word loaded with historical baggage -- specifically, its association with the failed efforts by the British and the French in the 1930s to avert war in Europe by accommodating Adolf Hitler's territorial demands. The effort, of course, was in vain, and when war came in 1939 Germany began it in a stronger position than they had been just a few years before, thanks in no small measure to the earlier concessions of his foes.

This failure to avert the war has been viewed ever since as the ultimate discrediting of appeasement as a policy, with its advocates viewed as fools or worse. Peter Neville takes exception to this view, however. Surveying the evolution of appeasement in the interwar period, he offers a sympathetic assessment of the situation policymakers faced and the decisions they made. He highlights the difficult choices facing British policymakers, with a multitude of vulnerabilities worldwide and few partners other than France (which itself was riven with problems) to help shoulder the load. Given the initial focus on bordering territory with ethnically German populations, appeasement was the best available option while the British rearmed their forces.

Neville is not uncritical of the decisions British politicians made, and he is particularly astute as to the personality clashes which often determined who exerted influence. He also incorporates appeasement's opponents into his analysis, showing how such esteemed figures as Winston Churchill were not always as hostile to the policy as they later sought to portray themselves as being. Overall it makes for a provocative reassessment of what remains an extraordinarily controversial period in history, one that helps us to better understand the choices people made and why it was that they failed in their goals.
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MacDad | Mar 27, 2020 |
This slim work reads like a courtroom defense. Sir Nevile Henderson, Britain's Ambassador to Germany from 1937 to 1939 has been condemned by many historians for what is perceived to be a pro-German policy that ran counter to some Whitehall administrators. Neville debunks this charge by citing diplomatic correspondence that portrays the Foreign Office frequently at odds with the Prime Ministers they served. Unspoken is the argument that if the Western powers had chosen to rearm and demonstrate courage, they could have stopped Hitler in the Rhineland and on other occasions up to the start of the war. But Chamberlain and Henderson were so anti-war, their memories of the slaughter of WWI so pervasive, that they could not conceive of any other strategy than to avoid military conflict at all costs, which, of course, in dealing with Hitler was simply throwing oil upon a fire. Neville never mentions an alternative reality in which the democracies defeat the fascists in Spain, roll back Mussolini's conquests, and squelch Hitler when he began to violate the rearmament provisions of Versailles. Another important point is that the British upper classes' loathing of Moscow practically forced Stalin and Hitler into their non-agression pact. So this defense of Henderson, while successful on a line by line reading, totally ignores the damage he and Chamberlain (together with the appeasers in France) inflicted upon the world.… (more)
 
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neddludd | Oct 29, 2011 |
This book does provide a good introduction to Russian history but owing to the scope in terms of time period, many areas are not covered in any depth. Unfortunately, I felt that the book was not particularly well written or edited and this spoiled my enjoyment somewhat. I do not regret reading it however, but might suggest to others that they consider other titles with similar content.
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cwhouston | Nov 21, 2010 |
Fantastic overview of Irish history. A Must Have for anyone interested in that subject.
 
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IrishHolger | Jun 13, 2009 |

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Works
12
Members
230
Popularity
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Rating
3.2
Reviews
4
ISBNs
101
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