When Britain Saved the West: The Story of 1940

by Robin Prior Narrated by Shaun Grindell

Overview

From the comfortable distance of seven decades, it is quite easy to view the victory of the Allies over Hitler's Germany as inevitable. But in 1940 Great Britain's defeat loomed perilously close, and no other nation stepped up to confront the Nazi threat. In this cogently argued book, Robin Prior delves into the documents of the time-war diaries, combat reports, Home Security's daily files, and much more-to uncover how Britain endured a year of menacing crises.



The book reassesses key events of 1940-crises that were recognized as such at the time and others that were not fully appreciated. Prior examines Neville Chamberlain's government, Churchill's opponents, the collapse of France, the Battle of Britain, and the Blitz. He looks critically at the position of the United States before Pearl Harbor and at Roosevelt's response to the crisis. Prior concludes that the nation was saved through a combination of political leadership, British Expeditionary Force determination and skill, Royal Air Force and Navy efforts to return soldiers to the homeland, and the determination of the people to fight on "in spite of all terror."

Editorial Reviews

BBC History Magazine - Ashley Jackson

‘Elegant, well marshalled and powerful… Prior’s authoritative, no-nonsense coverage underlines the period’s momentousness’—Ashley Jackson, BBC History Magazine.
 

New York Review of Books - Max Hastings

“A stirring retelling of the saga of 1940, emphasizing the centrality of Winston Churchill . . . [Prior] writes vividly and well.”—Max Hastings, New York Review of Books

From the Publisher

"Shaun Grindell's narration is the perfect complement to this most British of British histories." ---AudioFile

AUGUST 2015 - AudioFile

Shaun Grindell’s narration is the perfect complement to this most British of British histories, enlivening a text that puts scholarly accuracy over narrative verve. Author Robin Prior is no Walter Lord, but he is a diligent and often illuminating historian, and he gives body to a story whose outlines have so often been drawn by romance and legend. Grindell brings pace and purpose to what might otherwise be dry patches in the narrative—detailed summaries of cabinet and parliamentary debates, lists of aircraft models and their totals on either side, and accountings of casualties in various bombed British cities. Better heard than read, this is a must-hear for those who already know, or think they know, the story of Britain in that crucial first year of WWII. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171038175
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/30/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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