{"product_id":"britains-war-machine-9780141026107","title":"Britains War Machine","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe familiar image of the British in the Second World War is that of the plucky underdog taking on German might. David Edgerton''s bold, compelling new history shows the conflict in a new light, with Britain as a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe British, indeed Churchillian, vision of war and modernity was challenged by repeated defeat by less well equipped enemies. Yet the end result was a vindication of this vision. Like the United States, a powerful Britain won a cheap victory, while others paid a great price. \u003ci\u003eBritain''s War Machine\u003c\/i\u003e, by putting resources, machines and experts at the heart of a global rather than merely imperial story,  demolishes some of the most cherished myths about wartime Britain and gives us a very different and often unsettling picture of a great power in action\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant and thought-provoking ... There are moments of edgy humour, too ... This remarkable book shows that whatever the reasons for the length of time it took to bring Hitler to heel, the quantity and quality of British war material was not among them -- Brendan Simms * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eEdgerton's book is a remarkable achievement. He re-envisions Britain's role in World War II and with it Britain's place in modernity. In place of a plucky island standing alone, he gives us a global empire of machines, not a welfare state, but a technocratic warfare state. The period will never look the same again -- Adam Tooze, author of The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy\u003cbr\u003eConsistently lively, stimulating and authoritative * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eAbsolutely fascinating. This book will make you think differently about Britain's role in the Second World War -- Laurence Rees, author of Auschwitz: The Nazis and The 'Final Solution'\u003cbr\u003eThis book has certainly changed my views ... It is a necessary and timely corrective to a great deal of loosely thought-through conventional wisdom, and makes a real contribution to our understanding of the war -- Richard Holmes * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eFor too long we have had a distorted view of Britain's position and role in the Second World War.  David Edgerton has produced a stunning book that rectifies this misconception, and which is told with authority, clarity and compelling energy -- James Holland, author of The Battle of Britain\u003cbr\u003eAn important corrective to the black-and-white portrait of the period that still prevails * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eA stimulating exercise in muscular revisionism ... Offers a fresh and provocative view of our much-loved and much-misunderstood \"finest hour\" -- David Reynolds * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eAccessibly written and deserves a wide audience.  Above all, Edgerton demonstrates that the war is a subject we haven't yet heard nearly enough about.  Britain's War Machine is a considerable achievement -- Graham Farmelo * Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003eEdgerton has excelled himself with this highly revisionist account of Britain's national performance during the Second World War ... an unusually provocative book * Twentieth Century British History, 2011 *\u003cbr\u003eEdgerton has written what could prove to be one of the most influential books on the history of the Second World War ... majestic ... [he] has successfully shown us that we still have a lot to learn about the conflict ... it will become the required reading for all students wishing to study the Second World War * Reviews in History *\u003cbr\u003eAn astounding work of myth-busting ... Inspiring and unsettling in equal measure -- Tom Holland * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eMajestic ... a wonderful read. It has probably popped more myths than any other book on the war in recent years -- Taylor Downing * History Today *\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant and iconoclastic ... debunks the myth that Britain was militarily and economically weak and intellectually parochial during the 1930s and 1940s -- David Blackburn * Spectator Book Blog *\u003cbr\u003eTruly eye-opening ... Edgerton's carefully researched book will fundamentally change the way you think about World War II * Daily Beast *\u003cbr\u003eRiveting ... a wonderfully rich book ... thoroughly stimulating -- Richard Toye * History *\u003cbr\u003eA major new assessment of Britain's war effort from 1939 to 1945. Never again will some of the lazy assessments of how Britain performed over these years ... be acceptable. That's why this is such an important book * History Today *\u003cbr\u003eInnovative and most important * Contemporary Review *\u003cbr\u003eCompelling and engaging ... an excellent read * Soldier *\u003cbr\u003eEdgerton's well-researched volume bursts with data that reveal Britain's true strength even when supposed to be in critical condition -- Peter Moreira * Military History *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBritain's War Machine \u003c\/i\u003eoffers the boldest revisionist argument that seeks to overturn some of our most treasured assumptions about Britain's role in the war ... Edgerton [is] an economic historian with an army of marshalled facts and figures at his fingertips ... This is truly an eye-opening book that explodes the masochistic myth of poor little Britain, revealing the island as a proud power with the resources needed to fight and win a world war -- Nigel Jones * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eMasterful \u003ci\u003eBritain's War Machine\u003c\/i\u003e promotes the notion that the United Kingdom of the Forties was a superpower, with access to millions of men across the globe, and forming the heart of a global production network * Mail on Sunday *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732395831639,"sku":"9780141026107","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141026107.jpg?v=1719996696","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/britains-war-machine-9780141026107","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}