"The historiographical debate between supporters and critics of Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy has endured for over fifty years, and historical consensus, even now, seems improbable.

The failure of appeasement and Chamberlain's fall from power led his legacy to be utterly denigrated by many of his era, including Winston Churchill, Britain's savior during the nation's "finest hour." Conversely, his supporters have asserted for sixty years that Chamberlain did the best he could have done under severe constraints, namely Britain's fragile economy in the wake of a grave worldwide depression.".

"The book details the course of that historiographical debate, beginning with the earliest accounts on appeasement from l938 through 1940.".

"The easy answers and excessive moralism are challenged here; the author posits that the situation was a great deal more complex than most historians, past and present, care to admit. Neville Chamberlain was not an evil, cringing, proto-fascist coward; Winston Churchill was far from the faultless icon of 1940. While it may not be possible to offer a definitive last word on appeasement historiography, this book can certainly be offered as a more contemporary one."--BOOK JACKET.