All Against All: The long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War

(Paperback, Main)

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During a single winter, between November 1932 and April 1933, so much went wrong: Hitler came to power; Japan invaded Jehol and left the league of Nations; Mussolini looked towards Africa; Roosevelt was elected; France changed governments three times; and the victors of 1918 fell out acrimoniously over war debts, arms, currency, tariffs and Germany. New hopes flickered but not for long: a world economic conference was planned, only to collapse when the US went its own way.

All Against All reveals that collective mentalities and popular beliefs drove this crucial period and set nations on the path to war, as much as the rational calculus of 'national interest'. Weaving together stories from across the world, historian Paul Jankowski offers a cautionary tale relevant for Western democracies today. The rising threat from dictatorial regimes and the ideological challenges from communism and fascism gave the 1930s a unique face, just as global environmental and demographic crises are shaping our own precious age.

Reviews

[one] of the most stimulating histories of the interwar period to have been published in recent years -- Tony Barber * FT *
Praise for Verdun: "Brilliant. * Los Angeles Review of Books *
The horrors have been described often and elaborately, but Mr. Jankowski is skillful enough that his accounts still provoke. * Wall Street Journal *
Impressive -- Max Hastings * The Sunday Times *
Jankowski has written a superb, definitive popular account of Verdun through the eyes of soldiers, military leaders, and citizens of the two nations. * Publishers Weekly *

Author Bio

Paul Jankowski is Raymond Ginger Professor of History at Brandeis University. His many publications include Stavinksy: A Confidence Man in the Republic of Virtue; Shades of Indignation: Political Scandals in France, Past and Present; and most recently, Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War.