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Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World Hardcover – May 27, 2008

by Patrick J. Buchanan (Author)

320 customer reviews

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Were World Wars I and II—which can now be seen as a thirty-year paroxysm of slaughter and destruction—inevitable? Were they necessary wars? Were the bloodiest and most devastating conflicts ever suffered by mankind fated by forces beyond men’s control? Or were they products of calamitous failures of judgment? In this monumental and provocative history, Patrick Buchanan makes the case that, if not for the blunders of British statesmen—Winston Churchill first among them—the horrors of two world wars and the Holocaust might have been avoided and the British Empire might never have collapsed into ruins. Half a century of murderous oppression of scores of millions under the iron boot of Communist tyranny might never have happened, and Europe’s central role in world affairs might have been sustained for many generations.

Among the British and Churchillian blunders were:

• The secret decision of a tiny cabal in the inner Cabinet in 1906 to take Britain straight to war against Germany, should she invade France
• The vengeful Treaty of Versailles that muti- lated Germany, leaving her bitter, betrayed, and receptive to the appeal of Adolf Hitler
• Britain’s capitulation, at Churchill’s urging, to American pressure to sever the Anglo- Japanese alliance, insulting and isolating Japan, pushing her onto the path of militarism and conquest
• The 1935 sanctions that drove Italy straight into the Axis with Hitler
• The greatest blunder in British history: the unsolicited war guarantee to Poland of March 1939—that guaranteed the Second World War
• Churchill’s astonishing blindness to Stalin’s true ambitions.

Certain to create controversy and spirited argument, Churchill, Hitler, and “The Unnecessary War” is a grand and bold insight into the historic failures of judgment that ended centuries of European rule and guaranteed a future no one who lived in that vanished world could ever have envisioned.

Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Taking his swing at the origins of World War II, conservative pundit Buchanan incorporates the subject into his warnings, expressed in several populist jeremiads (State of Emergency, 2006), of the decline of the West. Certainly World War I, with which Buchanan begins, was a catastrophe for Western civilization whose ramifications continue to be felt. Buchanan’s interpretation generally holds that British and American participation in both WWI and WWII was avoidable if British leaders had recognized that Germany was no threat to the vital interests of the British Empire. Banking his thesis on such supposed benevolence from Wilhelm II and Adolf Hitler, Buchanan criticizes various British policies of the 1920s and 1930s (who doesn’t?), and argues collaterally with Hitler’s statements disclaiming fundamental conflicts with Britain. The weakness in Buchanan’s line of thinking, of course, is that by 1939, Hitler’s international word was worthless; yet Buchanan hinges his case on what might have happened had Britain let Hitler go after Poland in 1939 as it had Czechoslovakia. Speculating a better future had the West permitted Nazi Germany a free hand in Eastern Europe, Buchanan cites the historical costs of Britain and France having at last drawn the line against aggression. Convinced? Controversial as is his wont, Buchanan reminds his large readership that the immediate ignition of WWII can still be disputed. --Gilbert Taylor

About the Author

PATRICK J. BUCHANAN was a senior adviser to three American presidents; ran twice for the Republican presidential nomination, in 1992 and 1996; and was the Reform Party candidate in 2000. The author of nine other books, including the bestsellers Right from the Beginning; A Republic, Not an Empire; The Death of the West; State of Emergency; and Day of Reckoning, Buchanan is a syndicated columnist and founding member of three of America’s foremost public affairs shows: NBC’s The McLaughlin Group and CNN’s The Capital Gang and Crossfire. He is now a senior political analyst for MSNBC.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 544 pages
Publisher: Crown; First Edition edition (May 27, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030740515X
ISBN-13: 978-0307405159
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.7 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (320 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #82 in Books > History > Europe > Great Britain > England
- #179 in Books > History > Europe > Germany
- #506 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Political

Customer Reviews

320

4.2 out of 5 stars

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4 star		16%
3 star		10%
2 star		5%
1 star		12%

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Top Customer Reviews

What Might (Not) Have Been

By Eric Mayforth on May 27, 2008

Format: Hardcover

Patrick Buchanan has never been shy about taking positions that defy conventional wisdom. He does so again in this extremely well-written and well-documented book (there are over 1300 endnotes). Buchanan argues that both world wars, which constituted a "Civil War of the West", were not necessary and would not have taken place had unwise diplomatic decisions not been made by the major European powers.

In the opening decade of the twentieth century, Germany had a chance to form an alliance with Britain, but let the opportunity pass, as the Kaiser did not believe that England would ever reconcile with France. However, Britain did reconcile with its longtime adversaries, France and Russia, and in 1906 the British secretly agreed to back France should Germany attack. Had the Kaiser known that war with France meant war with Britain, he would have been more conciliatory, as he never wanted war with Britain. On the other hand, had Britain not been pledged to help the French when World War I did come, and had they stayed out of the war, Germany would have defeated France as they had in 1870, but there would have been no Nazi Germany and no Soviet Union as a result the war.

In the interwar years, Britain alienated longtime allies Japan and Italy, who eventually formed an alliance with Nazi Germany.

