The Duel: 10 May- 31 July 1940- The Eighty-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler - Hardcover

Lukacs, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0899199674 ISBN 13: 9780899199672

Publisher: Ticknor & Fields, 1991

Synopsis

Depicts the eighty day struggle in 1940 between Adolph Hitler and Winston Churchill, revealing how close England and the democratic world came to losing World War II

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

This study concentrates on Churchill's and Hitler's perceptions of each other during an early crucial period of WW II, from the German invasion of Western Europe to the time, 80 days later, when the fuhrer decided to attack Russia rather than risk a cross-Channel invasion of England. Lukacs describes how the German dictator tried to force the British into a compromise peace, explains why Hitler declined to destroy the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk and reveals in detail how Churchill succeeded in keeping up the fighting morale of Britain as it stood alone after the fall of France. In this masterful double-portrait Hitler is presented as a "revolutionary" and Churchill as a "reactionary," the incarnation of the resistance of the old world to "a force that was frighteningly efficient, brutal, and new." The author leaves no doubt that Churchill had a much greater understanding of his adversary than did Hitler. The third great character in the study is Franklin Roosevelt. Lukacs ( The Last European War ) analyzes the influence of the powerful isolationist bloc in the U.S. and distills the factors that led FDR to defy it, bypass Congress and order the transfer of 50 destroyers to Britain--the first formal American departure from neutrality. The book is a significant contribution to our understanding of WW II.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This extended essay presents the confrontation between Hitler and Churchill in the summer of 1940 as the pivotal event of World War II, and of modern European history. Lukacs ( Budapest: Nineteen Hundred ) powerfully contrasts Hitler the revolutionary with Churchill the statesman. One championed a new order, a world "heroic, pagan, and scientific." The other defended the values of Western civilization. Churchill fought on against seemingly hopeless odds. Hitler refused to risk the invasion Lukacs believes might have won the war. Stalemated, each duelist sought an alternate solution. Hitler turned against the Soviet Union; Churchill turned toward the United States. The immediate result was Europe's eclipse, and 40 years of U.S./USSR occupation. But Europe survived, and in the long run it was the traditionalist who triumphed over the radical--a triumph highlighted by the events of 1990. Recommended for larger collections on World War II.
- D.E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ticknor & Fields
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0899199674
• ISBN 13: 9780899199672
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 258