Introduction
1: Challenging Communism: Britain sends land forces to Korea, July
1950
2: Challenging Nasser: the Suez crisis, July 1956
3: Challenging de Gaulle: Britain applies to join the EEC, July
1961
4: Challenging Britain's world role: the decision to withdraw from
East of Suez, January 1968
5: Challenging the KGB: Operation FOOT, September 1971
6: Challenging the Argentines: The decision to send a Task Force to
the Falklands, April 1982
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Gill Bennett, MA, OBE was Chief Historian of the Foreign &
Commonwealth Office from 1995-2005, and Senior Editor of the UK's
official history of British foreign policy, Documents on British
Policy Overseas. As a historian working in government for over
thirty years, she offered historical advice to twelve Foreign
Secretaries under six Prime Ministers. A specialist in the history
of secret intelligence, she was part of the research team working
on
the official history of the Secret Intelligence Service, written by
Professor Keith Jeffery and published in 2010. She is now involved
in a range of research, writing and training projects for various
government
departments.
`Gill Bennett possesses a very special gift. She can make old
documents live and breathe. In this fine study she takes us into
Number 10 and the Cabinet room and we are literally transported -
we can see and hear the people, feel the tension, and hear the
arguments.'
Peter Hennessy
`Impressive. This is a portrait of a formerly great power wrestling
with decline.'
Douglas Hurd, the New Statesman
`Bennett's book is a living example of the importance of history,
not just in the context of how and why these decisions were made,
but in providing a guide to the complex, and at times misleading
phrase: 'lessons of history'.'
Keith Simpson, Total Politics
`Fascinating.'
Philip Stephens, the Financial Times
`[A] masterly study... Besides providing many insights into leading
policy-makers, Gill Bennett covers six major 'moments of crisis'
spread over a period of more than 30 years in only 175 pages of
text without ever oversimplifying. Her book is both a very good
read and admirably succinct.'
Christopher Andrew, Literary Review
`A wonderful text for the student of international relations, whom
it will immunise against infection by arcane concepts and theories
that bear little relation to the real world. It is, moreover,
beautifully written and an object lesson for academics in history
and the social sciences.'
Vernon Bogdanor, Times Higher Education Supplement
`Oxonian Bennett (Somerville, 1969) lifts the lid on how six
crucial decisions were taken, and not just why. She concludes that
British foreign policy is subject to deep continuity.'
Oxford Today Vol. 25 No. 2
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