About the Author:
Dr Daniel Hucker, Teaching Associate, School of History, University of Nottingham, UK
Review:
'This is a richly researched and closely argued book in which issues, personality clashes, party factionalisms, and the evolution of opinion towards firm acceptance of the need to fight Nazism in 1939 are nicely finessed and treated with genuine sensitivity. Daniel Hucker avoids snap judgements, preferring instead to analyse and explain why and how French and British political leaders acted and reacted as they did when confronted with the increasingly desperate circumstances before them. It is an outstanding piece of work and is sure to make an impact.' Martin Thomas, University of Exeter, UK 'Daniel Hucker's first book is a model of sustained, meticulous research... It is innovative in its recognition of possible connections between the mood of one country and the policy of another; and it is a welcome addition to a corpus of literature that transcends the once-dominant notions of French lethargy and submissiveness.' English Historical Review 'Hucker has done the scholarly community a service by analysing French and British policymaking in such careful detail and in tandem.' French History 'Daniel Hucker's monograph is a valuable addition to current literature. Meticulously researched, this work does far more than survey public opinion... [It] has an excellent bibliography and is rich in archival sources, both British and French. It is well written with strong, fluent analysis throughout... his work reveals the links between the unspoken assumptions shaping foreign policy and the diplomatic process itself. Hucker is thus able to illuminate the organic, multi-faceted nature of foreign policy and policy-making in the crucial months prior to the outbreak of World War II.' European History Quarterly 'The scope and depth of Hucker's research ensures he avoids the easy trap of merely recreating those conclusions on public opinion that contemporary figures cared to record. His study is based upon a meticulous survey of available sources in both Britain and France, stretching across government archives, parliamentary debates, printed documents, private papers and memoirs, as well as some forty newspapers. The cumulative impact of this is genuinely impressive.' H-France 'Sono molti gli spunti nuovi e interessanti nel volume, anche per lo storico della politica in-terna dei due paesi. La comparazione poi procede in maniera davvero virtuosa ... Cosi come con molta finezza Hucker spiega l'interconnessione tra la poli-tica dei due governi, l'opinione pubblica interna e i mutamenti prodotti sugli uni e sull'altra dalle crisi internazionali che scandiscono quel periodo'. ['There are many new and interesting ideas in the book, even for a historian of the internal politics of the two countries. The comparison then proceeds in a truly virtuoso manner ... Hucker explains with great finesse the interconnection between the policies of the two governments, internal public opinion and the changes to each country as a result of the international crises that mark the period.'] Ricerche di Storia Politica
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