Munich: The Price of Peace

I was astonished to find that no customer has written a review of this excellent book. It ranks near the top of World War II histories, up there with Shirer's Rise & Fall of the Third Reich and Churchill's memoirs. This book doesn't cover the war itself; rather, it is a detailed (1000 pages) political & diplomatic history of the 1930's in Europe, culminating in the Munich conference in 1938 in which France & Britain surrendered Czechoslovakia's vital border defenses to "appease" Hitler in a vain attempt to secure "peace in our time." Hitler, strengthened by Munich, started the war 11 months later. A lawyer & historian, Taylor was a prosecutor at the Nurnberg war crimes trials. In his absorbing narrative, he tells the story of the craven cowardice & stunning stupidity of the French & British leaders and the cunning & mendacity of Hitler & Mussolini. As Taylor shifts the spotlight from country to country and details the domestic political situation in each and the moves of each leader on the diplomatic chessboard, the tension builds as events move toward the tragic climax at Munich. The corrupt bargain struck by Daladier & Chamberlain with Hitler & Mussolini at Munich was the biggest diplomatic sellout & disaster of all time. Taylor has written the definitive history of this disgraceful episode. Some European leaders today would profit from reading this work. This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for non-faction. It's a rivetting narrative, but it's not beach reading.