The Duel [Paperback]

John Lukacs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 1992

Celebrated writer and historian John Lukacs depicts how close England--and the entire free world--came to disaster during World War II. An epic story of tenacity, determination, and victory, The Duel reconstructs the mortal struggle between Hitler and Churchill as they faced each other across the Channel for 80 harrowing days.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This study concentrates on Churchill's and Hitler's perceptions of each other during an early crucial period of WW II, from the German invasion of Western Europe to the time, 80 days later, when the fuhrer decided to attack Russia rather than risk a cross-Channel invasion of England. Lukacs describes how the German dictator tried to force the British into a compromise peace, explains why Hitler declined to destroy the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk and reveals in detail how Churchill succeeded in keeping up the fighting morale of Britain as it stood alone after the fall of France. In this masterful double-portrait Hitler is presented as a "revolutionary" and Churchill as a "reactionary," the incarnation of the resistance of the old world to "a force that was frighteningly efficient, brutal, and new." The author leaves no doubt that Churchill had a much greater understanding of his adversary than did Hitler. The third great character in the study is Franklin Roosevelt. Lukacs ( The Last European War ) analyzes the influence of the powerful isolationist bloc in the U.S. and distills the factors that led FDR to defy it, bypass Congress and order the transfer of 50 destroyers to Britain--the first formal American departure from neutrality. The book is a significant contribution to our understanding of WW II.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This extended essay presents the confrontation between Hitler and Churchill in the summer of 1940 as the pivotal event of World War II, and of modern European history. Lukacs ( Budapest: Nineteen Hundred ) powerfully contrasts Hitler the revolutionary with Churchill the statesman. One championed a new order, a world "heroic, pagan, and scientific." The other defended the values of Western civilization. Churchill fought on against seemingly hopeless odds. Hitler refused to risk the invasion Lukacs believes might have won the war. Stalemated, each duelist sought an alternate solution. Hitler turned against the Soviet Union; Churchill turned toward the United States. The immediate result was Europe's eclipse, and 40 years of U.S./USSR occupation. But Europe survived, and in the long run it was the traditionalist who triumphed over the radical--a triumph highlighted by the events of 1990. Recommended for larger collections on World War II.
- D.E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (February 10, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395618630
• ISBN-13: 978-0395618639
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,790,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History with a Macroscope, July 5, 2000

By 

Mark K. Jensen (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Duel (Paperback)

I read this book because I found Lukacs's *Five Days in London: May 1940* so compelling. I was not disappointed, and recommend *The Duel* enthusiastically and without hesitation. Lukacs's way of writing history is wonderfully magisterial. Especially to be appreciated are two complementary gifts: an eye for small significant details and their patterns (as when Hitler's and Churchill's ways of getting up in the morning are contrasted), and a grasp of the big picture (really an asset when something as colossal as the Second World War is under examination). Lukacs's mind is at once a microscope and -- not a telescope (which is really only a microscope aimed at a large distant object instead of a close small one), but, if you will -- a *macroscope*. The result of their combination here is a history rich with significant detail and sweeping visions.

Prospective readers should be aware that Lukacs is more than a conventional historian narrating the past. He is also a philosophical historian -- not in the sense that he discusses theories of historiography, but in that for him, history has meaning, and is not merely one damned thing after another. Your appreciation of *The Duel* will inevitably be affected by the degree to which you find his ruminations insightful or ponderous. Philosophical history is not for everyone. Some readers might even be put off by being told that "we are all national socialists now." (p. 223) But if you have the taste for it, as I do, you'll find much food for thought here, and even some wisdom.

The volume is well edited, though I, for one, would prefer genuine footnotes to the hard-to-decipher endnotes found here. Lukacs writes with incisiveness and wit. The volume includes an interesting bibliographical essay of some interest.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book, outshines his later "5 Days in London", February 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Duel (Paperback)

I had the pleasure of reading the short, succinct, well-written history, 5-Days in London, by Lukacs, just last week. Great book, but lacked some "context" of what was going on around the main characters at the time. Even though I am a history buff. Fortunately, Lukacs previously wrote The Duel, which gives an idea of the interplay of that year between Hitler & Churchill. Lukacs really puts you right into the minds of these two individuals, in that year & earlier, and is extraordinarily successful in making you understand what "set of facts" each had before him, what "set of principles" each operated with, to make decisions in a stressful time. Read this.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, why is it out of production?, June 2, 2000

By 

J. Mahar "jimmahar" (Olean, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Duel (Paperback)

Tells the story of the background of the two men. A very interesting and very informative book. Was not expecting much when I got it, but it turned into a fascinating and well-written history lesson.