Neville Chamberlain: A Biography

by Robert C. Self

History has not looked kindly upon Neville Chamberlain. Despite a long and distinguished political career, his trip to Munich in 1938 and the 'appeasement' of Hitler have forever overshadowed his many other achievements and blighted his reputation, his name now synonymous with the futility of trying to reason with dictators and bullies. Yet, as this biography shows, there is much more to this complex and intriguing character than is generally supposed, and even the infamous events of 1938 are open to more charitable interpretations than is usually the case. Appeasement brought the British government crucial time in which to rearm, and in particular allowed the RAF to drastically increase the number of fighter aircraft it could muster for the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940.

Based on the study of over 150 collections of private papers on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as exhaustive exploration of British government records held in the National Archives, it is no exaggeration to say that the author has surveyed virtually all the existing archival material written by or to Chamberlain, as well as a high proportion of that referring to him. As such, this volume will no doubt establish itself as the definitive account of Chamberlain's life and career, and provide a much fuller and fairer picture of his actions than has hitherto been the case.

Genres: Biography, History, World War II

573 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2006

Reviews

[Richard Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough and judicious account of a fascinating man. On the surface, an adequate Lord Mayor of Birmingham and the suspicion is that he would have been happy to have been in this office for a long period. Underneath a man whose dedication to peace shaped his premiership but paradoxically this made his appeasement notorious and even infamous. The reader will learn much of the politics of the inter war years here and the Chamberlain dynasty, lasting two generations, had a great part in them. It's well worth persevering with a densely written book to understand the man and his times.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of a much maligned English Statesman. As history looks back on the events leading up to WWII much blame was laid upon Neville Chamberlain. Here is a great book that shows that there was more than enough blame to go around and that most of it should not have been placed on his shoulders. Robert Self explorers the earlier contribution made by Chamberlain that have been overlooked and forgotten. Maybe someday he will receive his due place in the pantheon of great English Prime Ministers.

[Shane Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a tragic figure.