Five Days in London: May 1940 (Yale Nota Bene)

click here for more details, find new or used items	J Lukacs Our price £5.99 (£7.99) New from £2.58 Used from £1.75 Pages: 256 (Paperback) ISBN: 0300084668 Pub: Yale University Press Pub date: 2001-09-03 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 81865

Reader Reviews:

Churchill holds the line (0/0 people found this helpful)

Churchill had been wrong so many times before on every issue that he touched, so the fact that he was made British Prime Minister, at a very dark hour in British history, was in itself amazing. The reason that he was given the role was that it was obvious that a strong leader was needed. It was his ability to turn a very sceptical Conservative party, a divided cabinet and a fearful country around to the idea that they, and they on their own, could fight on. These were the five days that shaped British history. The book is a well written account of how a very significant decision was made through the efforts of one man. He may have been wrong on everything else but he was right on the one thing that really mattered for Britain and indeed Europe, Hitler.

A pivital decision in western history (0/0 people found this helpful)

The decision by the British War Cabinet as France was falling in May 1940 to fight on and not enter into negotiations with Hitler, had a profound effect on the outcome of the Second World War and subsequent history. The decision to fight on was not universally held within Cabinet and this book recalls circumstances and the pressures that played a part in the Cabinet's deliberations. This book will not disappoint and is a must read for any one with an interest in war history. The underlying facts deserve to be better known. Lukas has done history a fine service with this book. Highly recommended.

"He saved Britain, Europe and Western Civilization" Author (27/29 people found this helpful)

"But in May 1940 Churchill was the one who did not loose it" This is the theme of a compact, extraordinary 5 days that decided the outcome of WWII. This is certainly not the only event that brought the allies victory; however Mr. Lukacs demonstrates that while England was never in a position to win the war alone, she was in a position to loose it, and Churchill was the individual who saw that it was not lost.

I don't believe he overstates Churchill's role in the slightest. Had the War gone the other way Churchill certainly would have been the focus of all blame. Churchill was flawed, but during the decade of 1930, in what is often referred to as, "His Wilderness Years", the same men who would later owe their existence, and that of their Country's continuance to him, rejected him out of hand.

When he finally became Prime Minister it was when many of the disasters had begun or been completed. Churchill was given the mess that he inherited from Chamberlain and others; Alsace Lorraine gone, Austria gone, Czechoslovakia given away with Chamberlain's active participation punctuated by the "Peace In Our Time" debacle. Further, France was quickly falling apart, as were the Low Countries, Dunkirk loomed, and what is worse, Churchill had to cope with members of his own Cabinet that wanted to negotiate with Hitler as he was storming across Europe.

Churchill managed to bring those in government and the public to his side, and the rest as they say, is History. Mr. Lukacs provides great additional information, footnotes that are as informative as the body of the text, and an even handed description of those players involved including Churchill. Mr. Lukacs offers a brilliant documentation of History, which is also readable, and he plausibly demonstrates that what we may have thought of as an event that actually did take years to finish, may actually have been decided in 5 days.

Buy the book you will not be disappointed.

Once again, Lukacs captures the mood of a pivotal moment in (11/12 people found this helpful)

Once again, Lukacs captures the mood of a pivotal moment in World War II history. A must for all Churchill fans, this book accurately potrays the behind-the-scenes jostling that occured during those turbulent days.

Solid (8/10 people found this helpful)

A solid account of some very important days in our recent history. The book gives a very detailed picture of the mood of the war cabinet, the different problems it faced and what discussions arose. The author however sometimes dwells to much on the details, but in all a good and important book for all interested in WWII.

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