Finney, Ed., The Origins Of The Second World War

Abstract

This collection of readings, based upon recent research into various German, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, French, British, and American documents that were still classified during the 1960s, presents the basis for Finney's observation that the origins of World War II were very much more complex than the traditional Eurocentric or nationalistic scholarship written largely by the victors. The readings come from a selection of works by such historians as David Dilks, Sidney Aster, Anthony Adamthwaite, Tim Mason, and R.J. Overy in the section entitled "Interpretations and Debates." In "Germany, Italy, the USSR and Japan: Dictatorships and Revisionism," there is a sampling of the works of lan Kershaw, MacGregor Knox, Teddy J. Uldricks, and Hosoya Chihiro. R.A.C. Parker, Stephen A. Schuker, Arnold A. Offner, and Michael A. Barnhart contribute to "Great Britain, France, and the United States: The Democracies at War." The studies by Scott Newton, Williamson Murray, John Erickson, and Philip M. Taylor contribute to "Beyond Diplomacy: Economics, Strategy and Opinion." The final section, "The Approach of War," features selections from Willard C. Frank, Jr., Gerhard L. Weinberg, Anna M. Cienciala, and David Reynolds.