Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941Penguin, 2007 - 623 páginas In a mere nineteen months, from May 1940 to December 1941, the leaders of the world's six major powers made a series of related decisions that decided the course and outcome of World War II, cost the lives of millions, and profoundly shaped the course of human destiny from that point forward. How were these decisions made? What were the options facing these leaders as they saw them? What intelligence, right and wrong, did they have? What was the impact of personality, what that of larger forces? In a brilliant work with haunting contemporary relevance, Ian Kershaw tells the connected stories of these ten fateful decisions from the shifting perspectives of the protagonists, and in so doing rescues them from the sense of inevitability that now envelops them and restores to them a feeling of vivid drama and contingency-the feeling that things could have turned out very differently indeed. Each chapter follows the process of arriving at one decision, from the viewpoint of the leader who made it: Decision 1: May 1940. The British War Cabinet, driven by Churchill, agrees to fight on after the German blitzkrieg defeat of France, despite loud calls for negotiated settlement. Decision 2: Hitler decides to attack the Soviet Union. Decision 3: Japan decides to seize the "Golden Opportunity" and turn south, going after the colonial empires of the countries that have fallen to Hitler. Decision 4: Mussolini decides to join the war on Hitler's side to grab a share of the spoils. Decision 5: Roosevelt decides to lend a helping hand to England. Decision 6: Stalin decides he knows best and ignores all the clear signals that Germany is going to invade. Decision 7: Roosevelt decides to wage undeclared war. Decision 8: Japan decides to go to war against the United States. Decision 9: Hitler decides to declare war on the USA. Decision 10: Hitler decides to kill the Jews. Decision relates to subsequent decision, though never simply or necessarily as expected. The clash of personalities, the various weaknesses of the different political systems, the challenge of intelligence, the misdiagnosis of risk and possibility: all play their part. And after nineteen months, though much remained to be decided, the world's fate had been profoundly altered by these ten choices. |
Índice
Forethoughts | 3 |
London Spring 1940 | 13 |
Berlin Summer and Autumn 1940 | 54 |
Tokyo Summer and Autumn 1940 | 91 |
Rome Summer and Autumn 1940 | 129 |
Washington DC Summer 1940Spring 1941 | 184 |
Moscow SpringSummer 1941 | 243 |
Washington DC SummerAutumn 1941 | 298 |
Tokyo Autumn 1941 | 331 |
Berlin Autumn 1941 | 382 |
BerlinEast Prussia SummerAutumn 1941 | 431 |
Notes | 484 |
576 | |
597 | |
Outras edições - Ver tudo
Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 Ian Kershaw Pré-visualização limitada - 2007 |
Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941 Ian Kershaw Pré-visualização limitada - 2013 |
Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941 Ian Kershaw Pré-visualização limitada - 2008 |
Palavras e frases frequentes
action Adolf Hitler advance alliance already American armed army Atlantic attack avoid become Britain British Cabinet chief China choice Churchill Conference continued course December decision defeat defence Diary direct Dutch East Indies earlier early East economic Europe event fact fight Final Final Solution forces Foreign France French further German given Gleason Greece head History Hitler hope immediate important invasion Italian Italy Japan Japanese Jews July June Konoe Langer later leaders leadership London meeting Mein Kampf military months move Mussolini navy Nazi negotiations offer once operations opinion peace political position possible prepared President Prime Minister proposal question Quoted ready relations remained Roosevelt Second seemed seen September soon Soviet Union staff Stalin strategy taken thought troops turn United victory wanted western World York