Flattering the Passions: Or, the Bomb and Britain's Bid for a World Role (British Academic Press) [Hardcover]

Hugh Beach (Author), Nadine Gurr (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1860641687 | ISBN-13: 978-1860641688 | Publication Date: December 10, 1999

"Nations are like me," wrote Talleyrand, "They prefer what flatters their passions to what serves their interests." This ground-breaking and provocative book explores the effectiveness of British defense strategies and examines the skeptical US and NATO response to British capabilities. The authors argue that Britain's political, diplomatic and military elites have clung doggedly and irrationally to a worldview which they are culturally and psychologically incapable of shaking off. As a result, the massive expenditures on British nuclear arms, far from strengthening the country, actually weaken it by diverting precious capital resources from more necessary social programs. The only winners in the British nuclear game (other than the arms industry) are those politicians, diplomats and generals who can strut with greater self-assurance on the stage of world diplomacy.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hugh Beach is former deputy Commander-in-Chief UK Land Forces and Master-General of the Ordnance.

Nadine Gurr is based at the Centre for Defence Studies, King's College, London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (December 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860641687
• ISBN-13: 978-1860641688
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,183,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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