The origins of the Second World War remain clouded in Churchillian mythology. Sixty years on, Peter Neville's controversial book provides an essential reassessment of the appeasement myths by examining a central yet understudied figure. Sir Nevile Henderson has been vilified as 'our Nazi Ambassador in Berlin' by historians and popular memory alike. He has remained in disgrace despite the widespread historical rethinking of appeasement in recent years. Yet there has never before been a book-length study of Henderson despite his central role as Britain's Ambassador. Peter Neville's important reassessment draws upon primary documents to overturn orthodox interpretations. While Henderson's analysis of the Nazi regime was seriously flawed, history has vastly overstated his influence. In presenting the first full and close analysis of what Henderson himself called 'the failure of a mission', the author has made a pathbreaking contribution to the history of appeasement.

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction The Emergent Diplomat A Man with a Mission The Anschluss From the Anschluss to the 'May Scare', 1938 From the May Crisis to the Nuremberg Rally. May-September 1938 From Nuremberg to Munich Interlude. October 1938-February 1939 The Polish Crisis Conclusion Bibliography Index

PETER NEVILLE is Senior Lecturer, Department of History at Wolverhampton University. He is the author of Neville Chamberlain: a Study in Failure?, Winston Churchill: Statesman or Opportunist?, France 1914-69: the Three Republics, A Traveller's History of Russia and the USSR, A Traveller's History of Ireland, and The Holocaust (forthcoming). He has written a number of articles on the history of appeasement for journals including Modern History Review, Journal of Contemporary History and the Review of International Studies.