The Diplomats, 1919–1939

This classic account of interwar diplomacy examines the curious fate of the diplomat, “the honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country,” in the capitals of a darkening Europe. These men—ambassadors in the field and officials in the Foreign Office—worked against time in a world that witnessed the complete reorganization of the European system amid the onslaught of totalitarianism. Leading experts investigate the diplomatic history of these years through the eyes of those entrusted with the extraordinarily delicate task of conducting the fateful negotiations that effect national policy. Drawing on government archives, European memoirs, and diplomatic studies, this book is both an absorbing history of twenty years of crisis and a searching analysis of the role of diplomacy in the modern age.

Gordon A. Craig was Professor of Humanities Emeritus at Stanford University and Honorarprofessor at the Free University of Berlin. Felix Gilbert was Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

"[An] impressive achievement. . . . It is certainly no exaggeration to say that this is the best-informed, most authoritative, and most provocative treatment of diplomatic history presently available for the period indicated."—New York Times

"An enlightening and readable volume."—New Yorker

"An illuminating and authoritative commentary upon the conduct of international relations during this critical era."—American Historical Review

"A book like this one, in addition to providing pleasant and informative reading, will perform a useful function by increasing the understanding of the potential achievements and limitations of the diplomatic art."—The Nation