Part 1 19th century: a world restored, 1812-22; the Crimean War - a triumph of muddle; European mediation and the agreement of Villefranche, 1859; the struggle for supremacy in Germany, 1859-66; international relations, 1870-98; the Western question. Part 2 The early 20th century: uneasy splendour - the British Empire at the start of the 20th century; Joseph Chamberlain; entente cordiale - Great Britain and France, 1898-1904; farce before tragedy - Agadir, 1911; Admiral Fisher - a great man?; the last Tsars; lament for Imperial Vienna; war by timetable; war weariness and peace overtures; Lenin - October and after. Part 3 Inter-war years: the secrets of diplomacy - the Supreme Council, 1919; the hole in the tub; the groundwork of history; German policy, 1937-38; appeasement - German version; more light on Munich; 1938 - a German version; dragons' teeth; documents; the morning after; Franco's friends; the moment of decision; the phoney war; raw meat; after Versailles; collapse of Versailles - the moment of crisis; how Hitler went to war - the German record; feebler and feebler; out of the diplomatic bag; foreign relations; Lloyd George in action; some awkward questions; conflict at Versailles - and after; Germany's breakthrough. Part 4 From the prelude of World War II to Cold War: American foreign policy; Roosevelt and the war; the revision of treaties - 1830 and 1938; Munich examined - Mr Wheeler-Bennett's history; Munich again; how the war began - an essay in diplomatic history; diplomatic settlement; old tunes; after appeasement; Munich 20 years after - appeasement - with the wrong man; Soviet policy and Czechoslovakia; the myths of Munich; Europe, 1939 - the negotiations with Russia; the false alliance; the outbreak of war; 1939 revisited; old Foreign Office tie; how Germany lost the war; Potsdam - the seeds of Cold War; Trieste; Czechoslovakia today (July 1946); German riddles; heartland; no sanctity of contract between nations; ;how near is World War III? - dangers of a power balance; war and peace.
