Poisoned Peace: The War That Never Ended

Poisoned Peace: The War That Never Ended

by Gregor Dallas (Author)

Synopsis

Unlike the Napoleonic Wars, and the First World War, there was no peace settlement in 1945. The shape of Europe was determined entirely by military force, dividing it into two halves which corresponded to neither geography, culture nor previous history. From the D-Day landings to the collapse of Berlin, military movements were more and more dominated by separate national ambitions. And the Yalta and Potsdam conferences were more recognitions of a fait accompli than agreements on the terms of peace. With Gregor Dallas we re-live the vast events of the end of the war years in the experience of real people. The Birth of the Present opens in Berlin on the day of Hitler's suicide, where life, such as it existed, continued on the roofs, in the attics, in the streets, ruins and cellars of the city. We live too with the armies in the field, their movements determined by the cycle of seasons, and with civilians, particularly in booming wartime Washington, bombed London, liberated Paris, annihilated Warsaw, doomed Berlin, and Moscow gripped by poverty and secret terror.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 739
Edition: illustrated edition
Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd
Published: 21 Feb 2005

ISBN 10: 0719554780
ISBN 13: 9780719554780

Media Reviews
Praise for 1815: THE ROADS TO WATERLOO 'This is diplomatic history de luxe ! an extraordinarily vivid world of real diplomats, real diaries, and real wives and women. A splendid tour de force in every sense' -- Elizabeth Longford 'A brilliant account; imaginative and wildly ambitious ! A series of vivid snapshots of scenes and moments is cross-cut with microscopic examination of personalities, motives and manoeuvres by participants in the peace process' -- J.B. Pick, The Scotsman 'Dallas is a visual historian ! Here we have, in microscopic detail, an impressionistic study of a dying European ruling caste, unable to comprehend how such a catastrophe could have happened, and incapable of planning s future in which it didn't recur' -- John Crossland, Independent on Sunday 'Dallas has the journalist's eye for detail, and for the great quote.' -- The Glasgow Herald 20050219 'Gregor Dallas's talent for engaging readers by telling history on several levels is highlighted in Poisoned Peace.' -- Soldier 20050301 Praise for 1918: WAR AND PEACE 'This brilliant, ambitious book fizzes with insights, colour and energy! Like a film, it moves from sweeping wide-angle shots of the battlefields to detailed snapshots of what life was really like in war-torn Paris or revolutionary Berlin! As a way of writing history it succeeds triumphantly. And like all the best history books it changes the way you see things. 1918 will never seem the same again' -- Jane Ridley, The Spectator 20050301 'Dallas pulls us into wartime Europe and shows us how it continues to wreak havoc today.' -- Good Book Guide 20050301 ' Dallas presents a clear, comprehensive view of a most complex subject ! he has an eye for the telling detail and the evocative phrase.' -- History Today 20051106 'Beautifully written, admirably researched, utterly riveting' -- Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph 'His approach is thematic, eclectic and discursive ... It reads like a conversation with a sympathetic guide ...and Dallas convincingly demonstrates that where we are can be understood only by where we were. -- The Daily Telegraph 20050226 'Not a conventional history of 1945 ... but highly visual, and there is certainly much enjoyment and instruction to be derived from this book. -- Independent on Sunday, Frank McLynn 20050220 'This is a not-to-be-forgotten read by an author of outstanding quality' -- The Spectator 20050212 'An ambitious, generally readable, often absorbing, sometimes vivid book ... Dallas wisely organises his story around certain key moments.' Brendan Simms. -- The Sunday Times 20050306 'A fascinating and thought-provoking study' -- Book Guide 20060701
Author Bio
Gregor Dallas is an acclaimed historian of the ending of wars. He is also the author of 1815: The Roads to Waterloo and 1918: War and Peace, and has written as well on rural life in France, and on Clemenceau. Educated in Britain and the USA, he now lives near Paris.