Malcolm Murfett, "Eden's Alternative to Appeasement: The Anglo-American Strategy that Might Have Been, 1937–38" (Tithebarn Press, 2026)

As Foreign Secretary in Neville Chamberlain's Cabinet in 1937, Eden

didn't believe in appeasing the German and Italian dictatorships or the

militaristic Japanese regime. Instead, he wanted to confront their

aggression head on. Faced with growing Japanese assertiveness, including

the launching of an undeclared war on China in July 1937, Eden appealed

to the US for help. He believed sending an Anglo-American naval force

to the Western Pacific would demonstrate that the democracies were not

spineless, but were prepared to stand up for what they believed in. Was

this a viable alternative to Chamberlain's appeasement policy, now

notorious for its failure in the face of fascism?

In Eden's Alternative to Appeasement: The Anglo-American Strategy that Might Have Been, 1937–38 (Tithebarn Press, 2026), historian

Malcolm Murfett tells the story, using a wide range of primary sources