The Key to the South: Britain, the United States, and Thailand during the Approach of the Pacific War, 1929-1942 (South-East Asian Historical Monographs) - Hardcover

Aldrich, Richard

9780195886122: The Key to the South: Britain, the United States, and Thailand during the Approach of the Pacific War, 1929-1942 (South-East Asian Historical Monographs)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195886127 ISBN 13: 9780195886122

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1993

It has been fifty years since Thailand's 1942 declaration of war on Britain and the United States. This study examines the accelerating Western struggle with Japan for control over "independent" Thailand, a country at the strategic crossroads of Southeast Asia and recognized as "The Key to the South." On the eve of Pearl Harbor this culminated in arguments between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Eden as to whether the West should attack or defend this neutral country.

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Review:

"The British and American documents he has used tell us much about Thailand during this period, including the activities of the British financial adviser and the relations between the Thai and the Japanese...The documentary basis of this book is exceptionally broad and thorough."--American Historical Review

"Aldrich provides a fresh perspective from which to view the descent of the Pacific Rim into total war....Skillfully chronicles the complicated diplomatic jostling among Thailand, Britain, Japan, and the US between 1939 and 1942."--Choice

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