1940: Myth and reality - Hardcover

Clive Ponting

4.05

37 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0241126681 ISBN 13: 9780241126684

Publisher: H. Hamilton, 1990

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This history of 1940 cuts away at the myth of survival against the odds and Churchillian bravado during the first year of World War II. It shows what the real situation was, how government reacted, the reality of Anglo-American relations, and the relations between London and the Commonwealth. For the last 50 years 1940 has been regarded as Britain's finest hour. In this book, however, Clive Ponting reveals that the truth was deliberatley hidden both at the time and subsequently. This study also shows how the events and myths of 1940 have come to influence Britain's post-war history.

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About the Author:

Clive Ponting, formerly in the British civil service, specializes in British politics and contemporary history.

From Publishers Weekly:

In a radical new look at Britain's "finest hour," Ponting ( The Right to Know ) reviews the mythology that grew up around the dramatic events of 1940 (Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz, Churchill's inspiring leadership) and concludes that it was also the most painful year in British history. Due to an overextended empire, too many enemies and too few allies, and inadequate military, industrial and economic resources, the outlook for England was bleak indeed as the Germans threatened a cross-Channel invasion. As the country's strategic position collapsed, the only way to avoid a humiliating compromise peace with Hitler was to beg for major assistance from the United States. But the Americans drove a hard bargain, and once U.S. material began to flow eastward across the Atlantic, Washington used its financial power ruthlessly to keep Britain in a state of dependence through the rest of the war. Britain's contribution to final victory, in the author's harsh view, was marginal. The country's great achievement was to survive the year 1940 and preserve for the Americans a base from which to launch the D-Day invasion of the Continent. Ponting's argument is compelling, his reasoning sure, his conclusions jarring.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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