View source for Neville Chamberlain's War: How Great Britain Opposed Hitler, 1939-1940 by Frederic Seager

{{infobox1
|title=Neville Chamberlain's War: How Great Britain Opposed Hitler, 1939-1940
|author=Frederic Seager
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=History
|summary=A fascinating and provocative look at the early days of World War II known as the Phoney War. Frederic Seager makes a convincing case for Neville Chamberlain's leadership during this period as a catastrophic failure.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=286
|publisher=Independently Published
|date=August 2021
|isbn=978-8548548795
|cover=B09BLBP3P8
|aznuk=B09BLBP3P8
|aznus=B09BLBP3P8
}}

Received wisdom and simplified narrative often lead to misconceptions about history. One such is the scrubbing from the popular imagination of the early days of World War II from 1939-40, known as the ''Phoney War''. We remember Neville Chamberlain appeasing Hitler, war breaking out, and Churchill coming in to save the day. Very little time is spent on this period in cultural reflections and yet, as Frederic Seager argues in this book, it was of vital significance in how the war played out.

The book follows the lead-up to World War II, the declaration of war after the German invasion of Poland, and the early days of the war in which France fell, Hitler invaded Norway and the Low Countries, until Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in the middle of 1940.

Seager's principal contention is that what this period shows us is that war is generally to be avoided and only declared if a country is prepared - both politically and in terms of capacity - to do whatever it takes to win it. Chamberlain had made every attempt to appease Hitler, failed, and declared war without really wanting to fully defeat either Hitler as regime leader or Germany as a country. His intention was for Britain and France to fight a limited war as allies - Britain by an economic blockade and France by holding the Maginot Line militarily. This, Seagar argues, was a catastrophic error and led to the Nazi occupation of Western Europe for more than four years, countless loss of life and the use of Western European resources - industrial production, forced labour - against the Allies.

As Seager notes:

''War is a disease for which there is no cure, only prevention. The Phoney War reminds us that any state, especially a democracy, must first understand what it will be fighting for and then carefully weigh its chances of victory before committing itself to violent action. The great powers of our own day may well take note.''

The book is very well presented for both history buffs and lay readers alike. Footnotes on every page give context and further information to Seager's narrative of events but don't intrude on readability. There is an exhaustive bibliography of sources and further reading. And I was pleased to see an index, which is invaluable for a book of this kind.
Seager makes a persuasive case for his judgement on the Phoney War and does it neither by talking going over the heads of or talking down to his readers. ''Neville Chamberlain's War'' is engaging and interesting, and provocative to boot. Anyone interested in the way World War II unfolded would find it a satisfying and thought-provoking read. The Phoney War is a period of World War II we should ignore at our peril, whether we think Seager has got it right or not.

Recommended.

You could also look at [[Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943 by Keith Lowe]], a clear-sighted and riveting account of the devastation of Hamburg by the Allied Forces in 1943. 

You can read more about Frederic Seager [[:Category:Frederic Seager|here]].

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