The Second World War came about, Buchanan believes, as a result of Britain's disastrous guarantee to protect Poland (which it was incapable of doing anyway). Hitler did not want war with Britain, as evidenced by the fact that he never attempted to build a strong navy.Read more ›

99 Comments 482 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...

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He stirs the pot!

By Amazon Customer on August 16, 2008

Format: Hardcover

From all of the other reviews I have read on this book it is certainly obvious that the author has hit a hot button issue and stirred the pot.

This is the first book I have ever read by Pat Buchanan, and it has a very impressive premise. It is filled with over 1200 notes, and has a vast bibliography. Does the author have a point of view? Obviously, but then what author/historian does not wish to interpret history in their own way.

While many reviewers give much time to WW II, the real issue is WW I and the resultant Treaty of Versailles. Such a pathetic war, such a pathetic treaty, one that was so bad even the US Senate refused to ratify it, and other diplomats knew all the Treaty did was ensure another war in 20 years. The dismantling of the old Empire/Monarchy system led to many of todays bastardized countries. Countries that contain people with no common language, culture or background.

And, if you wish to criticize the premise, just look what recently happened with the Georgian invasion by Russia, and now we have US giving its own "Polish Guarantee" for missle defense. The book definitely shows that there were other views with regard to Churchill and the two World Wars, and Buchanan comes down on the side of those who feel that the wars were unnecessary. It has been over 60 years since the WW II has ended, we have seen the files, seen the paperwork and correspondence from that era, and people are now properly wondering if that war was fought for the wrong reasons. Buchanan certainly points out all the atrocities that Hitler and his Generals ordered to happen, but to me the basic premise was that Hitler could have been avoided had their been a better and more civilized peace to end WW I.Read more ›

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Stirring the Pot

By Douglas Doepke on December 19, 2008

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

Buchanan stakes out some pretty controversial positions here. But, agree or not, he raises questions seldom dealt with in public, and ones that go to the heart of the West's presumed moral authority in its two wars with Germany. Crucially, his is not an apologia for Hitler or the Third Reich. Their wretched horrors during WWII are acknowledged without reserve. Rather, it's an effort to put the diplomatic moves preceding WWII into a more balanced and accurate perspective than the American public is accustomed to. The results amount to a much more ambiguous mix than the history books usually allow, and should come as an eye-opener, particularly regarding Churchill's punitive role.

Churchill is often treated as a god, and not a minor one at that. A reckoning with the British politician's career is long overdue. I doubt that any non-American head of state has been more lionized in our press than the former prime minister. Of course, the focal point of hagiography is Churchill's undeniable role as a wartime leader. It's a role the author Buchanan doesn't dispute. What the author does dispute is the wider context, particularly Churchill's vaunted reputation as a statesman. It's here within an unfolding sixty-year period that Buchanan lays bear the actual record--and contrary to legend, a dismal one it is. From the British politician's earliest service through 1955, the author records again and again gross errors of judgment that helped propagate WWI, instigate WWII, facilitate Soviet expansion, and finally terminate the British Empire. It's a sobering account, to say the least, darn near the equivalent of saying Jesus erred on the Mount of Olives. Nonetheless, it's an account that can't be ignored.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

He seems to have been more self-centered warmonger than great...

Must read. It makes you think twice about the "great man". He seems to have been more self-centered warmonger than great statesman. Read more

Published 13 days ago by Raymond Dudderar

I highly recommend this well written and researched book

Fascinating, insightful, thought provoking page turner for any real history buff who want's the real story. I highly recommend this well written and researched book.

Published 14 days ago by zoko

Churchill, the real story.

Buchanan clears the air concerning who, and what, Churchill really was and how England has created many of our current world problems.

Published 18 days ago by johnny yuma

Buchanan has summarized historical data which he reasserts often...

Buchanan has summarized historical data which he reasserts often enough to sink in, in various chapters and connections…his thinking on churchill is quite historically accurate,... Read more

Published 18 days ago by Chris J. Sutton

The first half of the 20th century fundamentally shaped my ...

The first half of the 20th century fundamentally shaped my family’s history and my personal curiosities. Read more

Published 19 days ago by HWK

Fun Hack History Book Filled With Vitriol and Spite, Guaranteed...

This book was very fun to read and was extremely well-sourced. Certainly trying to weave a theory for the disappearance of a great empire is a daunting task but Mr. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Book "Booker" Looker

Interesting, but thin.

Some good points are made, but the back-up is thin. The authors rely on quotes of other writers, but offer little original research. Opposing views are ignored.

Published 1 month ago by Robert Knotts

I don't need no facts when my beliefs are so strong.

This book is garbage. I thought it would be a historical work offering a contrarian view of history- good to stimul;ate thinking and evaluation. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Angela M. Mogin

Five Stars

A great story that sheds a different light on those two men.

Published 1 month ago by Karen Borgheiinck

A LONG AWAITED NEW PERSPECTIVE

A very important book for those who wish to know the truth about the first and second world wars and who really initiated them. Guess what, it wasn't the Germans. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Michael Tsarion