For almost half a century, Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (1895-1970) was the most highly regarded writer on strategy and military matters in the English-speaking world and even today, his ideas are still discussed and debated. Although he helped to formulate Great Britain's military doctrine after the First World War, it was his critique of British strategic policy before and during the early years of the Second World War that earned him a seemingly unassailable reputation as a brilliant strategist. In this unflinching but ...
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For almost half a century, Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (1895-1970) was the most highly regarded writer on strategy and military matters in the English-speaking world and even today, his ideas are still discussed and debated. Although he helped to formulate Great Britain's military doctrine after the First World War, it was his critique of British strategic policy before and during the early years of the Second World War that earned him a seemingly unassailable reputation as a brilliant strategist. In this unflinching but balanced book, John J. Mearsheimer reexamines Liddell Hart's career and uncovers evidence that he manipulated the facts to create a false picture of his role in military policy debates in the 1930s. According to Liddell Hart's widely accepted account, his progressive ideas about armored warfare were rejected by the British army and adopted instead by the more far-sighted German generals. The Wehrmacht's application of his theory of blitzkrieg, he claimed, resulted in the defeat of France in 1940, a disaster he foresaw. Setting the historical record straight, Mearsheimer shatters once and for all the myth of Liddell Hart's prescience in the interwar period. Liddell Hart had, in fact, "been quite wrong on the basic military questions of the 1930s," Mearsheimer finds, "and his writings helped lead the British government into serious error. Wide recognition of Liddell Hart's misjudgments badly damaged his reputation during the war, and Mearsheimer shows how he mounted a successful campaign to restore his image. Although some of Liddell Hart's military theories are still relevant, Mearsheimer warns that they should be applied with caution. This troubling book offers a striking illustration of how history can be used and abused-how a gifted individual can create their own self-serving version of the past. Based on scrupulously documented evidence, Liddell Hart and the Weight of History is certain to be of great interest to those concerned with military policy and history.
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Add this copy of Liddell Hart and the Weight of History (Cornell Studies to cart. $17.00, very good condition, Sold by Friends ofOmaha Public Library rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Omaha, NE, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Cornell University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 6x0x9; Except for previous owner's name imprinted on front flyleaf, like new in all respects. Book was donated to Friends of the Omaha Public Library.
Add this copy of Liddell Hart and the Weight of History to cart. $64.37, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 1988 by Cornell University Press.
Add this copy of Liddell Hart and the Weight of History to cart. $65.00, like new condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Cornell University Press.
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Fine in Fine jacket. First edition. 234pp. Fine in a fine dustwrapper. Biography of Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart, the English soldier, military historian and leading inter-war theorist.
Add this copy of Liddell Hart and the Weight of History (Cornell Studies to cart. $90.00, like new condition, Sold by J Mercurio Books Maps & Prints rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Garrison, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Cornell University Press.
Add this copy of Liddell Hart and the Weight of History to cart. $109.25, like new condition, Sold by John K. King Used & Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Detroit, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1988 by Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY.
