PositiveThe GuardianA well researched, pacy study of appeasement ... The more sensible question is: as this is an anything- but-untold story, does Bouverie retell it in an interesting, readable way? The answer is yes. This is a good example of political history of a particularly British kind: pacy, personality-driven, self-consciously writerly and ever so slightly moralistic ... We seem to be on the brink of another such moment now, which makes reading this book an odd experience. Bouverie delivers a warning of the danger of giving in to dictators – and certainly there are plenty of tin-pot demagogues around today inviting historical comparison. The problem is they are not now the only revisionists around ... I’m not sure we should be telling ourselves these just-so stories at a moment when we are making the world, to the consternation of our neighbours, more uncertain and dangerous.
