New Releases by A.J.P. Taylor

One of A.J.P. Taylor''s best-known books, The Course of German History is a notoriously idiosyncratic work. Composed in his famously witty style, yet succinct to the point of sharpness, this is one of the great historian''s finest, if more controversial, accomplishments. As Taylor himself noted, ''the history of the Germans is a history of extremes. It contains everything except moderation.'' He could, of course, simply be referring to his own book.

This title was first published in 2000: A.J.P. Taylor (1906-90), one of the greatest historians of the twentieth century, initially established his reputation by his work in diplomatic history. This included his magisterial The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, 1848-1918 (1954) and The Origins of the Second World War (1961), both of which have remained in print. This collection brings together a rich selection of his essays and reviews in international history, only one of which (on Trieste) has been reprinted before. The collection includes many examples of his most lively writing, often controversial, yet usually full of insight.

From the Back Cover: From the moment of its publication in 1961, A.J.P. Taylor''s seminal work caused a storm of praise and controversy, and it has since been recognized as a classic: the first book ever to examine exclusively and in depth the causes of the Second World War and to apportion the responsibility among Allies and Germans alike. With crisp, clear prose and brilliant analysis, Taylor established that the war, "far from being premeditated, was a mistake, the result on both sides of diplomatic blunders." He argued that Hitler was more an opportunist than an ideologue who owed his successes to Great Britain''s and France''s tacking between resistance and appeasement, and to an American policy akin to "the significant episode of the dog in the night, to which Sherlock Holmes once drew attention. When Watson objected: ''But the dog did nothing in the night," Holmes answered: ''That was the significant episode.'' "The Times Literary Supplement called The Origins of the Second World War "simple, devastating, superlatively readable, and deeply disturbing," and it remains so now-a groundbreaking book of enduring importance.

Picture-text survey of the causes, campaigns, and consequences of the conflict, with critical analysis of the failures and futilities of the "War to end all war".