Transition of Power: Britain's Loss of Global Pre-eminence to the United States, 1930-1945

by Brian J. C. McKercher

Overview

This book addresses one of the least understood issues in modern international history: how, between 1930 and 1945, Britain lost its global preeminence to the United States. The crucial years are 1930 to 1940, for which until now no comprehensive examination of Anglo-American relations exists. Transition of Power analyzes these relations in the pivotal decade, with an epilogue that deals with the Second World War after 1941. Britain and the United States, and their intertwined fates, were fundamental to the course of international history in these years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521440905
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/15/1999
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1720L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments; Prologue: power and purpose in Anglo-American relations, 1919–29; 1. The end of Anglo-American naval rivalry, 1929–30; 2. The undermining of war debts and reparations, 1929–32; 3. Disarmament and security in Europe and the Far East, 1930–2; 4. The unravelling of cooperation, 1932–3; 5. Moving away from the United States, 1933–4; 6. Britain, the United States, and the global balance of power, 1934–5; 7. From Abyssinia to Brussels via London, Madrid and Peking, 1935–7; 8. Appeasement, deterrence, and Anglo-American relations, 1938–9; 9. Belligerent Britain and the neutral United States, 1939–41; Epilogue: 'A new order of things', 1941–5; Select bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"The book is based on extensive research among offical papers and private manuscript collections on both sides of the Atlantic and it also reveals a mastery of the secondary materials...well researched and powerfully argued..." Canadian Journal of History

"This is a compelling work. McKercher's research is exhaustive and his arguments well marshaled." Albion

"The focus is on when and how Britain lost its "global pre-eminence" to the United States...Professor McKercher offers a revisionist interpertation in this scholarly and well-researched study." Business History Review

"Even readers who boggle at the author's apodictic judgments will find the scholarship in this book extraordinary. McKercher has emerged as one of the most prolific in a talented cohort of Canadian international historians who have continued cutting-edge research when the subfield has fallen into disfavor south of the border...superbly documented..." Journal of Modern History

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