The sceptic isle : how the British government sold the Second World War / Steven Casey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Casey, Steven, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Ministry of Information.

Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945--Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945.

Propaganda, British--History--20th century.

Propaganda, British.

World War, 1939-1945--Propaganda.

World War, 1939-1945--Censorship--Great Britain.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1936-1945.

Place of Publication:

Oxford University Press, 2026.

Summary:

"ln The Sceptic Isle, stretching from appeasement in 1938 through victory, award-winning historian Steven Casey examines how media, government, and armed forces worked to convince the British public to support the war, as well as the ways the British home front often questioned and challenged the official line. Using a vast array of primary sources, some of them previously untapped, he looks at the broad range of problems and policies that needed to be defended and explained, censored and concealed. The venues range widely from the battlefield to the football field, from the rubble-strewn cities of blitzed Britain to the faraway outposts of Empire. ln his chronological narrative of the war, Casey shines light on numerous high-profile episodes, including Munich and Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, evacuation and rationing, and the campaigns in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Throughout, Casey stresses how the British military forged a relationship with reporters, how this relationship shaped news coverage of the fighting, and how this coverage in turn exerted a profound impact on every other dimension of the government's private and public actions. No one before has examined how all the branches of the armed services kept the home front informed about progress, and especially setbacks. Officials, Casey argues, failed to communicate effectively with the British people, which undermined public trust and called the credibility of the political leadership into question. Remarkably, the BBC and Fleet Street sometimes relayed German communiques to the public because the British government failed to release timely reports of its own"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Appeasement

Adjustment

Disaster

Destruction

Fight-back

Morale

Mobilisation

Empire

Allies

Return

Visions

Victory.

ISBN:

0-19-778190-X