British Foreign Policy since Versailles, 1919-1939. By W. N. Medlicott.
(Methuen. 8s. 6d.)
MR. MEDLICOTT'S review of twenty very troubled years is lucid, accurate, and commendably free from bias. Unlike some writers on the subject, he takes account of the fluctuations of British public opinion, and of the reluctance of most member-States in the League to fulfil their obligations under the Covenant. He observes that the British Government vacillated in its dealings with Hitler—partly owing to " mediocrity in Downing Street," but partly because " it was exceptionally difficult to know what either Hitler or the British public really wanted." This comment will suffice to indicate that the author has tried to treat a complex theme objectively, and to avoid the usual lines of party criticism. In his closing chapter he maintains that the rise of Hitler was mainly due to the economic collapse of 5929-32, and not to the Versailles Treaty, and that we could not honourably have avoided the war.
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