''Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II'' is a 1993 book by

Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Fo ...

published by Jonathan Cape. It is a history of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

from an alternative viewpoint. Deighton looks for the origins of the war, from the rise of the great power conflicts that led to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, through the inter-war years and the histories of the various conflicts and combatants in the years up until the beginning of the war in 1939. He traces the early engagements, the feints, the so-called

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...

, right through until Japan's attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

in 1941. Deighton attempts to create an encyclopedic introduction to the conflict by building up a detailed background and showing how perilous Britain's early situation was, the early blunders by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

in the Norwegian Campaign and the British dealings with the French that led to the debacle of Dunkirk.

Critical response

In its review, '' Kirkus Reviews'' criticizes the lack of "original research, let alone fresh perspectives" and states that the book "covers ground that will be familiar to even casual students of the war's initial phase".

References

1993 non-fiction books History books about World War II British non-fiction literature Books by Len Deighton 20th-century history books Jonathan Cape books {{WWII-book-stub