The Hinge Factor: How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History - Softcover

Durschmied, Erik

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559705728 ISBN 13: 9781559705721

Publisher: Arcade Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

Drawn from historical accounts and personal documents, this enlightening study looks into the absurd and bizarre events of battles that changed the course of history, from the wooden horse at Troy to a dropped package of cigars at Antietam and a photograph snapped in Vietnam. Reprint.

About this title

Review:

What if it hadn't rained at Agincourt in 1415 and the French had, as expected, won the day? What if one of Napoleon's most trusted commanders had spiked Wellington's guns with a handful of nails at Waterloo in 1815, providing his emperor with victory? What if Hitler hadn't paused for three vital days during his invasion of France in May 1940, allowing the British Expeditionary Force precious time to evacuate from Dunkirk? Moments like these, argues Erik Durschmied, provide the hinge factor in history: examples of stupidity, chance, or accident that have irrevocably changed the outcome of human history, for better or worse.

Drawing on his extensive experience as a war correspondent with the BBC and CBS, Durschmied moves from ancient Troy and the Trojan Horse to Iraq and Operation Desert Storm, offering a persuasive and at times wry account of the ways in which chance affects the unfolding of history. Recounting 17 key moments in human conflict and warfare, The Hinge Factor is not just an amusing meditation on what might have been; it is also a poignant and vivid account of the brutality and stupidity of war. More than just an account of accidents in history, this is a thoughtful and absorbing book. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk

About the Author:

Military historian and award-winning war correspondent for the BBC and CBS, Erik Durschmied has covered crises in Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Belfast, Beirut, Chile, Cuba, and Afghanistan. He lives in Paris and Provence with his family.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arcade Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1559705728
• ISBN 13: 9781559705721
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 394