FIVE DAYS IN LONDON: MAY 1940

Book ID/图书代码： 05120917B98246

English Summary/英文概要： The days from May 24 to May 28, 1940 altered the course of the history of this century, as the members of the British War Cabinet debated whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue what became known as the Second World War. The decisive importance of these five days is the focus of John Lukacs’s magisterial new book.

Lukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill and the members of his cabinet were painfully considering their war responsibilities. We see how the military disasters taking place on the Continent—particularly the plight of the nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk—affected Churchill’s fragile political situation, for he had been prime minister only a fortnight and was regarded as impetuous and hotheaded even by many of his own party. Lukacs also investigates the mood of the British people, drawing on newspaper and Mass-Observation reports that show how the citizenry, though only partly informed about the dangers that faced them, nevertheless began to support Churchill’s determination to stand fast.

Other historians have dealt with Churchill’s difficulties during this period, using the partial revelations of certain memoirs and private and public papers. But Lukacs is the first to convey the drama and importance of these days, and he does so in a compelling narrative that combines deep knowledge with high literary style.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 一部现实版的《至暗时刻》

当命运的绞索勒住咽喉，委曲求全还是绝地反击？

这仅是敌我双方的对决，抑或是多方势力的博弈？

以电影般的叙事手法，慢镜头重现“二战”中尤为关键的五天

世界现代史大师解密珍贵史料，解读舆论走向

直击丘吉尔及其内阁如何于重重困难之中重塑欧洲乃至世界的命运

1940年5月24日至28日，命运的绞索套住了欧洲乃至全世界的咽喉。短短五日，加来的枪声刚沉寂，敦刻尔克大撤退的命令即下达。世界末日、绝望、黯淡、大势已去，这样的字眼充斥着人们的对话和日记。抵抗还是议和？这个在今天看来答案显而易见的问题，当时却几乎难倒了所有人，博弈无处不在：同盟国与轴心国之间苦苦缠斗，同盟国之间相互制衡，各国内部两翼角力，伺机而动成了普遍的策略。

尽管形势危急，大部分人仍心存侥幸，认为站在人类正义对立面的希特勒必将失败，却不清楚希特勒几乎已站在胜利之巅，但有一个...(DB)

Awards/获奖情况："A brilliant, heavyweight little book ... This is a modern history that refuses easy answers..." -- The Times

"A fascinating work of historical reconstruction ... Lukacs gives us much to ponder... -- Stanley Weintraub, Wall Street Journal

"Superb ... at once a provocative work of history and a marvelous historical entertainment..." -- Michael Korda, Harper’s Magazine

"This gem of a book, [is] the distillation of an important historian’s life work..." -- Kai Bird, Washington Post

"[This book] has the power and sweep of Shakespeare’s chronicle plays." -- Robert Taylor, Boston Globe

About the Author/作者介绍： 约翰•卢卡斯,生于1924年1月30日，是美国享有盛誉的世界现代史专家。他出生在匈牙利布达佩斯，因为母亲的犹太人身份，在第二次世界大战中他险些被赶入集中营。受这段经历的影响，他在日后的研究中尤其关注“二战”进程中各国对纳粹集团和法西斯主义者的反抗。1946年，卢卡斯前往美国，担任哥伦比亚大学的助理讲师，次年他成为切斯努特山学院的历史学教授，并接任著名历史学家、有“行走的百科全书”之称的埃里克•冯•屈内尔特•莱丁成为该校历史系主任。此外他还在约翰霍普金斯大学、哥伦比亚大学、普林斯顿大学、拉塞尔大学、不列颠哥伦比亚里根学院、布达佩斯大学和汉诺威大学担任访问教授，并曾担任美国天主教历史学会主席。

卢卡斯在学术生涯中堪称著作等身、成就斐然，其著作超过30部，包括《决战：丘吉尔和希特勒的八十日博弈》及曾获普利策奖提名的《21世纪和摩登时代的终结》。

John Lukacs was professor of history at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, until his recent retirement and has been visiting professor at many universities. He is the author of twenty-one books, among them The Hitler of History, The Duel, The End of the Twentieth Century and The End of the Modern Age (which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize), and the most recent, A Thread of Years, also published by Yale University Press. He is the recipient of numerous academic honors and awards.

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