Cry Havoc ebook
by Joe Maiolo
The arms race, on the run up to the Second World War, followed the faultless logic of paranoia
The arms race, on the run up to the Second World War, followed the faultless logic of paranoia.
Xiv, 460 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : 25 cm. "In Cry Havoc Joe Maiolo shows, in detail, how the deadly game of the arms race was played out in the decade prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. He explores how nations reacted to the moves of their rivals, revealing the thinking of those making the key decisions - Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, Stalin, Roosevelt - and the dilemmas of democratic leaders who seemed to be faced with a choice between defending their nations and preserving their democratic way of life.
In Cry Havoc Joe Maiolo shows, in rich and fascinating detail, how the arms race between the Great Powers developed. Where previous histories have looked at how individual nations responded to the challenges of the time, Maiolo reveals the full complexity of the arms race by looking at competition between nations, at how nations reacted to the moves of their rivals
Maiolo’s second insight has to do with the origins of World War II itself.
In Cry Havoc: How the Arms Race Drove the World to War, 1931-1941 (Basic Books, 2010), Joe Maiolo proposes (I want to write demonstrates, but please read the book and judge for yourself) two remarkably insightful theses. Maiolo’s second insight has to do with the origins of World War II itself. Most historians agree that it was Hitler’s War. He planned it, he armed Germany for it, and he started it.
Keep up to date with every new upload! Join free & follow New Books in Big Ideas. Joe Maiolo, Cry Havoc: How the Arms Race Drove the World to War, 1931-1941 (Basic Books, 2010). by New Books in Big Ideas. Where previous histories have looked at how individual nations responded to the challenges of the time, Maiolo reveals the full complexity of the arms race by looking at competition between nations, at how nations reacted to the moves of their rivals.
The organization of the book, country by country in several phases, works well enough and Maiolo's command of primary and secondary references is considerable, though perhaps even stronger for the period before 1939. The overall lesson to be drawn by the work done here is that arms race dynamics, particularly in their self fulfillment, create traps for those who launch them. Where previous histories have looked at how individual nations responded to the challenges of the time, Maiolo reveals the full complexity of the arms race by looking at competition between nations, at how nations reacted to the moves of their rivals