Could World War II have been avoided? Could it have been lost? And how well did the British live up to their own values? Looking intimately at the changes in wartime British society and culture, Alan Allport draws on a large cast of characters—from the leading statesmen and military commanders who made the decisions, to the 46 million ordinary people who carried them out and lived through their consequences. For better or worse, Allport argues here, much of Britain today is ultimately the product of the first years of the war.

"Expertly researched and marvelously written, this sterling history casts an oft-studied subject in a new light." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)