Le origini della seconda guerra mondiale

There is much to commend in A.J.P. Taylor’s provocative revisionist study of the origins of the Second World War. The book is rich in argument and strong in analysis, but above all the theme that stands out is Taylor’s portrayal of Hitler as an ordinary German who achieved his objectives through pat Leggi tutto

Now I know what all of the fuss was about. This is less of a history lesson and more of a hand grenade tossed into the street of public opinion. Taylor liked to make pithy comments and outrageous claims; and his book set the course of writing about the origins of WWII for decades. To his credit, in

In this book Taylor argues that Hitler's foreign policy goals were like any other contemporary German statesman's and that World War II was just as much the fault of the allies as the Germans due to their flawed diplomacy. I think Taylor is totally wrong about Hitler, but this is a well written acco Leggi tutto

Although at times the complex postwar international relations is difficult to keep track of, Taylor's tracking and analysis of events is expertly written. Although published just 22 years after the outbreak of war, it seems incredibly ahead of its time; most of his important observations are not wid Leggi tutto

Well, he plays devil's advocate, but maybe that's a useful device. Maybe for historians, understanding people is more important than deciding who was right. Could be better than assuming the ones we understand best must be the right ones.

2.5 stars [History] (W: 3; U: 2.75; T: 2.17) Exact rating: 2.64 In this book, Taylor detailed the lead-up to the Second World War. He claimed he was just doing history and that no one knew how WWII could be avoided. However, he contended that Hitler didn't really want a larger war, and that poor diplom Leggi tutto

A for the most part pretty engaging and readable account of how the Second World War broke out, although it does get a bit "one damn fact after another" in the later chapters. I don't know how much I should trust it, given that there was so much controversy about it and it was published only 20 year Leggi tutto

"This is a story without heroes; and perhaps even without villains..." Unfortunately, The Origins of the Second World War just did not meet my expectations . I found the writing to be too tedious and long-winded, and noticed my attention wandering numerous times. I eventually became frustrated and dec Leggi tutto

А. J. P. Taylor има неповторим стил на писане и за мен е загадка как все още не е преведен на български. Тази книга и шедьовърът му "The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918" са вечни класики в жанра дипломатическа история на XIX и XX век. Днес четем с интерес това, което Тейлър ни казва за прич Leggi tutto