"The Roots of Appeasement" by Martin Gilbert

 "In this book I trace the origins of appeasement, and follow its course from 1914–39. Often those who sought a lenient peace in 1919, or tried to bring Britain and Germany together during the inter-war years, are seen as misguided men who mistook weakness for charity. This was not so: appeasement was a policy of optimism and hope, even at times of strength. Those who believed that every possible effort should be made to improve Anglo-German relations did so, not because they feared German""territorial ambitions, but because they respected German national aspirations and admired German cultural and scientific achievements. The arguments for and against appeasement were never simple ones, nor did the debate which raged with acerbity for twenty years fall into any clear categories of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. My aim is to examine the wide range of the appeasement argument, and to show that appeasement, both as an attitude of mind and as a policy, was not a silly or treacherous idea in the minds of stubborn, gullible men, but a noble idea, rooted in Christianity, courage and common sense."