Kirjahaku

The so-called Phony War from September 1939 to May 1940 occupies a peculiar yet distinct place in popular memory. All the sensations of war, except the fighting, were present; yet, instead of massed air attacks and great land battles, very little happened. The British government was said to be complacent, and the people downright bored. Then, France fell to German attack, and the small British army was evacuated (minus its equipment) from Dunkirk. Reaction to this major strategic catastrophe was naturally to blame the men deemed guilty for bringing the nation to the verge of humiliating defeat. In sharp contrast to previous studies, Smart argues that there was more to the phony war than governmental complacency, that the period was more than a foolish or frivolous ante-chamber to a later more heroic phase.The extent to which the guilty men verdict on the first nine months of Britain's Second World War has stuck remains surprising. The notion that the phony war was a necessary, indeed over-determined, prelude to catastrophe has become cemented over time. Examining the workings of the Anglo-French leadership during this period, Smart picks this thesis apart and argues that disaster was not necessarily, still less inevitably, just around the corner. He concludes that Anglo-French decision-making during this time was basically sound, that the soldiers were well equipped and in good-heart, and that there was no malaise eating away at the entente. This study offers a challenging reappraisal of the phony war from a British perspective.

The National Government that ran Britain during the 1930s has always received a very bad press. Its ultimate disgrace over the Munich crisis and the catastrophic opening phase of the Second World War sealed the fate of an experiment which had always been criticized by both Left and right and which has since made any further peacetime attempts at coalition government utterly disreputable. While not claiming that it was a success, Dr. Smart argues, however, that the National Government has been woefully misunderstood by historians who have allowed themselves to be too influenced by its much despised collapse. The Government's longevity, popularity at the polls and, in many ways, successful planning for World War II should not be ignored.

Neville Chamberlain, the Conservative Prime Minister who pursued the doomed policy of appeasing Hitler, is one of the most reinterpreted of modern British Prime Ministers.Infamous on account of his declaration of having achieved ‘peace for our time’, Neville Chamberlain has often been portrayed as a social reformer out of sync with the times in which he lived. In this new biography, Nick Smart offers a picture conditioned more by the opinions of contemporaries than by hindsight, examining Chamberlain's life, career, achievements and failures. Stressing that the system in which Chamberlain found himself operating had more impact on the historical developments than anything he did personally, Smart describes a man who was hardworking but ultimately out of his depth, destined to be remembered in history as the fall-guy to Winston Churchill’s hero.Presenting Chamberlain's life and politics in a nuanced way, Nick Smart's biography is a must read for anyone interested in British politics and its impact on the international stage.

Neville Chamberlain, the Conservative Prime Minister who pursued the doomed policy of appeasing Hitler, is one of the most reinterpreted of modern British Prime Ministers.Infamous on account of his declaration of having achieved ‘peace for our time’, Neville Chamberlain has often been portrayed as a social reformer out of sync with the times in which he lived. In this new biography, Nick Smart offers a picture conditioned more by the opinions of contemporaries than by hindsight, examining Chamberlain's life, career, achievements and failures. Stressing that the system in which Chamberlain found himself operating had more impact on the historical developments than anything he did personally, Smart describes a man who was hardworking but ultimately out of his depth, destined to be remembered in history as the fall-guy to Winston Churchill’s hero.Presenting Chamberlain's life and politics in a nuanced way, Nick Smart's biography is a must read for anyone interested in British politics and its impact on the international stage.

If it's true that most musicians who worked with Bowie did their best work with him, is it also the case that Bowie's work benefited enormously from the ideas and creativity of the people he surrounded himself with? As he himself said, 'It's not what you steal, it's how you use it!' A study of the people from whom Bowie borrowed from is long overdue. Bowie's own genius is beyond question, but Nick Smart teases out the elements on which Bowie built his success. His profound sense of artifice, his ability to tap into the zeitgeist of his times and his gift for gathering ideas and influences from a variety of sources and rearranging them to produce not only new perspectives but also brand-new ideas made him the artist he became. Having interviewed dozens of David Bowie's friends and collaborators as joint editor of David Bowie Glamour magazine, Nick finds himself with an enviable perspective about what - and who - made the David Bowie that is celebrated worldwide today. He describes the influences that Bowie picked up on and examines the creative ideas drawn from those he surrounded himself with to produce a unique portrait of a unique star and the myriad ideas that inspired him.