Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

Hitler's American gamble : Pearl Harbor and Germany's march to global war / Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Basic Books, 2023.Edition: First trade paperback editionDescription: xvi, 510 pages : map (black and white) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1541619102
  • 9781541619104
Other title:
  • Pearl Harbor and Germany's march to global war
Subject(s):
Contents:
Preface -- 1. Origins: Anglo-American hegemony and its enemies -- 2. The worlds of December 6, 1941 -- 3. Sunday, December 7, 1941 -- 4. Monday, December 8, 1941 -- 5. Tuesday, December 9, 1941 -- 6. Wednesday, December 10, 1941 -- 7. Thursday, December 11, 1941 -- 8. The world of December 12, 1941.
Summary: "By early December 1941, war and genocide had changed Europe beyond recognition. Nazi Germany had occupied most of the continent and opened concentration camps, while millions of soldiers had died on the front. In Asia, the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned mainland China into a battleground and the Pacific Islands into an armed camp. Still, these far-off conflicts were not yet inextricably linked, and the greatest power the world had yet seen, the United States, was at peace. Hitler's American Gamble explores the five critical days that changed everything: December 7th-11th, from Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor to Hitler's declaration of war on the United States. Historians have conventionally believed that Japan's pre-emptive strike led inexorably to the German-U.S. war and the outbreak of a truly global conflict. Tracing diplomatic and strategic developments in real time, historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman reveal how in fact an American declaration of war against Germany was far from inevitable. Roosevelt faced a Congress and country unwilling to break with the isolationism it had embraced at the end of World War I. The outbreak of an expensive Pacific war with Japan on December 7th failed to convince many Americans that the nation should also intervene in Europe, despite the fervent hopes of Allied leaders and the Roosevelt administration. Only with Hitler's intervention on December 11th was the United States irrevocably roped into war with Germany. This was not the foolhardy decision of a man so bloodthirsty he forgot all sense of strategy, but a decision Hitler took rationally and a gamble that made sense for Germany, even as it expanded its theatre of war. Backed by deep archival research, Hitler's American Gamble revises our understanding of World War II, uncovering the rationale behind Hitler's greatest strategic error and offering a new perspective on America's rise to global power"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 940.5343 S592 Available 33111011269509
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library NonFiction 940.5343 S592 Available 33111009472347
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An "absorbing" and "visceral" ( New York Times ) account of the five most crucial days in twentieth-century diplomatic history: from Pearl Harbor to Hitler's declaration of war on the United States



By early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned China into a battleground. But these conflicts were not yet inextricably linked--and the United States remained at peace.

Hitler's American Gamble recounts the five days that upended everything: December 7 to 11. Tracing developments in real time and backed by deep archival research, historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman show how Hitler's intervention was not the inexplicable decision of a man so bloodthirsty that he forgot all strategy, but a calculated risk that can only be understood in a truly global context. This book reveals how December 11, not Pearl Harbor, was the real watershed that created a world war and transformed international history.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- 1. Origins: Anglo-American hegemony and its enemies -- 2. The worlds of December 6, 1941 -- 3. Sunday, December 7, 1941 -- 4. Monday, December 8, 1941 -- 5. Tuesday, December 9, 1941 -- 6. Wednesday, December 10, 1941 -- 7. Thursday, December 11, 1941 -- 8. The world of December 12, 1941.

"By early December 1941, war and genocide had changed Europe beyond recognition. Nazi Germany had occupied most of the continent and opened concentration camps, while millions of soldiers had died on the front. In Asia, the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned mainland China into a battleground and the Pacific Islands into an armed camp. Still, these far-off conflicts were not yet inextricably linked, and the greatest power the world had yet seen, the United States, was at peace. Hitler's American Gamble explores the five critical days that changed everything: December 7th-11th, from Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor to Hitler's declaration of war on the United States. Historians have conventionally believed that Japan's pre-emptive strike led inexorably to the German-U.S. war and the outbreak of a truly global conflict. Tracing diplomatic and strategic developments in real time, historians Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman reveal how in fact an American declaration of war against Germany was far from inevitable. Roosevelt faced a Congress and country unwilling to break with the isolationism it had embraced at the end of World War I. The outbreak of an expensive Pacific war with Japan on December 7th failed to convince many Americans that the nation should also intervene in Europe, despite the fervent hopes of Allied leaders and the Roosevelt administration. Only with Hitler's intervention on December 11th was the United States irrevocably roped into war with Germany. This was not the foolhardy decision of a man so bloodthirsty he forgot all sense of strategy, but a decision Hitler took rationally and a gamble that made sense for Germany, even as it expanded its theatre of war. Backed by deep archival research, Hitler's American Gamble revises our understanding of World War II, uncovering the rationale behind Hitler's greatest strategic error and offering a new perspective on America's rise to global power"-- Provided by publisher.

Powered by Koha