{
    "id": 504705,
    "slug": "five-days-in-london-may-1940-john-lukacs",
    "nstc": null,
    "title": "Five Days in London May 1940",
    "subtitle": null,
    "collection_title": null,
    "collection_part_number": null,
    "annotation": null,
    "description": "The days from May 24 to May 28, 1940, altered the course of the history of the twentieth century, as the members of the British War Cabinet debated whether to negotiate with Hitler or to continue what became known as the Second World War. The decisive importance of these five days is the focus of John Lukacs\u2019s magisterial new book.\n \nLukacs takes us hour by hour into the critical unfolding of events at 10 Downing Street, where Churchill and the members of his cabinet were painfully considering their war responsibilities. We see how the military disasters taking place on the Continent\u2014particularly the plight of the nearly 400,000 British soldiers bottled up in Dunkirk\u2014affected Churchill\u2019s fragile political situation, for he had been prime minister only a fortnight and was regarded as impetuous and hotheaded even by many of his own party. Lukacs also investigates the mood of the British people, drawing on newspaper and Mass-Observation reports that show how the citizenry, though only partly informed about the dangers that faced them, nevertheless began to support Churchill\u2019s determination to stand fast.\n \nOther historians have dealt with Churchill\u2019s difficulties during this period, using the partial revelations of certain memoirs and private and public papers. But Lukacs is the first to convey the drama and importance of these days, and he does so in a compelling narrative that combines deep knowledge with high literary style.",
    "imprint": null,
    "language_code": "eng",
    "original_language_code": null,
    "page_count": 256,
    "duration_seconds": null,
    "publication_date_first": "2001-01-01",
    "publication_date_latest": "2001-01-01",
    "cover_url": null,
    "editions": [],
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    "created_at": "2025-09-19T14:37:14+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2025-10-30T00:43:04+00:00",
    "publisher": {
        "id": 4192,
        "slug": "yale-university-pres",
        "name": "Yale University Pres",
        "created_at": "2025-09-19T13:08:37+00:00",
        "updated_at": "2025-09-19T15:09:57+00:00"
    },
    "contributors": [
        {
            "id": 313623,
            "slug": "john-lukacs-2",
            "key_names": "Lukacs",
            "names_before_key": "John",
            "prefix_to_key": null,
            "contributor_role": "A01",
            "readable_contributor_role": "Author"
        }
    ],
    "genres": [],
    "subjects": [],
    "campaigns": []
}