The Origins of the Second World War, 3rd Edition

This book is an ideal introduction to this much-studied topic, written by a major name in the field.

(Current edition)

PART ONE: THE BACKGROUND

1. Explaining the Second World War

PART TWO: ANALYSIS

2. The International Crisis

            The collapse of the League

            France and Britain

            America and the Soviet Union

            From the Rhineland to Munich

3. Economic and Imperial Rivalry

            The imperial powers

            The ‘have-not’ powers

            The failure of ‘Economic Appeasement’

4. Armaments and Domestic Politics

            Rearmament

            Finance, industry and labour

            Rearmament and domestic politics

5. War Over Poland

            The aftermath of Munich

            The Soviet factor

            The outbreak of the war

6. From European to World War

            The war in the west

            Barbarossa

            The coming of world war

PART THREE: ASSESSMENT

7. Hitler’s War?

PART FOUR: DOCUMENTS